Help,
Tomorrow in physics I need to have invented a device of some sort to cushion an egg dropped from about 20 feet. I can use anything I want. The big stipulation is I can't use anything like a parachute (meaning it has to accelerate to the ground at 9.8 m/s^2 !!)
Help!
2007-02-22 08:49:04 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Take a plastic coffee can line it with bubble wrap & packing peanuts, pack it so tight the egg can't move...I always won this contest in my engineering club when I was in school
2007-02-22 08:58:01 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's a very clever approach: Find a plastic peanut butter jar, fill it with water and your egg. The egg will sink. Add enough salt so the egg barely floats. You can always dilute it a bit with fresh water if you get too much salt.
Try to have the jar completely full and screw the lid on tightly. When the collision occurs, any increase in pressure in the water will be equally distributed over the shell of the egg so that it won't break.
Another approach, if you're skeptical of the one above, is to suspend the egg in the leg of pantyhose. Slide it in, tie a knot to either side of the egg, and then stretch the hose across a box so the egg is as far from any side as possible. Now when the box hits, the egg wll move like a bungee jumper and survive. The bigger the box, the safer your egg.
2007-02-22 08:57:10 · answer #2 · answered by Thomas G 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
LOL I did had this project when i was in Middle School....I got a 100!!!
Get some sort can WITH a lid! (ex. plastic coffee can) Put a lot of tissue paper in the bottom of the can and then glue cotton-balls all over the the inside of the can. Make sure is very fluffy! Then when you think is cushioned enough, put the lid on and tape it to make sure it wont open.
Good-Luck!
2007-02-22 09:01:35 · answer #3 · answered by ♥April♥ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cover the egg in magnets, then lay a giant sheet of magnets that are opposite, surrounded by a fairly high wall so that the egg doesn't go flying outwards. The egg doesn't even have to touch the ground!
2007-02-22 09:00:10 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I vaguely remember this in Science Olympiad...they took a bunch of straws and taped them together as close as possible (like, they were touching eachother). Then they wrapped it around the egg...that's all I can think of. If it doesn't work...just add more straws, I guess!
*GASP* I just had an awesome idea, and it makes me laugh/smile. Since you can use ANYTHING you want, just bring like, several couch cushions/pillows and put them at the bottom, and look at the face on your physics teacher. Heheh
2007-02-22 08:57:02 · answer #5 · answered by booda2009 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Find a capped shipping tube and some soft packing material. Put some fins on one end (the top) so it stays nose down. Cap the bottom. Loosely fill the tube 2/3 with material. Put in the egg, point down, loosely fill to the top and cap the other end. It should work in theory.
2007-02-22 09:01:01 · answer #6 · answered by novangelis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put the egg in a Cotton and air filled rocket shaped body and drop it into a basin of water at least 8 feet deep.
2007-02-22 08:56:15 · answer #7 · answered by Wrath Warbone 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bubble wrap, packed in styrofoam peanuts. Or I once saw someone surround it with Jello. You have to figure out a way to make the egg not sink before jello sets. And put a little less water than the standard recipe (more like jigglers)
2007-02-22 08:56:12 · answer #8 · answered by Dusie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I did that last month, we put foam around it and put it in a plastic bag...than my friend took the egg out and smashed it on my teacher's head, and he got suspended because the egg wasn't hard inside.
2007-02-22 09:00:49 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
memory foam works well. Cut a hole in the first piece of foam just large enough for the egg. take another peice and cover the egg, duct tape them together. good luck.
2007-02-22 08:59:42 · answer #10 · answered by Teresia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋