First Last - Fitting Data



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%matplotlib inline
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

import numpy as np
from astropy.table import QTable

from scipy.optimize import curve_fit

Power on the Moon

The Apollo lunar mission deployed a series of experiments on the Moon, The experiment package was called the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). The ALSEP was powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG).

An RTG is basically a fist-sized slug of Pu-238 wrapped in a material that generates electric power when heated. Since the RTG is powered by a radioisotope, the output power decreases over time as the radioisotope decays.

Read in the datafile

The data file Apollo_RTG.csv contains the power output of the Apollo 12 RTG as a function of time.

The data colunms are

[Day] - Days on the Moon
[Power] - RTG power output in Watts



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Can you charge your phone with the Apollo RTG?

Plot the data: Day vs. Power
Use the OO interface to matplotlib
Fit the function with a polynomial (you choose the degree).
Plot the fit with the data
Output size w:11in, h:8.5in
Make the plot look nice (including clear labels)



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What was the power output on Day 0?



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How many years after landing could you still power a 60 W lightbulb?



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How many years after landing could you still power a 5 W USB device?



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How many years after landing until the power output is 0 W?



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Fitting data to a function

The datafile 'FitMe.dat' contains two columns of data (x,y)
Use the OO interface to matplotlib
Plot the data x,y
Fit the function below to the data
Find the values of a,b,c that best fit the data
Output size w:11in, h:8.5in
Make the plot look nice (including clear labels)

$$\Large f(x) = a \sin(bx) \ e^{-cx} $$



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Due Tue Nov 07 - 5pm

Make sure to change the filename to your name!
Make sure to change the Title to your name!
File -> Download as -> HTML (.html)
upload your .html and .ipynb file to the class Canvas page