Welcome, Guest. Please Login
SLINGING.ORG
 
Home Help Search Login


Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
The Egg Drop (Read 8730 times)
Altay
Senior Member
****
Offline


Romans 8

Posts: 447
Gibsonia, PA (USA)
Gender: male
The Egg Drop
Apr 23rd, 2006 at 12:03am
 
I have to do an "egg drop" for a physics project and I was wondering if you guys could help me out. The rules are that I must make a device using only paper products (cardboard, paper, kleenex, toilet paper, etc.) and scotch tape (the thin clear tape) to keep an egg from cracking when dropped from the bleachers of our football stadium. This is about 2 or 3 stories. I'd like to know if any of you have any ideas and if any of you have ever done something like this, what sort of design won?

Oh, by the way, points are awarded as follows:

Egg breaks - 0 points
Egg has small cracks (but doesn't "bleed") - 15 points
Egg survives- 25 points

Mass:
100 grams to 20 grams - 5 points to 30 points (at 10 gram intervals)

Fall time:
> 0.5 s - 10 points
> 1.0 s - 8 points
> 1.5 s - 6 points
> 2.0 s - 2 points
< 2.0 s - 0 points

The above facts aren't too important, but the idea is to get the egg to go from a height of two stories to the ground (concrete) as quickly as possible without breaking the egg. I'll post the design I came up with soon.
Back to top
 

There are 10 types of people in this world:&&those who understand binary and those who don't&&
&&E=mc^2&&Entertainment = mass * (centripetal acceleration)^2&&
&&Bad spellers of the world untie!&&
&&
WWW  
IP Logged
 
siguy
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


si vis pacem para bellum

Posts: 1714
connecticut
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #1 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 12:08am
 
a suggestion: talk to the people that did this last year, or term, or whatever.  they can tell you the secret. 

other than that, i have no idea.
Back to top
 

if you want peace prepare for war&&&&my site
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Altay
Senior Member
****
Offline


Romans 8

Posts: 447
Gibsonia, PA (USA)
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #2 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 12:11am
 
There are four main designs I've seen in my research that work in an egg drop contest:

1) The parachute/propellor. There is some sort of parachute or propellor attached to the top of the egg to slow it down as it falls. The egg is almost always in some sort of basket to cushion its landing.

2) The soft-box design. The egg is contained in a box full of "soft cushiony stuff" such as cotton, kleenex, or packing peanuts. The box falls straight to the ground, but the egg is cushioned inside.

3) The pyramid. The egg is in some sort of pyramid (almost always matchsticks or toothpicks that are glued together) that will cushion its landing.

4) The cone. The egg is in some sort of paper or cardboard cone. The cone will crumple/break on impact much like the front of a car in an accident to cushion the egg. This is the design I think I like the best.

There may be other designs that work, but I haven't seen any yet. I can find a picture for you if you'd like to see any of these designs.
Back to top
 

There are 10 types of people in this world:&&those who understand binary and those who don't&&
&&E=mc^2&&Entertainment = mass * (centripetal acceleration)^2&&
&&Bad spellers of the world untie!&&
&&
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Altay
Senior Member
****
Offline


Romans 8

Posts: 447
Gibsonia, PA (USA)
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #3 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 12:13am
 
Quote:
a suggestion: talk to the people that did this last year, or term, or whatever.  they can tell you the secret. 

other than that, i have no idea.


This is my teacher's first year teaching at this school. None of the other Physics teachers have made their students do projects like these (there are 4, this is the last one) before. So, I figured the Physics geniuses on this site might be able to help out.


Anyway, my design is as follows:

I chose the cone design (like I said, it's my favorite). Below are pictures of the device:

...

Here is the side view of the device. The egg and quarters are for size reference. It's basically a sheet of paper rolled into a cone with a piece of kleenex inside for cushioning.



...

Here is a top view of the device. You can see the kleenex in this view.



...

And here is the device with the egg in it. The egg fits snugly into the top of the device.
Back to top
 

There are 10 types of people in this world:&&those who understand binary and those who don't&&
&&E=mc^2&&Entertainment = mass * (centripetal acceleration)^2&&
&&Bad spellers of the world untie!&&
&&
WWW  
IP Logged
 
siguy
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


si vis pacem para bellum

Posts: 1714
connecticut
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #4 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 12:19am
 
what a shame.

i think that the cone would work best.

in this determination, i assume that you do mean cone, and not cylinder.  a cylinder will probably not crumple, but reamin sound when it hits.  a cone with crumple if it hits point first.  you should pick something that will sort of "slap" the ground, so that energy can be transfered to the ground very quickly, taking shock away from the agg.
Back to top
 

if you want peace prepare for war&&&&my site
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Altay
Senior Member
****
Offline


Romans 8

Posts: 447
Gibsonia, PA (USA)
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #5 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 12:34am
 
Quote:
you should pick something that will sort of "slap" the ground, so that energy can be transfered to the ground very quickly, taking shock away from the agg.


I'm sorry, but this is wrong. You DO NOT want to transfer the energy to the ground quickly. If the egg hits the ground directly, the energy will transfer as quickly as possible. You want to slow down the time of impact.

Impact = Force*time

So if you lengthen the time of impact, you'll lessen the force. That's what cushions are for, they lengthen the time of impact, so that the force is reduced.

EDIT: That should be "Impulse = Force*time" not "Impact = Force*time", but it's the same idea anyway.
Back to top
 

There are 10 types of people in this world:&&those who understand binary and those who don't&&
&&E=mc^2&&Entertainment = mass * (centripetal acceleration)^2&&
&&Bad spellers of the world untie!&&
&&
WWW  
IP Logged
 
CanDo
Interfector Viris Spurii
Past Moderator
*****
Offline



Posts: 1652
New England, USA
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #6 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 1:08am
 
Think like a porcupine Smiley Or like a bee (a colony rather)

Only paper products and scotch tape. Too bad there are no straws or glue allowed Sad.

Wrap egg up in kleenex. Wrinkled not rolled, this shall give it a more collapsable 'honeycomb' effect. Wrap this in the tape so as that it won't come off of the egg. Wrap another wrinkly layer over that but use the tape sparingly, so as that it fits lossely.
Take sheets or paper and roll them along the diagonal to form a very narrow (thinner than a pencil) cone which is long (longer than a pencil by a good amount). It should resemble a spike. I suppose you could also use very thin card board strips (without rolling into a cone).
Then, tape the cones which we shall now refer to as spikes, to the kleenex wrapped egg. Don't tape too tight, but in a manner that will prevent it from moving more than a couple inches without tearing tissue. This will form a very spikey ball with very little air resistance.

Drop this... It should fall very fast since spikes of paper don't take up much room, and the kleenex wrapping has a negligible effect. Upon impact the spikes will bend and crumple, they will also sheer off of the kleenex, kleenex will 'unwrinkle' and perhaps tear, absorbing energy. All goes well and the egg will end up unscathed in a tangled mess of paper, tape, and kleenex.

To really impress your teacher... make it turn the energy of impact into electricity Smiley
Back to top
 
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Altay
Senior Member
****
Offline


Romans 8

Posts: 447
Gibsonia, PA (USA)
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #7 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 1:22am
 
Oh, sorry I forgot to mention something Embarrassed. We will be given the egg the day of the testing and then we'll be given an extra 10 cm of tape to seal the device or tape it to the egg or whatever. So I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do your idea, though it sounds like it would work well.
Back to top
 

There are 10 types of people in this world:&&those who understand binary and those who don't&&
&&E=mc^2&&Entertainment = mass * (centripetal acceleration)^2&&
&&Bad spellers of the world untie!&&
&&
WWW  
IP Logged
 
siguy
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


si vis pacem para bellum

Posts: 1714
connecticut
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #8 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 10:57am
 
boil an egg ahead of time and switch it out when you guys are getting ready.  that way it won't "bleed", even though it may crack,  you will still get 15 points in that area of the contest.   

btw, i as just kidding.  i don't really suggest trying to do that, as the teacher will probably have some sort of way of identifying the eggs.
Back to top
 

if you want peace prepare for war&&&&my site
WWW  
IP Logged
 
CanDo
Interfector Viris Spurii
Past Moderator
*****
Offline



Posts: 1652
New England, USA
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #9 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 11:12am
 
Too bad, I came up with many great improvements to that idea too!

on a more legal note you could premix some glue made from paper products and smear the egg in it for an epoxy like coating. Not probable but it is possible...
Back to top
 
WWW  
IP Logged
 
siguy
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


si vis pacem para bellum

Posts: 1714
connecticut
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #10 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 11:29am
 
like paper mache or something?
Back to top
 

if you want peace prepare for war&&&&my site
WWW  
IP Logged
 
slingbadger
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


Don't Badger a Badger

Posts: 3220
Akron NY
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #11 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 11:52am
 
How much of the ingredients are you allowed? If it is a high amount, cant you cut the paper into strips, and use them like packing peanuts? The Porcupine paper Idea can work too, without the use of tape and glue. Make the holes very small, so that the rolls are held together by the force.  After that, it's just a matter of how you lay out the spikes.
    Think of the way the spikes on a medieval mace are. No matter what, you will be hit by them. Same thing with the spikes. No matter what, the spikes will hit, absorbing some of the blow.  if its allowed, I suppose that you could wrap the paper around a thin strip of cardboard, for extra support.
Back to top
 

The greatest of all the accomplishments of 20th cent. science has been the discovery of human ignorance  The main difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits.-Einstein   I'm getting psychic as I get older. Or is that psychotic?
 
IP Logged
 
Altay
Senior Member
****
Offline


Romans 8

Posts: 447
Gibsonia, PA (USA)
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #12 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 3:47pm
 
I can't use paper mache because I'd need to use glue. The only adhesive I'm allowed to use is the stuff on the back of a piece of tape... By the way, I am not allowed to touch the egg until the day of testing, and even then, I'm only given 10 cm of tape to keep the egg in my device. So I can't do stuff like coat the egg with something or attack tons of spikes to the egg because I wouldn't be able to do that with 10 cm of tape (and about 5 minutes).

Quote:
Oh, sorry I forgot to mention something Embarrassed. We will be given the egg the day of the testing and then we'll be given an extra 10 cm of tape to seal the device or tape it to the egg or whatever. So I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do your idea, though it sounds like it would work well.
Back to top
 

There are 10 types of people in this world:&&those who understand binary and those who don't&&
&&E=mc^2&&Entertainment = mass * (centripetal acceleration)^2&&
&&Bad spellers of the world untie!&&
&&
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Willeke
Interfector Viris Spurii
Past Moderator
*****
Offline


Give me some string and
I know what to do.

Posts: 2072
Netherlands
Gender: female
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #13 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 3:59pm
 
Maybe you can prepare a porcupine shell, with an opening to add the egg later.
If you make small holes in strong paper, and roll or fold paper to a small diameter, you can push them through the heavy paper and it will stick in place then.
Or look into paper folding, you can do amazing stuff with just folding.

Willeke
Back to top
 

"Never underestimate what a simple person can do with clever tools, nor what a clever person can do with simple tools." - Ian Fieggen - Writer of A booklet on lanyards, PM for info - Member IGKT, Netherlands
Bad spellers of the world: untie!
WWW  
IP Logged
 
CanDo
Interfector Viris Spurii
Past Moderator
*****
Offline



Posts: 1652
New England, USA
Gender: male
Re: The Egg Drop
Reply #14 - Apr 23rd, 2006 at 4:46pm
 
if the porcupine concept evolves into a workable form, use many different length spikes and cut many little notches on them as points to break (you'd be surprised at how strong a tightly rolled piece of paper is)

On another note in your current cone form, the side that is supposed to be the bottom is kept as the bottom because of weight distribution and air resistance. Instead of air resistance in the direction, why not use fins, such as on a WWII bomb to keep it right side down. This would make it faster and score more points.

Maybe putting a scaffolding of spikes onto the bottom of the cone?
Back to top
 
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
(Moderators: Chris, Masiakasaurus, David Morningstar, Mauro Fiorentini, Curious Aardvark, Rat Man, Bill Skinner)