The Dream Machine -Solving the worlds energy crisis one dream at a time
Project Description:
In this project we were tasked with creating a car that would go 5 meters and then stop right at that point. We also could not use gas or battery power along with many other sources that were just too impracticable.
Physics Concepts:
Elastic Energy- Energy that is stored in the stretch or compression of an elastic substance. We found this out at each meter our car went by measuring how many times the band was still wound around the front axle. It is measured in joules (J).
Power- The rate of which work is exerted. Power is measured in watts (w).
Spring Constant- The spring constant is a measure of the elasticity of something. The distance a spring or other elastic material extends or compresses proportional to how much force is applied is called the spring constant. The unit for spring constant is Newtons per Meter (N/m).
Our Car:
Power Source-Our car, nicknamed the dream machine, was powered by rubber bands, which were wound around the front axle of the car and when released unwound and propelled the car forward.
Braking-We got the car to stop at its desired goal of five meters by calculating how much we needed to wind the rubber bands for it to just have enough energy to go the right distance. Basically just a lot of trial and error.
Construction-After many failed prototypes and problems our car ended up consisting of a board with a length of one meter and width of six centimeters as the body; four roller blade wheels; and a nail with a rubber band rope connected to the front axle underneath the car the served as the motor.
Challenges-Our group had a lot of trouble with teamwork. One member seemed to claim most of the work while everyone else did very little. We also struggled with deciding a final design. Everyone wanted something different and when we could decide on something, it was poorly executed.
Final Thoughts:
I gained a lot from this project. There were many new physics concepts that will certainly help in later projects. I also learned a new aspect of time management. I did not think time management would be a problem after the Rube Goldberg project but I was wrong. We had enough time and we could have finished it on time if we all gave it are all and tried to work better with others.