Introduction

 The TeachSpin manual (which can be found here) is organized into the following sections:

1. Introduction: A lot of this info is meant for the person building the apparatus from scratch (which you are not doing).
2. Operation & Calibration: Experiments in this section include measuring the torsion constant of a wire, rotational inertia of mass segments and disks, and check the validity of the small angle approximation that is made in deriving the familiar equations of a harmonic oscillator.  If you did this experiment in PHYS 2P03, then you’ve probably done these exercises already.
3. Magnetic Torque: This section discusses applying torque magnetically as opposed to mechanically, like when you move the rotor with your hands. The set of experiments described in this section measure the magnetic moment of a magnet stack, and look at other interactions between the electromagnetic field of the coils, and the rotating permanent magnet. You can do these experiments in an addition lab session if you like.
4. Damping: Focuses on all manner of damping (NOT dampening! We are not getting anything wet!). Damping can be caused by drag forces that go as  and . Underdamping and critical damping can also be explored. These are the experiments you will focus on in your lab session.