High Speed AOL: Images of Shattering CDs

By:  Logan Couce, Aaron Forsyth, and Alia Whitney-Johnson

Our goal in this project was to capture images of the collision between a stationary CD and a pellet fired from a high speed rifle.  We used a Minolta Dimage Z1, Vivitar 283 flash unit, piezoelectric sound triggers, a high speed pellet rifle, flat headed pellets, discarded compact discs, and a plastic shield for safety.  For our pictures, we held the CD in place using a clamp over a pellet trap.  Using a pellet rifle suspended in a wooden harness above, we were able to use high speed imaging techniques to capture images of the collision. 

We worked on this project from February 20, 2004 to March 4, 2004.

All images on this site are copywrited property of Logan Couce, Alia Whitney-Johnson, and Aaron Forsyth.  For permission to use these photos, please contact Loren Winters at winters@ncssm.edu.