Skip to main content

Snow Day Blog

After being assigned a blog on my snow day, I decided to conduct an experiment in which I demonstrated conservation of momentum between two rolls of coins (nickels and quarters). I began my freezing water in a cookie sheet so that I could create a frictionless surface for me to conduct my experiment on. Then, I took a video of myself pushing the two rolls of coins at one another and the collision that followed.

After a few takes, I thought that I had caused a usable collision, so I went to logger pro. Using video-analysis, I was able to calculate the velocities of both the coins before and after the collision. After doing this I weighed the coins on a kitchen scale and was able to form my conservation of momentum equations. Because I had no way of causing the coins to travel at I constant velocity, I decided to use the velocities of directly before and after the collision for both coins in my equation.

The velocity of the Nickels:
The Velocity of the Quarters

Equation:

0.047 kg=mass of quarters
0.02 kg=mass of nickels

(0.047)(-0.86)+(0.02)(0.621)=(0.047)(-0.576)+(0.02)(0.314)

-0.028=-0.02

We can see how conservation of momentum was put into play here as the two values are almost equal. Of course, they were not going to be exactly equal as there was most likely some friction and the collision was not perfectly elastic. However, the experiment still confirms that conservation of momentum is present. 

Energy Equations: 

Quarters: 
((0.5)(0.047)(0.86^2))-((0.5)(0.047)(0.576^2))= 0.069 J lost 

Nickels
((0.5)(0.02)(0.621^2))-((0.5)(0.02)(0.314^2))= 0.0029 J lost

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation Sound dampening foam panels in a recording studio. ANC headphones worn by pilots and/or passengers in consumer aviation aircraft.  Acoustic treatment of soundscapes has grown alongside the sound production industry. Whether through absorption panels, diffusors and cloud panels to treat a space or headphones placed directly over the ears of listeners, acoustic treatment comes in many forms. Environments are treated acoustically to absorb excess sound to prevent sound levels from crossing a threshold above which the desired goal cannot be had. Before getting into sound dampening, we must discuss sound. Sound is produced when an object vibrates (a form of oscillation) and temporarily displaces nearby air molecules causing a wave effect as the displaced molecules collide with their neighboring molecules. Sound waves are fluctuations in pressure as the initial displacement of molecules experiences collisions that in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. The LHC is the largest machine in the world. It took thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians decades to plan and build, and it continues to operate at the very boundaries of scientific knowledge. It first started up on 10 September 2008, and remains the latest addition to CERN’s accelerator complex. The LHC consists of a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way. Map of LHC (located in Geneva, Switzerland) Thousands of magnets of different varieties and sizes are used to direct the beams around the accelerator.  Just prior to collision, another type of magnet is used to "squeeze" the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions. The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 kilometres apart with suc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Aerodynamics of a Golf Ball

One may wonder how a small golf ball can travel at incredibly high speeds for such long distances.  While the swing of the club is a major component, the structure of the golf ball is quite important.  Unlike a baseball or tennis ball, a golf ball has dimples all over it (usually 336 dimples).  These dimples allow the golf ball to travel without facing much air resistance.  This diagram shows how air travels around the golf ball. The dimples on the golf ball also prevent drag that would occur in the wake region, resulting in further distance.  Also due to the contact with the club during the swing, the golf ball has backspin during its entire flight.  This diagram shows the motion of the golf ball mid flight with the lift force of F. There are hundreds of different types of golf balls that a player can choose.  Some show little affect to a player's game while others can alter their performance completely.  Personally, I prefer Callaway Supers...
Post a Comment
Read more