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Egg Drop

post #1 of 18
11/13/11 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
The goal of the egg drop contest is to apply physics knowledge to the construction of ann egg protecting contraption capable of providing a safe landing upon falling from each of the following heights:

6 feet
10 feet
softball field press box .........around 20 feet
football field press box..........around 50 to 60 feet

Construction
1. the device must be of original design
2.it can be constructed of any material we feel is appropriate
3. the egg must be put into the contraption the day of the drop.
4. the design must allow for easy opening and inspection of the egg after each drop.
4. must be no bigger than 12 inches long, 5- 6 inches wide, and 1 inch tall

i need ideas. ive already tried:
a box with packing peanuts and bubble wrap in it, with the egg in the middle
a jar with bubble wrap around the inside and outside, with the egg covered in peanut butter.

i barely have any thing to use at home, so im very limited

confused.gif
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post #2 of 18
11/13/11 at 11:09am

I have several solutions for this that I know work.   But here's the thing.  I'm betting this is a homework / science experiment.   The only way an experiment really stays true is if you do it on your own ;)  The negative of the internet is that some of the more creative solutions don't get tried because people just google possibilities.

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post #3 of 18
11/13/11 at 11:16am
Thread Starter 
ive already been to google and back. science isnt my forte, so i thought to pick some peoples brain
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post #4 of 18
11/13/11 at 11:58am
I agree with Matt that you should do your own work but I think you already have the right answer. When I did this experiment in school, everyone made some type of crazy contraption to protect their egg but the guy who barely tried and put his egg in a cardboard box (I don't remember the packing material- might have been something as simple as a bunch of paper towels) was the only one that didn't end up with a broken egg when their experiment was tossed off of a roof.
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post #5 of 18
11/13/11 at 7:48pm
I've got the perfect solution for you. Place the egg in a jar filled with silica! In addition to salsa and water, it's a lesser known fact that silica absorbs...... IMPACT!

Thank you, folks. I'll be here all week!

drum.gif
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post #6 of 18
11/13/11 at 8:24pm

Ok, I'll give you one that your teacher SHOULD NOT allow, but I used once with a kid.


Hardboil your egg first.   Then, use quickcrete and a small container (I used a PLASTIC Mayo jar) lay down a first layer, enough about 1 1/2 inch, before it hardens (about 2 min) stand your egg in it, pour the remainder of the quick crete.   VIDEO FIRST TO PROVE THE EGG IS IN THERE. 

 

QuickCrete will not shatter in a fall.   It will stay a cynder.  Please note: you better not have anything near this thing when it falls, it will be heavy and WOULD kill someone at the bottom.   As long as it doesn't explode apart, you can establish your hardboiled egg is still together.

 

 

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post #7 of 18
11/14/11 at 6:22am
Matt, I think your solution breaks a couple of the construction rules doesn't it?

3. the egg must be put into the contraption the day of the drop.
4. the design must allow for easy opening and inspection of the egg after each drop.

Even so, something I don't understand is:
4. must be no bigger than 12 inches long, 5- 6 inches wide, and 1 inch tall

An egg would barely fit or am I reading something wrong?
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post #8 of 18
11/14/11 at 8:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve_Pannell View Post

Matt, I think your solution breaks a couple of the construction rules doesn't it?
3. the egg must be put into the contraption the day of the drop.
4. the design must allow for easy opening and inspection of the egg after each drop.
Even so, something I don't understand is:
4. must be no bigger than 12 inches long, 5- 6 inches wide, and 1 inch tall
An egg would barely fit or am I reading something wrong?
Yeah, 1 inch sounds extreme. Barely enough to contain the bottom.
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post #9 of 18
11/14/11 at 9:05am


The one inch tall thing, how would that work at all?

 

It depends on the rules, I suppose.. like I said, I know it wouldn't work for his .. but it would be guaranteed results.   I used this once to prove a point when we were allowed to do this different ways.   I do have one answer I know actually -does- work, but the 1 inch tall thing.. no way.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve_Pannell View Post

Matt, I think your solution breaks a couple of the construction rules doesn't it?
3. the egg must be put into the contraption the day of the drop.
4. the design must allow for easy opening and inspection of the egg after each drop.
Even so, something I don't understand is:
4. must be no bigger than 12 inches long, 5- 6 inches wide, and 1 inch tall
An egg would barely fit or am I reading something wrong?


 

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post #10 of 18
11/15/11 at 11:34am

When I did this way back in high school, my approach was to put the egg in a plastic tube which was as long as the design requirements would allow, and just wider (in diameter) than the egg.

 

One end of the tube was slightly weighted, to ensure that it always landed "vertically".  This end of the tube (the bottom) was "permanently" sealed.

 

A nylon stocking was stretched between the caps (holes poked in the ends) and the egg was inserted into the stocking, then twisted a bunch of times to create a "cocoon" that kept the egg centered vertically in the tube.

 

"Packing" the device involved pulling the nylon stocking out the top of the tube, inserting the egg then adding some packing peanuts in the bottom third of the tube, lowering the egg (in the stocking) to the middle of the tube, adding more packing peanuts, then pulling the top of the stocking through the hole in the top cap, closing the tube, and fastening the end of the stocking to the tube - simple tape would work.

 

My design was one of a handful that worked when dropped from about 20 feet.  I'm pretty certain my tube was less than 12 inches long, though (I want to say it was about 8 inches long, but it's been a LOOOOONG time).  Our design requirements stipulated a maximum volume, as well as a maximum single dimension (this intended to discourage parachutes), and maximum weight.

 

Good luck.

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post #11 of 18
11/15/11 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
oops! its 3 inches tall, it was a typo..but thanks for the ideas guys
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post #12 of 18
11/19/11 at 8:50am

maybe because i'm Canadian, but i never did this in school.  does it break the rules to attach the contraption to a parachute-type device? :)

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post #13 of 18
11/19/11 at 9:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Charlton 
Our design requirements stipulated a maximum volume, as well as a maximum single dimension (this intended to discourage parachutes), and maximum weight.

Jay
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post #14 of 18
11/19/11 at 1:30pm

The 3 inches tall thing is a major kick in the ass.   We tried it this morning for a trick, using an egg and we ended up with about 1 inch on each side.

 

So, again, I cheated. First, I made dry ice into poor man's liquid nitrogen (total ingredients about $4 at any grocery store).   Then, I was able to flash freeze the egg in about 20 seconds...  FYI, the egg survived without packing at all and only chips to the shell after held in and retrieved via tongs for about a half a minute.

 

Kept my oldest son amazingly amused. 

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post #15 of 18
11/19/11 at 2:43pm
Very cool. But theneat thing isthat it seems these rules get harder each year, certainly harder than the list back in the 80s when I did mine with industrial packing material. Keep in mind that part of the fun here is thinking of solutions that meet the stringent requirements and still lose. ie the egg breaks. But that's part of the thing with the advent of the internet, anyone can google for solutions that work, or come here asking HTF for help. Buf if the generally consensus is that it's tecnically impossible to 'win' based on the se conditions then it will be a real revelation when someone does =) Kobiyashi Maru in the 6th grade =p
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post #16 of 18
11/19/11 at 5:11pm
Farmer Kirk: "I reprogrammed the hen's genetic code to lay indestructible eggs."
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post #17 of 18
11/20/11 at 7:41am
There's a way you can use the entire length of the contraption to buffer the egg's landing.
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post #18 of 18
11/20/11 at 5:08pm

Using terms like "tall" and such to describe the dimensions is misleading.  The OP stated it could be 12" long 5.6" wide and 3" tall.

 

But all that really means is a maximum size of 12"x5"x3".  Which dimension is "width", "length", "height", "depth", etc. is all in how you look at it.

 

As I alluded to in my post, our design requirements only included a maximum volume and a stipulation that no single dimension could be greater than a given value (probably close to the 12" limit of the OP).  You could arrive at the maximum volume any way you like (a cone, even).

 

It's a great competition - one that does make you try and think creatively.  When my boys are that age, I hope they get a chance to do something like that.

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