Egg Drop Research

(SRT)

Laws of motion
The motion of an aircraft through the air can be explained and described by physical principals
discovered over 300 years ago by Sir Isaac Newton. Newton worked in many areas of mathematics
and physics. He developed the theories of gravitation in 1666, when he was only 23 years old. Some
twenty years later, in 1686, he presented his three laws of motion in the "Principia Mathematica
Philosophiae Naturalis." The laws are shown above, and the application of these laws to
aerodynamics are given on separate slides.

Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line
unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the
definition of inertia. The key point here is that if there is no net force acting on an object (if all the
external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant velocity. If that
velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. If an external force is applied, the velocity will
change because of the force.

The second law explains how the velocity of an object changes when it is subjected to an external
force. The law defines a force to be equal to change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change
in time. Newton also developed the calculus of mathematics, and the "changes" expressed in the
second law are most accurately defined in differential forms. (Calculus can also be used to
determine the velocity and location variations experienced by an object subjected to an external
force.) For an object with a constant mass m, the second law states that the force F is the product of
an object's mass and its acceleration a:

F=m*a

For an external applied force, the change in velocity depends on the mass of the object. A force will
cause a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in velocity will generate a force. The equation
works both ways.

The third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In
other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal force on object
A. Notice that the forces are exerted on different objects. The third law can be used to explain the
generation of lift by a wing and the production of thrust by a jet engine.

You can view a short movie of "Orville and Wilbur Wright" explaining how Newton's Laws of Motion
described the flight of their aircraft. The movie file can be saved to your computer and viewed as a
Podcast on your podcast player.

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/K-12/airplane/newton.html
An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion
continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force.
What does this mean?

This means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they're doing. All
objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object in
motion will maintain this state of motion.

http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/law1.html

Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being
accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).

What does this mean?

Everyone unconsiously knows the Second Law. Everyone knows that heavier objects require more
force to move the same distance as lighter objects.

http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/law2.html

For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action.

What does this mean?

This means that for every force there is a reaction force that is equal in size, but opposite in
direction. That is to say that whenever an object pushes another object it gets pushed back in the
opposite direction equally hard.

http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/law3.html
 Parachute Basics
All parachutes are designed for one fundamental purpose: to slow the gravity-driven fall of an object
-- often a person, sometimes inanimate cargo -- through the air. They do so by taking advantage of
atmospheric drag, a physical quantity that to engineers is more often a nuisance than a boon. The
greater the drag generated by a parachute, the more slowly a given object attached to that
parachute will descend to Earth. In a vacuum a parachute would be worthless because it would have
no air molecules to "pull" against.

The main part of the parachute is called a canopy, which balloons outward as its payload begins to
fall. The canopy's shape is the biggest determinant of a parachute's behavior.

Round Parachutes
The earliest round parachutes were circular when flattened out, and this made them notably
unstable in action because they resisted forming a dome shape; this led to a high number of fatal
accidents. Later, military-built round parachutes worked far better because they were parabolic in
shape. Some round parachutes are not steerable, so they travel in accordance with prevailing wind
conditions. Steerable round parachutes, however, have holes cut in the edges of their canopies, so
their passengers can exert a degree of landing control. Round parachutes are often used in medical
missions and in the dropping of military cargo.

Other Common Designs

For many purposes, the original round or conical parachute has been supplanted by the ram-air, or
parafoil, parachute. This type of chute has a self-inflating canopy; as a result, on deployment, it
creates a much larger drag-force resistance than does a round model, and its terminal velocity is also
slower. In addition, the slower descent gives the parachutist greater control over the direction of the
fall.
http://sciencing.com/a-parachute-work-4564095.html

The factors affecting the terminal speed of a falling object include:

its mass
its surface area
the acceleration due to gravity, g.
The mass of an object and the acceleration due to gravity determine the weight of an object. This
affects the amount of air resistance needed to balance its weight, which in turn depends on the
speed of the object and its surface area.

At any given point on the Earth's surface, the acceleration due to gravity, g, is the same for any
object. It is not affected by any changes in the atmosphere. However, g does vary slightly at different
points on the Earth's surface. For example, it is likely to be slightly less on top of a mountain or down
a mineshaft.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_gateway/forces/fallingrev3.shtml