Naked Egg Drop
Egg Drop redirects here. For other Egg Drop events, see Bungee Drop and Rotor Egg Drop.
| Naked Egg Drop | ||||||
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| Type | Engineering | |||||
| Category | Build | |||||
| Event Information | ||||||
| Latest Appearance | 2009 | |||||
| Forum Threads | ||||||
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Naked Egg Drop is an event in which teams attempt to drop an egg from a height without breaking it. In most iterations of this event, teams were required to build a crate in which an egg is placed, which is then dropped from a height between 3 and 12 meters, and is scored based on whether the egg survived, how close the crate landed to a target on the floor, and the mass of the device.
History
This event was held a few years back, but then it was rotated out. It can still be found at some state level tournaments. Texas held Egg Drop until 2008-2009 when it was rotated out, but some invitationals in Texas still used it as a event in 2009-2010.
In some past iterations of this event, the crate was placed at a specific location on the floor, and then eggs would be dropped from varying heights into the crate. This put more emphasis on the materials within the crate as opposed to constructing said materials around the egg. It also took away the need to worry about constructing the device to be able to withstand the fall.
Challenge
Based on past rules, competitors could have one of two primary challenges: an on-site or off-site build.
- On-site: Competitors are provided with materials to build an assembly from. The judge would pick a height from which to drop crates from, both depending on the competition level and the judge's discretion.
- Off-site: Competitors build a device using acceptable materials before the competition, which they then impound and test at the event site.
In both scenarios, the primary goal was to prevent the egg from breaking; failure to do so generally resulted in being tiered, or at least being penalized in some way. Then, scores were based on other factors, such as mass, accuracy, height, etc.
Background Info
In classic engineering egg drop competitions, an egg gains potential energy the higher it is held above the landing surface. When the egg is released, this gravitational potential energy converts to kinetic energy, as gravity pulls the egg towards the Earth's surface. Once the egg hits the ground, all the kinetic energy (movement energy) needs to transfer somewhere. We know that energy must be transferred into different forms of energy because once the egg stops moving, it no longer has any kinetic energy.
In order to provide proper cushioning, deformable materials tended to be the most popular. Commonly used materials were cotton balls, foam peanuts, or shredded paper, but other materials were allowed. The main idea was to create a cushion that deformed to an extent where it was able to withstand the kinetic energy of the egg, without being elastic to the point that the egg rebounded on impact.