Laser Maze
The information on this event is up to date.
Faculty coordinator: Hui Deng
Preparation team: Midhat Farooq, Lu Ma, Jamie MacLennan
Event Description:
A laser beam is guided
through an optical maze onto a bull's eye target. Three mirrors must be aligned
such that the laser beam bounces off all mirrors and passes through
circular apertures located along the beam path. The laser is turned off during
most of the alignment procedure.
Event Location and Time:
Randall Lab, Room 4265
10:30AM - 11:50AM and 1:00PM - 2:50PM
Apparatus and Materials:
The following equipment will be provided:
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Helium-Neon Laser (1mW power; not to be
moved)
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Three mirrors
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Three mirror mounts
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Bull's eye (not to be moved)
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Circular apertures (some not to be moved)
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Aperture mounts
Event Rules:
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Every team must have two members.
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At the beginning
of the event, an official will reiterate the event rules and answer
questions. A sheet outlining the rules and objectives will be handed out to
the contestants.
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Theoretical Part: each team will have 5 minutes to complete a short multiple-choice quiz covering optics concepts such as speed
of light, wavelength, frequency, power, reflection, refraction, Snell's law, lenses and lasers.
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Experimental Part: each team will align the mirrors to guide the beam through the apertures to the target.
It is allowed to move the locations of the mirrors and the adjustment screws on the mirror mount. The laser
is turned off during most of the alignment procedure. After each team has finished, they are permitted an
additional two minutes for supervised alignment with the laser on.
Judging Criteria:
-
The maximum score for the activity is 100
points.
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Theoretical Part: the questionnaire
earns up to 20 theory points.
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Experimental Part:
There will be a maximum of 80 experimental points. Teams will earn 10 points
for the achievement of each of three core objectives specified in the rules.
Up to 20 additional points will be awarded based on the location at which
the laser beam hits the bull's eye target. If a team finishes the activity within 20 minutes, the team
earns a time score of 30 points. After 20 minutes, the
time score drops at a rate of 2 points per minute.
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Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals will be awarded to
the teams with the highest three scores, respectively.
