Using a simple spreasheet, I’ve found how the force of gravity on the balloon changes over time. The gravitational force changes because the balloon moves farther and farther away from the earth. If you look at the formula for Gravitational force, you’ll notice that little R squared on the bottom. This is the distance between the [...]

Well someone beat me to it. They solved for the ascent rate. Mad props to them because it would’ve taken me much longer. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/05/angular-size-and-the-height-of-a-space-balloon/ Now lets see If our data lines up with the data of the launch. The wired article puts the velocities around 3.2 and 4.5 m/s^2. If we make that into a [...]

I tried setting up a ratio of Control f/s over control Pixels/s to Flight f/s (Unknown) to flight P/s. I didn’t work. Here’s the data I got:

I’ve created a  SpreadSheet that computes, based on the pixels count of a man’s height and the track radius, a good range of speeds, centripetal accelerations, track length, Car velocity, forces on the cable and which types of rope or cable have the ability to handle the force. This spreadsheet can also be used for any centripetal acceleration problem for a [...]

I tried another method of finding the height today. I compared a pictures who’s subjects were similar lengths in pixels. I then compared there actual length to height off the ground. It didn’t work. I calculated that the balloon went down. Oh well. It looks as if I must resort to Focal Length. Which I need some [...]

Indeed I do believe it is going at the said 200 Miles per hour that they stated. For further reference, please enjoy my spreadsheet below. This also means the height of the man stooping is five foot, three and three fifths inches tall.  Snazzy. Now the question is how much this bugger weights, but I don’t think I’ll be [...]

Nate uploaded the SpaceCats camera calibration video today. I got 3 screenshots, one with the camera at 3, 6,  and 9 feet.   Picture one: (855, 328) -> (850, 643). Pixel length: 315 pixels. Picture two: (866, 434) -> (863, 599). Pixel length: 165 Picture 3: (583, 582) -> (852, 498). Pixel length: 84 pixels. So I [...]

I did some more measurements on the 200 mph car video. The 240p resolution didn’t help me much, but I think I got some solid data. The first picture is the screenshot I used to capture pixels to man height. The second is the spreadsheet I set up to calculate rang of track radius. Take a look, -B [...]

I took 3 screenshot of out video all from different heights. I will measure the ratio of Pixels to actual Length. From this, I think I will be able to find the height at each point. Picture 1: (813, 445) to (827, 406), 14^2+39^2=1717, so length is 41.44 pixels, which equates to a certain distance (That I need to find) [...]

I just got back from retrieving my high altitude weather balloon. Here are some considerations: We have no idea the rate of accent/max altitude/rate of decent. I was thinking I could use the 27 minutes of video that we have to measure the accent rate. I know that the balloon accelerated pretty quickly, but need to affirm this [...]

For my new capstone I will be analyzing this video  of a tethered RC car going 200 miles per hour. To start off, here’s what I’ve collected: Important information: Radius (est): approximatly 25 feet = 7.6m Period (timed): .65 Seconds. Claimed Speed (video claim): 200 MPH = 89.4M/s Estimated Acceleration (calculation of estimates): 1,051M/s^2 Estimated mass (est): 1KG Force [...]

Key Ideas: Nov. 28: “I’ve drawn up some FBD/VAD’s for how a helicopter moves, showing how the pilot has to tilt the rotors and increase the power to sustain forward flight.” Nov. 29: “When the rotors are tilted, some of the power (lets say 10%) is going in a forward direction, while the rest (90%) is [...]

Worlds Deepest Trashcan Summary Key ideas: Nov. 13: “We can calculate the theoretical depth of the trashcan using the Acceleration of gravity (10m/s^2) and the duration of the sound played in the video.” Nov. 14: “I’ve graphed a simple Exel graph showing the velocity of the object. I’ve also timed the sound in the video [...]

From my earlier post, I found the worlds deepest trashcan distance using this formula:

D = (1/2)(5s)(50m/s) D=125m

The formula, though, only works for a solid metal streamlined body. I’ve measured the terminal velocity of a cup & paper wad, and here’s what I’ve found: The terminal velocity of the paper cup is about -20m/s. So now, [...]

I analyzed my WDT video using tracker today. I also put the data in a spreadsheet. I used the X/T data to calculate the (semi) instantaneous velocity. I then used that to calculate the average velocity. Take a look.

The Question was posted:

If the helicopter is hovering stationary, and it wants to move forward, it must tilt, why?

And my answer is yes. The lift that the helicopter produces is perpendicular to the rotors. When the helicopter wants to move forward, the pilot must tilt the rotors and increase the power. The tilt of the [...]

I filmed the video for finding the terminal velocity of a paper wad and a plastic cup today. It was getting dark outside, so It’s not the best frame rate, but it will do. Once I analyze & edit it I’ll put it up. I also did some thinking for another capstone, about helicopters. I’ve always [...]

We’ve found that, if the object dropped in the worlds deepest trashcan was a ball with no air resistance, then the worlds deepest trashcan is 125 meters down. But, sadly, nothing has a drag coefficient of zero. So, the typical object being thrown in the WDT would have to have some terminal velocity, or the [...]

Using the graph in the previous post, Here’s the formula I’ve created for finding the theoretical distance a small steel sphere would fall with no air resistance: D = (1/2)(5s)(50m/s) D=125m If this really was the worlds deepest trashcan, then a small steel sphere would fall 125m down. I say small steel sphere because an [...]

I’ve graphed a simple Exel graph showing the velocity of the object. I’ve also timed the sound in the video (5 seconds). I now have all the information I need to figure out this distance.