Education
Penetration Measurements on Spacecraft are of educational interest :
penetration and force is something people have an instinctive 'feel'
for, unlike magnetic field measurements or spectroscopy, for example.
The excitement of space exploration also provides a useful 'hook' to
excite interest in the fundamental physical relationships between
force, acceleration and velocity.
This theme will be developed further in future evolution of this page
Experiments with accelerometers at Dover High School, New Hampshire
Here students, under the direction of Head of Physics Bill Church,
are simulating and measuring the accelerations ('g-forces') on a scale
model of an amusement park ride to determine whether the full-scale
version will be 'survivable' to the public.
Students working with the accelerometer are
Travis Looker,
Nate Fennessy,
Ben Looker and
Dema Garbuzov
The cart for the model ride contains a small accelerometer
(Analog Devices ADXL50) inside the aluminum box.
The accelerometers, and a simple data acquisition system (an analog-to-digital
converter, plugging into the printer port of a PC) were provided under a NASA
scheme to provide small
Scientist-Teacher Cooperation Grants
Ralph's Home Page
Penetrometry Home Page