Mousetrap Vehicle C
-
- Member
- Posts: 13
- Joined: November 5th, 2009, 2:01 pm
- Division: C
- State: MD
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: Mousetrap Vehicle C
We had a sub 10s vehicle but something broke in transit and killed our accuracy leaving us at 5th. (Adjusted but the issue was inconsistent the second time around).
-
- Exalted Member
- Posts: 44
- Joined: February 10th, 2008, 7:53 am
- Division: Grad
- State: IL
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: Mousetrap Vehicle C
Our car was doing awesome before nats. We had 9-11 sec runs with less than 20cm error (because of sliding) but when we got there the car was bad for some reason. On the way back it turned for some reason so we added extra mass which made more traction for the drive wheel. This slowed the car down (even though the troy coach thought that it was really fast) and it was still about as accurate as before we had left. I believe that the scores were really close because we got 14th and our run was faster than troy's and about as accurate (and they got 8th).
- packer-backer91
- Member
- Posts: 199
- Joined: December 20th, 2007, 6:51 pm
- Division: Grad
- State: MI
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: Mousetrap Vehicle C
Has anyone looked at the first place vehicle that won the event on from "The Best 2010," I looked at that thing for a minute and thought that winning one was a big complicated mess!!!! Was anyone there to watch it? To me it looks like it uses a compound lever system, that’s the only thing that I could guess how that works. Anyone know how it operated? That vehicle had to be extremely light too, that it appears to be all carbon fiber.
How fast was this vehicle [my guess ~8 or 9 seconds]
How fast was this vehicle [my guess ~8 or 9 seconds]
Favorite Events: Experimental Design, Scrambler, Mousetrap Vehicle
Thanks Science Olympiad for the 6 Great Years!
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. ― Dr. Seuss
-
- Member
- Posts: 175
- Joined: June 1st, 2006, 10:48 pm
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: Mousetrap Vehicle C
Yeah I think that Solon's vehicle was around that time. It was very very fast.packer-backer91 wrote:Has anyone looked at the first place vehicle that won the event on from "The Best 2010," I looked at that thing for a minute and thought that winning one was a big complicated mess!!!! Was anyone there to watch it? To me it looks like it uses a compound lever system, that’s the only thing that I could guess how that works. Anyone know how it operated? That vehicle had to be extremely light too, that it appears to be all carbon fiber.
How fast was this vehicle [my guess ~8 or 9 seconds]
Sorry I couldn't tell you how it worked though it sounds like you sort of have it figured out.
-
- Member
- Posts: 11
- Joined: March 11th, 2010, 9:05 pm
- Division: C
- State: MI
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: Mousetrap Vehicle C
I was just wondering, is using magnets allowed on the vehicle? The rules say that the energy source must be at its lowest energy state, but this is a little vague regarding magnets...
-
- Staff Emeritus
- Posts: 433
- Joined: November 10th, 2001, 3:06 pm
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
- Contact:
Re: Mousetrap Vehicle C
"Using Magnets" is a little vague! What will they be used for? If it's to provide energy to propel the vehicle somehow, the answer is no. There may be many allowable usea, if we knew what the rules are.
The general idea is that all energy to propel the vehicle must be stored in the mousetrap. Once the mousetrap has been released to start a run, energy may be transferred from the mousetrap to other storage devices. Those other devices must have no usable energy (to propel the vehicle) except that which is transferred from the mousetrap.
Energy transfers are seldom used because they are never 100% efficient. Energy is lost with each transfer, leaving less available to propel the vehicle.
The general idea is that all energy to propel the vehicle must be stored in the mousetrap. Once the mousetrap has been released to start a run, energy may be transferred from the mousetrap to other storage devices. Those other devices must have no usable energy (to propel the vehicle) except that which is transferred from the mousetrap.
Energy transfers are seldom used because they are never 100% efficient. Energy is lost with each transfer, leaving less available to propel the vehicle.
Information expressed here is solely the opinion of the author. Any similarity to that of the management or any official instrument is purely coincidental! Doing Science Olympiad since 1987!
-
- Staff Emeritus
- Posts: 395
- Joined: January 11th, 2009, 7:10 am
- Division: Grad
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: Mousetrap Vehicle C
Under the old rules, I think you could have used a magnet as part of a triggering mechanism for the 2nd mousetrap. You could even use a battery powered device (perhaps an electromagnet) but this additional energy could not be used to help propel the vehicle in any way.
When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests