Curious Magnetics Blog

I was absent that day but I would have been building a Gauss Rifle using the energy of the magnets. Then we were to construct pendulum engine, then we were to create a maglev vehicle. I think it is important to learn about magnets because they will be very useful in space. They have energy when there is more than one of them and they are something you can bring with you. They are very useful things to have.

Impact Craters Lab

In this blog we are supposed to measure craters from the same ball in flour form different heights. We measured a 7.7kg ball from 12" (.3048 meters), 8" (.2032 meters), and 5" (.127 meters). All the craters were one inch in diameter. The average 12" crater was 8/16th of an inch deep. The average 8" crater was 4/16th of an inch deep. The average 5" crater was 3/16th of an inch deep.

Twelve inches: GPE= 23 J. V= 2.444 m/s
Eight inches: GPE= 15.333 J. V= 1.995 m/s
Five inches: GPE= 9.5835 J. V= 1.577 m/s

I realized that the higher velocity it has when it hits the flower the larger the crater will be. You get a higher velocity by dropping it from higher up or dropping a more massive crater. The higher Gravitation Potential Energy an object has the larger the crater (again this is connected to how high up you drop it from and how massive the object is).

Heat Shield Labs

In this lab we were supposed to make a heat shield (out of foil, metal mesh, one nut, and one washer) to protect our rocket ship (a screw glued on to a wooden dowel). Then we put it to the test with a propane torch and timed how long it lasted until the glue melted and the rocket fell.

My first attempt lasted for 15 seconds. We realized that it would last longer if there was air between the heat shield and the tip of the screw (also if there wasn't any exposed rocket). My second attempt lasted for 50 seconds and then my heat shield fell apart (it was sown together). If I had more time I would want to try making a heat shield using other things to keep it together, that was my main issues, keeping it on!

I think this is important because during Mission to Mars we are going to have to launch and take off and it would be bad if our rocket blew up in the process. I want to experiment with other materials like ceramics that don't conduct heat.