Christopher Chiaverina, Column Editor,

little gems 4111 Connecticut Trail, Crystal Lake, IL 60012; fizzforfun@aol.com

Using a laptop screen to

model point-source, line-
source, and planar-source
fields
Peter H. Bohacek, Henry Sibley High School, Mendota
Heights, MN 55118; Peter.Bohacek@ISD197.ORG
Rebecca Gobel, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

T he relationship between the intensity of a field and the

distance from the source of the field is central to several
topics taught in introductory physics. For example, most in-
troductory texts include a description of how the intensities of Fig. 1. The apparatus comprises an Apple MacBook display-
gravitational and electric fields follow an inverse-squared rela- ing an all-white PowerPoint slide. A Vernier light sensor is held
perpendicular to the screen using a ring stand, two right-angle
tionship between the intensities of the field and distance from clamps, and two steel bars. The distance between the screen
an object with mass or charge. Many high school and college and light sensor is adjusted by moving the ring stand. Data
curricula include labs showing the inverse-squared relation- should be collected in a darkened room to prevent ambient light
ship for the intensity of a field of a point source as a function from affecting results.
of distance. These demonstrations are straightforward because
point sources are readily available. For example, a small low-
voltage bulb can serve as a point source for light.1 Students ex-
trapolate their results from these labs to other kinds of fields.
What is not as simple is demonstrating the relationship
between field intensity and distance for nonpoint sources. For
example, consider the electric field of an infinite line of charge
with uniform charge distribution. The electric field generated
by this source is inversely proportional to the distance from
the source:
1
E  (field of an infinite line of charge).2 (1)
r
The intensity of the field generated by an infinite plane of
Fig. 2. Use black construction paper to make a line-source.
charge source does not depend on the distance from the When the distance from the screen is greater than the width of
source if the dimensions of the planar source are much larger the line, but much less than the length of the line, the system
than the distance from the source. approximately matches what we’d expect from an infinite line
source.
E = constant (field of an infinite plane of charge).3 (2)

Here we describe a simple method of measuring the inten-

sity (illuminance) from a uniform plane, line, or point source
of light. It’s not hard to show that these intensities vary with
distance in the same way as the electric fields from uniform
charge distributions having the same geometries.4 In our ex-
periments the light source in each case is the LCD screen of a
laptop computer. The light emitted by the screen is sufficiently
uniform and bright for students to use it as a planar source,
line source, or point source. Using a light sensor, students can
quickly collect data that clearly show that the intensity of a
field from a planar source does not depend on distance from
the source if the dimensions of the source are much larger
Fig. 3. A hole in the paper simulates a point source, when the
than the distance from the source, and that the intensity of the
sensor is farther from the hole than the diameter of the hole.

124 The Physics Teacher ◆ Vol. 49, February 2011 DOI: 10.1119/1.3543596
 gems
field created by a line source is inversely related to the distance Light Intensity vs Distance for a Planar Source
from the source.
150
The setup

Light Intensity (lux)

We used a 13-inch Apple MacBook (2.4 GHz Intel core 2 Linear Fit for: Data Set | Light Intensity

Duo) and created an all-white slide using Microsoft Power-

LI = mD+b
100 m (Slope): -0.006038 +/- 0.004643 Lux/mm
b (Y-Intercept): 146.6 +/- 0.08544 Lux
Point. The apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. We used a Vernier Correlation: -0.3092
RMSE: 0.2045 Lux
light sensor (Vernier LS-BTA) on its most sensitive setting 50
(0-600 lux) connected to a Vernier LabQuest. A ring stand,
two right angle clamps, and a 30-cm steel rod were used to po-
sition the light sensor in the center of the screen, perpendicu- 0
0 50 100
lar to the screen surface. To measure the distance from the Distance (mm)

screen to the sensor, we used two methods. For distances less
than 2 cm, we used a series of plastic spacers stacked on one
another. To increase the distance, we simply added more spac-
ers. This allowed for quick, precise adjustment of the distance
between the light sensor and the screen, even when the light-
ing in the lab was dimmed. When the distance was greater
than 2 cm, we used a 30-cm metric ruler. Once the distance
was set, we noticed that the light intensity varied consider-
ably while we tried to read the value. Rather than measure a
single reading we sampled the light intensity for 10 seconds
Fig. 4. Graph shows the results using the entire screen as a
source. When the distance to the screen is less than 5 cm, the
relationship between distance and intensity closely matches
what we’d expect for an infinite planar source – the inten-
sity does not decrease with distance. Error bars are not shown
because they are roughly the same size as the width of the
purple point markers shown on the graph.
Light Intensity vs Distance for a Line Source 1 cm Wide
80
Auto Fit for: Data Set | Light Intensity

at 20 samples per second and used the average value of those y = A/x
Light Intensity (lux)

60 A: 122.0 +/- 2.579

measurements. These measurements were plotted against the
distance between the sensor and the screen. In each case we
measured the light intensity at various distances and recorded
the values. These values were then plotted using Vernier Log-
ger Pro 3.8.
Results
We collected three sets of data: one for a planar source, one
for a line source, and one for a point source. To simulate a pla-
nar source, we used the entire screen and varied the distance
from 0 cm (light sensor touching the screen surface) to 10 cm.
Over the first 4 cm, the light sensor reading decreased only
0.27%. Figure 2 shows a plot of light intensity versus distance.
From this plot, we can see that the screen acts like a true pla-
nar source, with the light intensity being independent of dis-
RMSE: 2.492 Lux
40
20
0
0 5 10
(1.005, 69.15) Corrected Distance (cm)
Fig. 5. Graph shows the results when black paper is used to
make a line source 1-cm wide. When the distance from the
screen is greater than the width of the line source, but less than
the length of the line source, the relationship matches the rela-
tionship we’d expect for an infinite line source – the intensity is
inversely proportional to the distance from the source.
Light Intensity vs Distance for a 0.7-cm Diameter Circle
80

tance from the source, until the light sensor distance increases
beyond 4 cm. 60

To simulate a line source, we used black construction pa- Auto Fit for: Data Set | Light Intensity
Light Intensity (lux)

I = A/r2
A: 37.78 +/- 1.041
per to block the screen except for a 1-cm wide line diagonally RMSE: 1.443 lux
40
across the screen. The data are plotted in Fig. 3 and show a
close fit to the inverse relationship we’d expect for an infinite
line source. Using a narrower line improves the quality of 20

the inverse curve fit at closer distances, but the reduced light
output makes data collection more susceptible to noise due to 00
2 4
ambient light. (1.882, 49.13)
Distance (cm)

To simulate a point source, we covered the screen with
black construction paper with a small hole in the center. We
tried several different hole sizes. Smaller holes (0.5 cm and
less) yield better fit to an inverse square at close distances.
But the lower light output from a small hole means that the
Fig. 6. Graph shows the results when paper is used to block the
entire screen except for a circular opening 0.7 cm in diameter.
When the distance from the screen is greater than the diam-
eter of the circular source, the data match the relationship we’d
expect for the intensity of a field created by a point source: the
intensity is proportional to the inverse of the square of the dis-
tance from the screen.

The Physics Teacher ◆ Vol. 49, February 2011 125

gems
light intensity at greater distances is susceptible to interfer-
ence from ambient light. Holes greater than 1 cm do not act as
point sources when the light sensor distance is less than
2-3 cm. The data shown in Fig. 5 were collected with a hole
size of 0.7 cm.
Several factors affect the quality of data. First, the light
output from the LCD screen increases during the first 30
seconds after the screen turns on. Also, ambient light causes
interference and needs to be minimized to get good results.
Finally, on the Vernier light sensor, the actual light-detecting
photoresistor is not at the end of the plastic housing but is
recessed. In addition, the light from the LCD screen does
not emanate from the screen surface, but from light sources
recessed behind the screen surface. We estimated these com-
bined distances to be 0.5 cm. Distances plotted are from the
screen surface to the light sensor housing, plus 0.5 cm. If a
more rigorous analysis of the distance from the light source
to the sensor is interesting, the data could be fit to include a
distance offset. For example, for the line source, the data could
be fit to a function:
A squared light lab is at www.vernier.com/labequipment/oek_/
I=
, (3)
(r + B)
where B is the distance between the photoresistor in the light
sensor and the LCD screen light source. This function does
provide a better fit to the data collected. However, since the
intent of this lab is to show the basic relationships between
the light intensity and distance from a light source, we did
not use this type of curve fit for the graphs shown.
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126 The Physics Teacher ◆ Vol. 49, February 2011
Conclusion
A compelling reason to do labs is to help students see and
understand nonintuitive, abstract concepts and relation-
ships. In this lab, the intensity of a field of nonpoint sources, a
concept that students can find puzzling, can be quantitatively
demonstrated quickly and inexpensively. In addition, the re-
sults from this lab can be extrapolated to other areas of phys-
ics and help students in their general understanding of the
nature of fields.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. James Madsen of the University of
Wisconsin, River Falls for his guidance and advice during
this project. We also thank Jessa Shea of Barron High School,
Barron, WI, for her help on the original implementation of
this idea.
References
1. An activity that uses a light bulb as a point source and shows the
inverse-squared relationship can be found at www.cfa.harvard.
edu/seuforum/mtu/MTUinversesquare.pdf. Another inverse
inverse_square.pdf
2. R. D. Knight, Physics for Scientists and Engineers (Pearson Addi-
son-Wesley, New York, 2004), p. 818.
3. Ref. 2, p. 828.
4. Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, and Matthew Sands,
The Feynman Lectures of Physics (Addison-Wesley, 1965), Vol.
II, pp. 12-10–12-11. See also K. D. Moler, Optics (University
Science Books, Mill Valley, CA 1988), pp. 397–400.
5. Ref. 2, p. 832.
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