Purpose
The purpose is to construct a Rube Goldberg Machine to light a bulb through a series of physics concepts learned in the course.
Introduction
Rube Goldberg was known as an inventor, sculptor, author, angineer, and cartoonist (George, 2013). His cartoons gave life to the Rube Goldberg machine which has become an inspiration to aspiring engineers, scientists, and high school students. A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine designed to complete a simple task such as light a light bulb through a series of steps started off by one event. The construction of the Rube Goldberg machine needs to include physics concepts to be demonstrated thoroughly and efficiently.
Design
New design
Materials
- Cardboard
- Large boxes
- Metal container
- Metal rod
- Long cardboard tubes
- Marbles
- Plastic bottle
- Elastic band
- Golf ball
- LED light with a switch
- Battery
- Ramp
- Paper cups
- Bouncing Ball
- Hot glue gun
- Tape rolls
Steps
- The marble travels down the ramp - Gravitational Potential Energy
- The marble goes down the funnel which is attached to an elastic - Circular Motion
- The marble collides with a golf ball and 2 more marbles - Inelastic collision
- The 2 marbles travel along pathways around dominos - Kinetic energy
- The marbles go up the semi circular arc and roll back and forth - Circular Motion
- The ball rolls duct tapes - Momentum
- The duct tape rolls down paper towel roll - Rolling Motion
- The golf ball knocks down dominos - Conservation of Momentum
- The elastic breaks which pushes a toy car forward - Elastic Energy
- The car travels up the see saw adding more force on one side - Gravitational Energy
- The bouncy ball on see saw drops in the styrofoam cup attached in the pulley system - Projectile Motion
- The cup tilts and drops on another ramp. - Gravitational
- The ball falls bounces on a bowl from the ramp - Elastic Energy
- Then, the bouncy ball bounces on more steel plates - Sound Energy
- As it comes near a tilted tube, it falls into it - Kinetic Energy
- The ball makes some books fall - Momentum/Collision
- The last book falls into a series circuit - Collision
- The bulb lights up which is connected to a switch - Electricity
actual steps used on launch day of RGM
construction
Launch Day
equations
Kinetic Energy - EK = ½ mv^2
Gravitational Energy - EG = mgh
Conservation of momentum - P = mv1 + mv2 = mv1’ + mv2’
Circular Motion - F= v2/r
Rolling Motion - EKtotal = ½ IpΏ2 + ½ mv2
Gravitational Energy - EG = mgh
Conservation of momentum - P = mv1 + mv2 = mv1’ + mv2’
Circular Motion - F= v2/r
Rolling Motion - EKtotal = ½ IpΏ2 + ½ mv2
What is rolling motion?
Rolling Motion is a motion which is a combination of translation and rotation. The point where an object touches the surface is where it is
instantaneously at rest. (http://physics.info/rolling/)
Therefore;
V (point of contact) = 0
A rolling object has both a linear and rotational velocity. Under the ideal conditions an object under the rolling motion does not experience any sliding friction. In our RGM, the marbles experienced some rolling friction but it was very minimal.
Linear Velocity = Ώr
Ώ = Angular Velocity , r = radius
Therefore;
V (point of contact) = 0
A rolling object has both a linear and rotational velocity. Under the ideal conditions an object under the rolling motion does not experience any sliding friction. In our RGM, the marbles experienced some rolling friction but it was very minimal.
Linear Velocity = Ώr
Ώ = Angular Velocity , r = radius
Calculations
Conclusion
The Rube Goldberg machine was not successful in completing the task of lighting a LED light. It was because the switch of LED light was too small for golf ball to hit it. Also, my group should have added some more steps in the RGM to make it work better. We should have used more ramps and materials to increase the kinetic energy of objects. Moreover, our RGM should have been tested a lot more times than it was. We should have started building the RGM a few weeks ago before it was due. Due to the lack of time, we were not fully successful in building Rube Goldberg Project. To improve from next time, we will make a list of materials that we need to buy or get and then start building from a proper design. Also, we will work on our time management skills to further improve on building projects like this.
References
George, J. (2013, January 1). Rube Goldberg : Biography. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://www.rubegoldberg.com/about
Rolling. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://physics.info/rolling/
Work-Energy Principle. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/rotwe.html
Rolling. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://physics.info/rolling/
Work-Energy Principle. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/rotwe.html