| Author | Message | ||
     RJ Unregistered guest |
Hello! I am working on a physics project which is a race, and it has some very broad rules. It must be triggered by gravity, and it can't use any springs, electricity, rubberbands, or spill anything on the floor (no rocket engines), and the max starting dimensions are 12 inches wide, 48 inches long, and 5 ft high. I saw your gauss rifle project on your site, and this would definitely fit the requirements. I just have a couple of questions.... How many magnets and balls would i need to make it travel the 28 ft of the race in under 4 secs? Because 4 seconds is time to qualify for the race, then we compete against the other cars for extra credit. And.. what distance would you recommend to space teh magnets and such for maximum efficiency? Thanks so much for you time! RJ | ||
| Simon Quellen Field (sfield) New member Username: sfield Post Number: 104 Registered: 12-2004 |
Four magnets give you about 15 feet per second. Starting the first ball from a drop of 5 feet might get you a faster speed -- I have not tried it. I would think a steel ball dropping from 5 feet into a ski jump ramp would do the job even without the magnets. A trebuchet would also work, or a brick falling on a bag of air connected to a tube blocked by the car... Have fun! | ||
| RJ Unregistered guest |
Thanks a lot for informing me about the speed! Yep, i did think about those other ideas, but my original plan was to use a coil gun with photo flash capacitors, and the gauss rifle is the closest thing while still obeying the rules. I can't wait to see the look on my students and teacher's faces at the unique design (hehe)! Thanks again! | ||
| lysdexia Unregistered guest |
So how did it go? |
