39E-6

J. P. GONZALEZ, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California at Davis, One Shield Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 and R. P. Singh.

The use of the Internet for conducting remote “hands-on” laboratory experiments has been recently demonstrated. There is a need to provide more Internet-mediated experiments and improve their features such as flexibility, robustness and reliability. With those features, such systems can be readily used in teaching with a global reach. The objectives of this study were to design, build and put into service two new experiments that interact with a user from anywhere in the world using a computer connected to the Internet. The new experiments use the same server as the one that was previously used for the demonstration of this concept. Additional data acquisition hardware was installed to control and acquire necessary data from the new experiments. The new experiments selected were: measurement of thermal conductivity and optical properties of liquid foods. The first one uses a thermal conductivity probe. The user is able to collect data for measuring thermal conductivity of different samples of edible oils. The second experiment involves the optical properties of fresh and used oil. The user first obtains a calibration curve and then the spectral characteristics of different oil samples are measured. The internet-mediated experiments provide a new opportunity for students to collect real time data. The use of such experiments extends beyond a traditional laboratory; such experiments may be conducted in lecture classes to illustrate concepts with live demonstration. Student feedback to these experiments has been very favorable.