Lasers and Mirrors

The objective of this lesson is for the students to utilize content they have learned in my physics class to complete an engineering challenge. Students must angle mirrors appropriately in order to direct a laser beam onto a target. While this project is best suited to physics students who have been familiarized with the law of reflection, the scientific concepts are simple enough for the lab portion to be used in a math classroom as well, or in any science class looking for an engineering challenge. This is meant to be a simulation of the laser alignment performed in optical labs like ERC EUV, where I worked in this summer. Optical alignment is the most time-consuming part of optical research, and it is one which requires quite a lot of patience and thought, aside from reinforcing physical science skills and concepts (such as law of reflection, light, angles).