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Physics laboratories are currently under pressure to reform because of the growing evidence that students are not learning effectively in the lab. Unfortunately, there is no consensus on what the most important goals for the laboratories should be or how to implement them. With the overall value and purpose of physics laboratories in question, we have set out to determine the opinions of the students themselves. How valuable do students perceive physics labs to be, what skills do they find useful in the lab, and what kinds of lab technologies do they prefer? We accomplished this through a nationwide cross-sectional online survey of physics majors, at both undergraduate and graduate levels, receiving responses from a total of 445 students from 20 post-secondary Canadian institutions. The present survey shows that students recognize the usefulness of many laboratory aspects. However, despite the best intentions of educators, there are a few components that students do not find as useful.

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The phase transition in K3Na(CrO4)2 single crystals has been studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of Mn2+ ions. The values of the spin-Hamiltonian parameters have been evaluated. Below the phase transition temperature, the magnetic z-axis is deflected in ac and bc crystallographic planes by the same angle. Anomalous line shapes recorded below the phase transition temperature suggest the existence of an incommensurate phase.