Physics Lab Safety Rules
- Shoes are required at all times.
- Food and drink are not permitted in the lab at any time.
- Any tobacco use is forbidden in the lab at any time.
- Do not come in the lab early unless the instructor is present.
- Keep the windows in the laboratory rooms closed at all times.
- Do not wear loose hair or clothing around moving equipment.
- Do not place equipment in the aisle or loiter in the aisle.
- Do not set equipment too close to the edge of the table.
- Do not activate any circuit or apparatus until the instructor inspects it.
- Only use lasers, projectile launchers, pendulums, etc., for the instructional purposes for which they were intended.
- Never look directly into the beam of a laser or into the barrel of a projectile launcher.
- All trash and waste materials should be disposed in the proper container. Do not pour chemicals into the laboratory sinks.
- Never touch a possibly live circuit.
- Do not short the electrical leads on any equipment.
- Any equipment not in use should be turned off.
- Do not take apart any apparatus or piece of equipment.
- All damaged equipment and chemical spills should be immediately reported to the laboratory instructor.
- Students should never handle liquid nitrogen.
- Students should never be allowed to use a Van de Graff generator unless directly supervised by the lab instructor.
- Never remove any computer components (especially the mouse or keyboard) unless the computer is turned off.
- Do not move or jostle a computer while the CPU is turned on.
- Do not place books or papers on the tops of computer monitors.
- Do not shutdown the computers or monitors unless instructed to do so by the lab instructor.
- Leave your lab station neat, clean and organized at the end of each lab period.
- Instructors teaching the last lab of the day should turn off the power to the computers' monitors at the conclusion of the lab.
- Instructors teaching the last lab of the week should properly power down each computer at the conclusion of the lab.
- Ensure that all laboratory doors are locked and closed at the conclusion of each lab.
- Do not press the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters.