(Team+2)+Orbital+Outlaws


 * __Team Members__: Connor Guest, Fred Cobb, Alex Tafur, Zach Weed, and Josh Dughi **

**__Natland Note__:** (10/18/11) Hey guys - I posted up the sections below. Go ahead and assign the sections to different people in teh group and get cracking!

//Sections I-III are limited to a total of 1500 words.// = //Google Doc// =

__** III. Team Organization **__ Because experimental design, development, and operation is a team effort at NASA, this competition is designed to involve teamwork.


 * (Below are sample titles you guys can have, but you can choose different ones) **
 * Team Coordinator:**
 * Head Researcher:**
 * Head of Design, Construction, and Supplies:**

A. Describe your plan for accomplishing the work necessary to carry out the proposed experiment, including the researching of the topic and writing of the final report.

B. Describe the variety of skills individual members bring to the team.

C. Explain how your team will share an appropriate distribution of workload and responsibilities.

//Post links to documents, videos, or pictures here based on what you find that has given you ideas about a possible experiment.//
 * BRAINSTORMING AREA!**

Main Ideas - Amoeba - Pendulum (wrapping around rod in circular motion) - need to come up with a design
 * this was cool
 * []
 * mitosis
 * pendulum-type problem
 * nitroglycerine
 * diet coke-mentos
 * Quantum Hydrodynamics - Superfluid Helium-4 at 2.18 K.
 * Here's a video of the "Superfluid fountain": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCJ24176enM&feature=related
 * Also, the behavior of quantum vortices of a superfluid in microgravity could be interesting:
 * Normal Gravity: []
 * Amoeba in microgravity
 * Research unicellular organisms in zero gravity (why would this be significant)

__**Remember to copy and paste sources used at the bottom of this webpage**__ (Put the name of the team member answering each question in parenthesis after the question. Also, answer in a different color, that is not RED).

//Sections I-III are limited to a total of 1500 words.// (Put the name of the team member answering each question in parenthesis after the question).
 * __I. SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES__**

A. Describe briefly and clearly the research question you hope to answer. - We will study how the abscence of gravity alters centripetal motion. To test this question we will utilize repetitive vertical circular motion of a tethered mass. We want to find the find the threshold initial angular speed the mass has to be traveling at through its first rotation to complete its circular motion in normal gravity. We then want to test if the complete circular rotation of the mass will occur at a speed below the threshold established in the presence of gravity. We also will measure the time it takes to travel a specific rotation and whether it changes in microgravity. (Connor Guest)

B. Describe how you expect your proposed experiment to be changed in microgravity. - As opposed to normal gravity, when the mass will be accelerating and decelerating, we expect the mass to travel with a constant linear speed in microgravity. This is due to Newton's First Law, that an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The centripetal force provided by the string's tension will constantly change the vector, but due to inertia, the mass will continue at its initial speed. We predict that the time it takes to complete a rotation will not differ between gravity and microgravity because the acceleration and deceleration will cancel eachother out, and although the speed is varying, the total time will be the same as in microgravity with a constant speed. (Connor Guest)

C. Include a hypothesis that can be tested in 2.2 seconds of microgravity. (Also, list dependent and independent variables). Dependent Variables - Ability of the mass to complete a full rotation, Time Independent Varaibles - Trigger force delivered to mass, abscence of gravity, radius of string, mass of object (Connor Guest) Hypothesis: In microgravity, a mass propelled about a rod while attatched to a string shall have a lesser tension at the bottom of it's rotation and a greater tension at the top of it's rotation, and the shape of the rotation shall change from a slightly elliptical rotation to a determinably more circular one. The threshold of the amount of applied force required for the mass to complete a full rotation shall decrease significantly as well. Also, due to the absence of gravity, there will be no acceleration of the mass during the experiment, and thus velocity will remain constant. (Zach Weed)(Alex Tafur)

Careful. Time is generally an independent variable. Also, you want to only have one to two maximum independent variables (otherwise there are too many things to test). So, for example, you would probably want to keep the mass constant.

D. Describe the procedures that will be used to observe, measure and interpret the results. A test experiment shall be conducted in regular gravity in order to compare results found in an experiment in microgravity. In order to measure the forces exerted by the mass on the string and/or the forces exerted by the string on the mass, there needs to be a force sensor that can measure the tension in the string. We will lauch the tethered mass at a velocity determined by the force in the spring. This velocity will be the minimum velocity required for the mass to complete a full rotation, or, in otherwords, for the tension to reach 0 at the top of the motion. In 0-g, this experiment should perform similarly, but without the need for the acceleration of gravity, therefore making the tension and velocity constant. With a constant velocity, the tethered mass should continue on its path of motion unhindered by any additional force other than the tension. Finally, in order to interpret the results, there needs to be conclusive evidence that the ability for the mass to complete a full rotation did indeed change noticeably from the normal gravity experiment. (Zach Weed)

E. Describe the purpose and potential benefits from this experiment and address practical applications of the work. The purpose of this experiment is to quantify the effects of gravity on centripical forces. Possible practical applications of data gathered would relate to the motion of satelites re-entering earth's atmosphere, and the minimum forces a suspended object would need to withstand if it were rotating about a fixed point in space, such as an artificial human habitat simulating normal earth gravity in space. (Alex Tafur)

//Sections I-III are limited to a total of 1500 words.// (Put the name of the team member answering each question in parenthesis after the question. Also, answer in a different color, that is not RED). A. Give a clear, detailed description of the experimental apparatus to be used and any hardware to be built. At least one figure or diagram of the experimental must be included in section V of your proposal. (Please, try to insert the figure here by using the "file" button above). The apparatus will consist of a clear plastic container (12'x12'x11') that will contain the experiment with a metal rod suspended about halfway up (5.5 inches) and spanning the width of the cube, from the middle of one face to the middle of the other.
 * __II. Technical Plan__**

- I think we need to reconsider our design to make it so the radius of the string is not changing becasue this adds alot of unneccesary complication to the experiment. (Connor)

Here is a phone number for a place that sells force sensors. Someone can call and ask if they have a force sensor that could be attached to string at the rod (so the tension in the string could be measured: (800)23-FUTEK or (949)465-0900. You can also look for other websites; this is just one that I found.

B. Describe the expected sequence of events during the operation of the experiment. Explain how it will answer your research question. First, the calibrated, springloaded launcher shall lauch a steel alloy metal ball attatched to a nylon string around a metal bar, and it will be expected that the ball shall remain at a constant velocity with no acceleration, and therefore, the tension in the string shall remain the same. The reason that this experiment will answer our research question is that, since there should be quite a difference between 1-g and 0-g, the values of the variables in the 1-g experiment should change drastically, while the 0-g experiment should not have any change in values whatsoever.

C. Explain the design features that will allow the experiment to survive impact and be usable for another drop. The metal rod will be able to survive an initial drop, and experiments can be done to find how much tension a certain string can withstand before it snaps. Once this is found, a calculation can be done, Tmax=m(30g+V2/R), to find the maximum velocity the mass can be shot with and not snap the string.

D. Explain how your experiment will provide useful data which can be collected in 2.2 seconds. A small, high-speed camera will be used to document the motion of the ball, and grid paper will be attached to the back of the container to make pinpointing the position of the mass easier. Using this data, velocity and acceleration of the rotating object can be calculated, and thus we can find the effects of gravity on the motion. Also, an accelerometer could be attached to the mass or the string in order to gather data on the acceleration.

E. Describe ground testing prior to reduced-gravity testing.

The entire experiment will be constructed and run at normal gravity prior to a microgravity running, and variables such as the average velocity of the mass, the total time it takes the mass to complete a full rotation, and the minimum force that can be applied to the mass so that it will complete a full rotation will be documented.

F. Be sure the design meets the safety and design requirements as specified in the DIME Experimental Design Requirements document (available on the homepage of this WIKI).

With regards to safety, the swinging object will be of low mass (under 100 grams) and will be completely contained by an enclosed envorionment in which the experiment will take place.

Copy/insert figures here.
 * __IV. Figures__**

List all referenced books, periodicals, websites, and videos following APA format. **__NOTE__:** A variety of resources should be used.
 * __ IV. Resource Credits __**