Design of Physical Experiments (Statistical Methods)

Abstract

In the present state of the development of theory and experimental techniques many investigations in physics, especially those concerning the properties of elementary particles, require, sophisticated, expensive, and extended experiments to be performed. Actual experience shows that the design of such experiments by the methods of mathematical statistics allows, in most cases, to use the available means (e. g. time, money, and material) more effectively than in passive (non-planned) experiments. In view of this a more extensive application of the mathematical methods for designing experiments becomes necessary. In this review the existing methods of designing experiments are described in a universally accessible form. Examples concerning mainly experiments on the phase shift analysis of elastic scattering and measurements of differential effective cross sections are considered in this review. For simplicity, these examples are presented schematically. The examples are selected from the domain of nuclear physics not by chance but because experiments in this region are specially expensive. In comparison with the book by KLEPIKOV and SOKOLOV (1961) containing one chapter on the planning of physical experiments, the present paper embraces a wider variety of problems.