Help With egg launcher

[lerix]

Hi can anybody help me with my egg launcher project? I can't really decide what to build. We're suppose to build a egg launcher taht willl launch 20 meters, and it won't break the egg. In my mind i had the trebuchet in mind or something like that but I have no idea how to build a working model. Any other egg launching device you can suggest?

 

Thanks a bunch

[Neil9327]

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-19680.html

 

Thanks Google.

 

Of course we will expect you to put the SFN Science Forums logo onto both the launcher and the egg. We like the advertising

[Externet]

Hi.

Post ALL the rules for the task up front.

Miguel

[Heretic]

I had a winner just a few years ago back in High School.

 

It was a giant sling. We basically loaded the egg up in a small margarine container, surgical rubber tubing provided the sling, and two large posts which could be adjusted or mounted into the ground, but we used a couple people to hold them up.

 

This allowed us to get huge distance, but we needed the egg to land safely. So we did what wost people would do. We caught them.

 

Two members of my team stood out in the field with large butterfly nets stuffed with shredded newspaper. We set the record with over 120 meters, literally the length of the entire field.

 

In three tries we caught two and lost only one. Which is surprisingly better then most teams fared.

 

I guess my real suggestion is think outside the box. It's a sure way to win or at the very least attract a lot of attention.

 

EDIT: I should state that record was one set for the competition I was in and due to the nature of the landing (in a net) the measurement was a little iffy. Oh and a suggestion... always make sure the egg is resting on the bottom of the cup pre-launch... or you're have egg all over you and the sling.

[valkari68]

They have a new SLING SHOT, out on the MARKET that shoots TENNIS BALLS for dogs to chase. Called the *HYPERDOG Sling shot. They have a few up for sale on Ebay. *aka, the TENNIS BALL LAUNCHER!... This Baby shoots eggs over 100 yards. (WITHOUT BREAKAGE)... This thing was made to shoot eggs. God Knows I've lauched 12 dozen eggs all over my block. (for test purposes only ) ...) The pouch is perfect for eggs. Band Replacement is too easy... *THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST EGG LAUNCHER EVER MADE... Do a GOOGLE SEARCH for TENNIS BALL LAUNCHER or HYPERDOG... you can miss it....

[CaptainPanic]

Make sure to include a pan with water of 100 degrees Celcius. Hard boiled eggs tend to be stronger. (Sorry).

 

I think the trick here is to apply the force that accelerates the egg to the whole shell (or at least to as much surface as possible). The larger the area, the more power you can apply, and therefore the further you can shoot your egg without breaking it.

 

If you're really into some engineering, you can make a egg-gun. Same idea as with the potato guns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spud_gun). Make sure to use a sabot to protect the egg while launching it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabot). Polystyrene foam is probably a good material to make a sabot. To get the shape of the egg into the foam, it might be as easy as boiling an egg, and pressing it into the foam (its glass temperature is 95 deg C, just below the boiling point of water... but I never tried this myself as I never thought of launching eggs).