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In this experiment we were successful in calculating the velocity of a cork propelled by an ethanol explosion. We were able to ignite the ethanol vapors and determine the optimal amount of ethanol needed to ignite them (about 0.8mL). We encountered some problems with our triggering methods. Initially we attempted to use a sound trigger to set off the flashes. Unfortunately the cork traveled too fast to capture it using a sound trigger, so we then started using a photogate. The next major problem that arose was that the solid state induction coil set off the photogate and subsequently the flashes would go off sporadically. We fixed this problem by using a charcoal grill starter to create the spark, which ignites the ethanol. We were able to take double exposure pictures and capture video of the cork propelling off of the bottle. Using the pictures, videos, Geometer's Sketchpad, the Tracker program, and Graphical Analysis we were able to calculate the velocity of the cork just after it left the bottle. This velocity was determined to vary between 43 and 47.6 miles per hour. One idea we came up with later in our experiment, that we thought would be interesting to photograph, was to coat the rim of the bottle with different solutions such as copper and zinc. Hopefully this would yield different or multi-colored flames. |
