Investigating Strongly Correlated Behavior In The High T c Cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x And The Mixed Valence Compound CeSn3

This dissertation is a culmination of my work in Nicholas Curro's Condensed Matter Experimental Laboratory from 2010 to 2015. In that time I have done magnetization and NMR based experiments. In addition I had the opportunity to characterize much of the equipment used in the Curro Lab. This dissertation is written for future graduate students to the Curro Lab. It is my hope you will find these pages useful and that they bring clarity to the day to day operations in the lab.;There are five Chapters and five Appendices contained in this dissertation. Chapter 1 starts with an introduction to the theory of the experimental apparatus. Chapter 2 contains practical information on running experiments. Chapter 3 describes research on the High-Tc cuprate Bi2Sr 2CaCu2O8+x. Chapter 4 describes research on the mixed valent compound CeSn3. Chapter 5 provides concluding remarks to this dissertation. Appendix A describes a technique and experimentation for AC susceptibility with the present lab equipment. Appendix B discusses the construction and use of helium level meters. Appendix C discusses the helium liquefaction system employed in the lab and the operations and techniques associated with it. Appendix D presents a discussion of solving the normal modes problem for magnetic relaxation of high-spin nuclei. Lastly, Appendix E describes various characterizations on the equipment in the lab.