THE PARTICLE BEAM OPTICS INTERACTIVE COMPUTE2R LABORATORY

THE PARTICLE BEAM OPTICS INTERACTIVE COMPUTER LABORATORY IS A NEW AND UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR DEMONSTRATING THE PHYSICS OF CHARGED PARTICLE BEAMS AND CHARGED PARTICLE BEAM OPTICAL SYSTEMS. SELF-PACED INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS OFFER INSIGHT INTO BOTH THE PRINCIPLES OF PARTICLE OPTICS AND THE TECHNOLOGY USED IN PARTICLE OPTICS BEAMLINES. A COMPLETE COMPUTATIONAL CAPABILITY IS INCORPORATED TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN DESIGNING AN ANALYZING THEIR OWN PARTICLE OPTICS SYSTEMS. THE LABORATORY IS COMPOSED OF FOUR KEY ELEMENTS. THE FIRST IS A GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE SHELL THAT PROVIDES FOR A HIGHLY INTERACTIVE LEARNING SESSION. THE SECOND IS A KNOWLEDGE DATABASE CONTAINING INFORMATION ON ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC OPTICS TRANSPORT ELEMENTS. THE KNOWLEDGE DATABASE PROVIDES INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS ON THE FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS OF CHARGED PARTICLE OPTICS AND ON THE TECHNOLOGY USED IN PARTICLE OPTICS HARDWARE. THE THIRD ELEMENT IS A GRAPHICAL CONSTRUCTION KIT THAT PROVIDES TOOLS FOR STUDENTS TO INTERACTIVELY AND VISUALLY CONSTRUCT OPTICAL BEAMLINES. THE FINAL ELEMENT IS A CHARGED PARTICLE OPTICS COMPUTATIONAL ENGINE THAT COMPUTES TRAJECTORES, TRANSPORTS BEAM ENVELOPES, AND CARRIES OUT SIMILAR CALCULATIONS FOR THE STUDENT DESIGNED BEAMLINES. A MODULAR SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT WILL BE USED FOR THE LABORATORY AND DURING PHASE I PROTOTYPE MODULES WILL BE WRITTEN THAT PROVIDE EXAMPLES FOR EACH OF THE KEY ELEMENTS.