SPS Annual Pumpkin Drop
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> The annual Pumpkin Drop sponsored by the Old Dominion University Society of Physics Students (SPS) has become a popular autumn event on campus over the past two decades, and this year the competition may be the most intense ever.</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> Although the Pumpkin Drop is traditionally held close to Halloween, this year's event will be Thursday, Nov. 13, late enough into the fall semester to give creative students, both at ODU and elsewhere, more time to design and build the pumpkin catchers that will be tested in the competition.</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> Each entrant - usually teams of students - is challenged to build a portable contraption that can "catch" a pumpkin dropped from atop the nine-story Batten Arts and Letters Building. Physics students usually dominate the entrant list, but the contest is being announced early enough this year to hopefully attract students from other disciplines, such as engineering.</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> Apart from the fun of watching pumpkins perilously plummet from nine stories high, teams will study the effectiveness of different pumpkin catcher designs for harmlessly dissipating the pumpkins' kinetic energy. Past pumpkin catchers have ranged from simple buckets of mud to complicated counterweighted structures; straw, balloons and air mattresses are often used in the construction.</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> SPS members will also demonstrate some entertaining mechanics experiments. This event, which is fun for all ages, will run from noon until 2 p.m. The staging area will be on the north lawn of BAL.</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> Prizes (or extra credit) will be awarded for the best pumpkin catchers, judged for effectiveness, height and creativity of design. This year, pumpkins will be provided solely by ODU.</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> This event is open for everyone. Anyone interested in participating and forming a team should contact: Stephen Bueltmann (<a href="mailto:sbueltma@odu.edu" style="color: rgb(0, 33, 59); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153);">sbueltma@odu.edu)</a> and/or Mathieu Ehrhart (<a href="mailto:mehrh002@odu.edu" style="color: rgb(0, 33, 59); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153);">mehrh002@odu.edu</a>) Extensive rules are below.</p> <p> <span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14.7719993591309px;">Pumpkin Drop 2014 </span><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14.7719993591309px;">Rules</span></p> <ol style="padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> Your pumpkin catcher should be 3 feet by 3 feet in size or larger so that the pumpkin droppers can hit it from 10 stories up. (2.5 feet square is probably OK but anything smaller will probably not be hit.)</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> Your pumpkin catcher needs to be able to be moved quickly (1 to 2 minutes) moved into position.</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> Your team can consist of up to 4 people.</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> No styrofoam peanuts. They are too hard to clean up.</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> Your catcher must not generate any dangerous projectiles, even when impacted by a 30 m/s pumpkin</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> Bring your pumpkin catcher to the lawn on the south side of Batten Arts and Letters (BAL) Building between 11:30 AM and 12:15 PM am on Drop Day (Safety evaluation is required before your catcher can be used).</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> Pumpkin catchers, judged and graded on effectiveness, height, and creativity of design.</li> </ol> <p> <span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14.7719993591309px;">Pumpkin Problems (optional but 10% extra credit for physics students)</span></p> <ol style="padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> What is the force of gravity (in N) on your 9 pound pumpkin?</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> What is its potential energy at the top of BAL (in J)?</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> What is its kinetic energy the instant before it hits your pumpkin catcher (in J)?</li> <li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background: none;"> How much work does your pumpkin catcher have to do to stop it (in J)? [Hint: What is its kinetic energy after it has been stopped? How much did the catcher change the pumpkin's kinetic energy?]</li> </ol> <p> <span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14.7719993591309px;">Suggestions</span></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> In the past, people have used empty milk jugs, water balloons, straw, etc. Successful pumpkin catchers have ranged in height from 2 to 10 feet tall.</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Contact</strong></p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> Dr. Stephen Bueltmann (<a href="mailto:sbueltma@odu.edu" style="color: rgb(0, 33, 59); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153);">sbueltma@odu.edu</a>)</p> <p style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"> Mathieu Ehrhart (<a href="mailto:mehrh002@odu.edu" style="color: rgb(0, 33, 59); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153);">mehrh002@odu.edu</a>)</p>
Posted By: JUSTIN MASON
Date: Thu Nov 06 12:17:42 EST 2014