High School Physics
Project
My sophomore year high school physics project was one I will remember forever as it really was one of the first times I was given a chance to prototype something in which to solve an an open ended design challenge. To set the stage, the project was to create a balloon powered contraption, which had to travel from one corner of the classroom to the other along a fishing line about 8 feet off the ground. The only other stipulation was that the contraption had to carry a penny along with it. The student would receive full credit if it got all way across and extra credit in relation to how far it could return, all on its own.
As getting at least part of the way back would almost guarantee you an A in the class, I started prototyping different designs to give it a shot. After about 2 months of turning my living room into a mock competition course, and with different ideas, I had come up with a design consisting of a Balsa wood (for its strength vs weight ratio) cage held together with needles, two oversized balloons from Party City and two ball bearing rollers to interface with the fishing line. I had one balloon facing one way to get it there and one facing the other to take it back again. The second balloon would be kept inflated until it reached the opposite wall. The opening of the second balloon was attached to one end of an empty glue stick tube while the second end was sealed with a tightly stretched water balloon. To release the air, the stretched water balloon would be punctured by a needle to release the air of the second balloon. I would need to push hundreds of needles through a piece of cardboard and place on the opposite wall to ensure at least one needle would hit. The cage itself was about the size of a medium to large sized ice chest.
The day finally arrived where I brought my contraption to class and it was easily the largest one by a few orders of magnitude. Most were simply a balloon taped to a paperclip and wrapped around the fishing line. Additionally, I was the only one even attempting the extra credit challenge. My number was called so I blew up the balloons and set the cage up on the fishing line. I let it go and it slowly lumbered across the classroom. It was so heavy that by the halfway mark it had pulled the fishing line down so low that it missed the lab sink faucet by about an inch. It slowly made the uphill second half climb and with the first balloon's last gasp of air it pushed the sealed glue stick onto my strategically placed cardboard cutout. The seal broke, which released the air of the second balloon. It rolled along the line and stopped about halfway as the class erupted in cheers and applause. Unfortunately, my flip phone and all the associated pictures were destroyed in a washing machine, but the experience of bringing something to life and seeing it accomplish its goals I will never forget.