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SAFETY IN THE PHYSICS LABORATORY

In the physics laboratory, carelessness can lead to accidents causing injury to you or to your neighbor. Some instruments are costly. If such an instrument is damaged in an accident, it can paralyze the work of the whole class. Proper handling of apparatus and other materials can prevent majority of accidents.

 Remember the following points and act on them, while working in the physics laboratory.

(i) Put off the gas to extinguish the flame of a burner. Do not use any solid or liquid for this purpose (like putting a cap or pouring water as for extinguishing burning coal).

(ii) Do not throw any broken glass ware, etc. in the sink. Such things should be thrown into the waste basket.

(iii) Do not talk to other students in the laboratory while performing the experiment. In case you have any difficulty, consult your tutor. Of course, if you are a team of two or three students working on same experiment on the same apparatus, you can talk about the experiment among yourselves. Each member of the team should take turns to take observations.

(iv) Never test whether a wire is carrying current by touching it, Use a tester screwdriver or/ a voltmeter of Appropriate range.

(v) Whenever a sharp instrument is used, be careful not to cut or puncher your skin, e.g. while using a pair of blades to make a narrow slit.

(vi) While using a delicate instrument, e.g. a sensitive galvanometer, be careful not to pass a high current in it, which may burn it out. While using it to find a null point, use a low resistance shunt or a high series resistance initially.

When you approach the null point, then remove it to make the instrument sensitive and make fine adjustment of the null point.

(vii) Take care not to wet any instrument, unless it is part of the experiment itself

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