Last Wednesday and Thursday, Core Physics students competed in Yale High School's First Annual Balloon Car Challenge. The goal was to design a balloon-powered car that was capable of driving 5 meters as fast as possible. Students had a lot of fun, and there were a variety of creative solutions! Students were asked to think about how Newton's Third Law can explain the motion (forces between the balloon and the air inside the balloon). Check out the slideshow of some of the competitors at the bottom of the page.
- Besides Newton's Third Law, can any other laws or concepts of physics be used to explain how the car moves?
The law of acceleration also applies in this situation. To move a standing object you need to apply force. In this case, the force acting upon the moving object(the car) is balloon itself or the air being release from the balloon.
ReplyDeleteNibz you make a good point however i believe the weight of the car has a effect on how fast the car moves. Mass is a big factor!
ReplyDeleteNot only is the mass key in the movement the car experiences, the neck of the balloon will affect it too. For instance, if you had a larger opening, the air inside the balloon would escape with a much smaller force, where as if it had a narrow opening, the air would be expelled out in a much more compact and powerful stream of air. Propelling the car a farther distance, and at a higher speed.
ReplyDeleteCaptain Jack, how do you know about the relationship between the opening size and the force it will produce? Have you ever tested this kind of idea?
ReplyDeleteYes. This is most easily demonstrated by a pressure washer. When you start out, you have a weak stream of water, however, as you decrease the diameter of the hose, the stream of water needs to escape at the same rate, so the stream will have to increase in speed to make up for the loss of room. Enabling higher powered streams of water. This situation is also displayed in a pulse jet, as the explosion leaves the chamber, it enters a smaller exhaust and is thrusted out at high rates of speed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments this week!
ReplyDeletenah it sux donkey kong nuts
ReplyDeleteumm thats not ok sorry
Deletehi
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