Egg Launcher

[EvoN1020v]

In physics class today, my teacher told us that we will have a project where we have to make an egg launcher with an uncooked egg. Our mission is to launch the egg 2 feet away into a cup (With the correct amount of force). Bonus: If the egg didn't break, we'll get a perfect score, and don't have to pass in our lab report. If it does break, then we'll have to pass it in.

 

I'll get more information tomorrow, with the details. Any suggestions how I can make an egg launcher that won't break the egg when it lands in the cup?

[insane_alien]

cover the egg in cotton wool? you could say its to help keep the egg intact during the acceleration phase of the launch

[5614]

Get it into a cup? That's damn near impossible!

 

What materials etc. do you have?

 

The cup idea gets rid of my "roll or slide the egg" idea.

[EvoN1020v]

I'll come up with more details tomorrow.

[Klaynos]

Get it into a cup? That's damn near impossible!

 

What materials etc. do you have?

 

The cup idea gets rid of my "roll or slide the egg" idea.

 

Roll the egg down some rails into a mass of cotten wool that decelerates the egg just before it drops into the cup...

[5614]

I doubt they are allowed to make a track leading up to and ending at the cup.

 

I think the idea is that they launch the egg. Placing the cup at the end of a track is, I think, avoiding the purpose of the excercise.

[Organism]

Padding, padding, and more padding.

[Externet]

Only two feet away?

Well, nobody said what size is the cup !

Get a huge and deep one, fill with water and calibrate your launcher of any kind by trying with a boiled egg of the same exact weight for repeatability.

Miguel

[Tsunami]

Put It In a Bag So Way It Breaks There Is No Mess.

[EvoN1020v]

Here's an update on the project:

 

I can use ANY materials to make the launcher for the egg to be launched in any range (hortionzal direction) I want it to. The cup would be medium sized, like the circumstance of a 2L ice cream container. It will be filled with a few layers of kleenexes at the bottom.

 

My idea is to make the height of the launcher low as possible to minimize the vertical velocity of the egg when it launches. So any suggestions on the creation of the launcher?

[Klaynos]

I'd aim so that it grazes the top edge of the container to slow it down just before full impact, as for the launching, some rubber band powered crossbow esk thing...

[Externet]

Hey ! A medium sized cup means nothing !

 

Get the mandatory maximum internal dimensions to comply with the rules and make/carve that cup from sponge. A couple of inches bottom and sides should suffice.

Try to make the egg enter in 45 degrees angle and glue the cup down so it won't fall.

 

For the launcher, any precise repeatable contraption should work, make sure it won't impact the egg at takeoff. If you are good at basketball, can be launched by hand if just 2 feet away.

Good luck

 

Miguel

[EvoN1020v]

You guys are getting the wrong idea. I can't moderate or reshape the container. I can only make the launcher. I can experiment it with boiled egg here at home, then at the real demo, I have to use raw egg.

 

The idea of the "launching" is to fly the egg through the air into the container ok? The idea is to get a constant initial velocity, because that way, I'll get appromixately the same range (trajectory) everytime I launch the egg.

[Klaynos]

You probably wont get the same range/trajectory from a boiled and fresh egg though. I didn't say change the container just where to aim...

[gcol]

2ft. is a very short distance. A pendulum launcher ought to do it, the egg forming the pendulum bob. The pendulum would be drawn back against a graduated scale, very reproduceable, and the release stop adjusted for trajectory.

[5614]

A pendulum seems an ok idea.

 

I agree with Klaynos that a boiled egg and a fresh egg may travel different distances.

 

As for the actual packaging of the egg, well just give it loads of padding. Bubble wrap is very good if you have it, just surround the egg in several layers and tape it together so the bubble wrap doesn't unwrap in mid flight.

[gcol]

Not sure why they should travel different distances if the weight before/after cooking is the same. Can gravity tell the difference? It must be smarter than we imagine!

 

Now there is a provable/dispr vable theory. Weigh one breakfast egg before/after! Real rocket science.

[EvoN1020v]

I cannot put softening layers on the egg. I cannot change the angle of the container neither.

 

I don't see how a raw and a boiled egg would have a difference in travelling distance. They should weight the same before/after. I guess I'll have to test it out.

 

The question of how to make the launcher still remains. Remember I need a constant velocity for every time.

 

I guess I could make one that would send the egg into the air into a short narrow parabolic, and the egg would go in the container only few centimetres away.

 

The problem still arise: Need something powerful enough to send the egg in the air.

[Jacques]

Analysing the problem I think I found an original solution that doesn't involve any padding.

The trajectory can be decomposed in 3 : the lauch, the "free" flight and the reception in the cup.

The 3rd step is the one how cause the most problem and from the solution of that step will depend the 2 others.

The key concept is acceleration: we need to minimize accelerations so the egg won't break. We can decompose the reception in a vertical and an horizontal components.

Vertical: how do we minimize the vertical acceleration ? By reducing to a minimum the height of the fall. During the free flight the vertical speed is decreasing until zero and after start increasing toward the earth.

So the egg must pass the rim of the cup when the vertical speed is zero at the top of the free fligth trajectory. That the first part of the solution.(see Vertical on the drawing)

 

Horizontal: how do we minimize the horizontal acceleration ? By minimazing the horizontal speed and maximizing the time or distance the acceleration take place.Minimizing the horizontal speed mean increasing the free flight time. The longer time it take to cross the 2 foots the slower will be the horizontal speed. (see under Horizontal VH1 and VH2 velocitys)

In the drawing egg B will decelerate under the smallest distance, but egg A will have the radius of the cup to decelerate. So the best entry point is on the side of the cup.

Also by entering by the side the deceleration can be converted in the rotation of the egg. I suggest sending the egg with the rotation axis to the vertical.

For the launcher it is easy to find a lenght that will enable any flight speed.

You must adjust for the form of the egg and the form of the cup to make sure that the center of mass of the egg is below the rim when the contact occur.

May be by launching a rotating egg can help ???

Give some new if that analys helped you.

[Klaynos]

I don't see how a raw and a boiled egg would have a difference in travelling distance. They should weight the same before/after. I guess I'll have to test it out.

 

 

My reasoning was two fold, the fact a raw egg has a fluid and moving centre would effect it. And also an egg shell is NOT water proof so during boiling water could enter/leave the egg... Of course if you're lucky the two could cancel each other out...

[EvoN1020v]

Analysing the problem I think I found an original solution that doesn't involve any padding.

The trajectory can be decomposed in 3 : the lauch' date=' the "free" flight and the reception in the cup.

The 3rd step is the one how cause the most problem and from the solution of that step will depend the 2 others.

The key concept is acceleration: we need to minimize accelerations so the egg won't break. We can decompose the reception in a vertical and an horizontal components.

Vertical: how do we minimize the vertical acceleration ? By reducing to a minimum the height of the fall. During the free flight the vertical speed is decreasing until zero and after start increasing toward the earth.

So the egg must pass the rim of the cup when the vertical speed is zero at the top of the free fligth trajectory. That the first part of the solution.(see Vertical on the drawing)

 

Horizontal: how do we minimize the horizontal acceleration ? By minimazing the horizontal speed and maximizing the time or distance the acceleration take place.Minimizing the horizontal speed mean increasing the free flight time. The longer time it take to cross the 2 foots the slower will be the horizontal speed. (see under Horizontal VH1 and VH2 velocitys)

In the drawing egg B will decelerate under the smallest distance, but egg A will have the radius of the cup to decelerate. So the best entry point is on the side of the cup.

Also by entering by the side the deceleration can be converted in the rotation of the egg. I suggest sending the egg with the rotation axis to the vertical.

For the launcher it is easy to find a lenght that will enable any flight speed.

You must adjust for the form of the egg and the form of the cup to make sure that the center of mass of the egg is below the rim when the contact occur.

May be by launching a rotating egg can help ???

Give some new if that analys helped you.

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I appreciated your scientific approach to my project. However, there's still no answer how I would create the launcher powerful enough to send the egg in the air, yet minimizing the acceleration of the free fall.

 

[s pepperchin]

We are here to help you , which many have done through their suggestions, but it is your project to figure out.

[EvoN1020v]

*chuckles* No problem. I have a partner on this project too. Both of us are very competitive, so we are determined to success the egg launcher without breaking the egg. We had some discussion today, and my partner said that we can just initiate the hortionzal velocity where y=0, then when it fall, we just can determine the range. We can control the height of the launcher, as we want to make it short as possible to minimize the acceleration. We are going to make a egg holder with some elastics, and pull the holder. Letting it go, the egg would get out of the holder and land in the container.

 

Simple as that.

[Jacques]

the egg launcher without breaking the egg.

You would be suprised how hard it is to break an egg! Specially when the pressure is well distributed. Press an egg between the two palm of your hands.

[EvoN1020v]

Yeah, I have done that. I was thinking maybe somehow I can make the egg land on its sharpest curve (bottom), then the egg won't break. But it's a problem, because you can't control the egg's flight. (rotations, flips, etc.)