An undergraduate laboratory experiment on measuring the velocity of light with a catastrophic machine

Abstract

An experimental setup for electrostatic measurement of $\varepsilon_0$, separated magneto-static measurement of $\mu_0$ and determination of the velocity of light $c=1/\sqrt{\varepsilon_0 \mu_0}$ according to Maxwell theory with percent accuracy is described. No forces are measured with the experimental setup therefore there is no need of a scale and the experiment price less than \pounds20 is mainly due to the batteries used. Multiplied 137~times, this experimental setup was given at the fourth open international Experimental Physics Olympiad (EPO4) and a dozen high school students did very well. This article, however, focuses on the catastrophe theory, which is the basis of the methodology.