• Show your final product through photos and/or video.

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• Explain how it works/doesn’t work using scientific terminology

Newton’s cradle is a device designed by a French physicist named Edme Mariotte and named after an English mathematician called Issac Newton. It is a device that demonstrates the conservation of momentum. The Conservation of Momentum states that when two objects collide, the total momentum of the objects before the collision is equal to the total momentum of the objects after the collision. Therefore, “when the first ball of Newton’s Cradle collides with the second, the first ball stops, but its momentum is not lost, just transferred to the second ball, then the third, then the fourth, until it reaches the very last ball.” You can see this conservation of momentum as the last ball swings into the air with nearly the same momentum as the first ball. Thus, if two marbles are lifted into the air on one end and released, then two balls on the opposite end will swing in response. This continuous clicking ball is also proof of Newton’s law of the conservation of energy, which claims that energy can’t be created nor destroyed but that it can change forms. The cradle converts the potential energy of one ball into kinetic energy that is transferred down the line of balls and ultimately results in the upward swinging of the ball.

• Explain the areas you were successful in the product/process

I was overall successful in making Newton’s cradle because I was able to swing and click the spheres. Newton’s cradle is a challenging device because if the measurements aren’t precise, the marbles do not click. However, I managed to calculate and successfully make the cradle work.

• Explain the areas you need to improve in the product/process

I would like to improve the accuracy of the product because the measurements were a bit off, and the toy did not work as well as I expected. The lengths between the marbles had to be the same, but mine was not. Some were glued 3cm apart, while other marbles were glued 5cm apart. Therefore, the marbles did not move well. Another improvement is the thickness of the string. Mr. Hussack later advised that thin threads (or wires) help the spheres click better because they take less energy. If I have another design task later, I will use a very thin wire.

• Explain the impact of this project on the environment and the potential client/consumer/audience.

This toy has a tiny bit of impact on the environment because it is environmentally friendly. I re-used waste materials when making the toy. All of the woodblocks were in the waste box, so I had to cut them into different shapes to use them. The strings and marbles were already at school, so I did not create extra waste. I am unsure if this would work, but I can also substitute metal marbles with round materials like round rubber balls (bouncy balls?) to prevent extra waste.

• Overall Reflection

I really enjoyed this engineering assignment because this was a new challenge for me. As a person who does not enjoy science very much, designing a toy and learning from it was more effective. I learned new techniques, theorems, and solutions throughout this task. Overall, I was very successful in this class; however, I can improve on time management since I wasted some time, in the beginning, finding useless materials and designing a backup plan. I can achieve this by having more thorough, detailed design plans and backup plans in case the initial plan does not work.

• Day 1: February 24

I got approval for my design. So I started gathering a few materials that I needed: a big piece of wood board (the bottom) and 4 supportive column-shaped pillars. I used an electric jigsaw machine to cut the big wood piece and pillars into smaller sizes. As shown in my previous post’s planning, I cut the cardboard and pillars into 14×7 and 27cm, respectively.

The cutting process was difficult since I had never used an electric jigsaw cutter before. It was scary at first, but I soon learned to use it with the design teachers’ help. I was extra careful in this process because Newton’s cradle is a product that relies heavily on the preciseness of measurements.

• Day 2: February 28

My day 2’s goal was to gather all materials and find a way to attach marble with a thread. Therefore, I used wires to put the marbles and the thread together. I first found 5 small metal balls weighing about 70 grams, some threads, and wires. My initial plan was to use smaller, more aesthetically appealing ones, but they were unavailable at the design center. I did not want to spend extra days or money on ordering marbles, so I decided to go eco-friendly and use the ones at the school. Then, I used a plier to make the wire into a horseshoe shape. The wire was really thin and small, so bending them into shapes was difficult.

Next, I glued each of the wires and the marbles together with a hot glue gun.

I tried to find more materials for the toy; however, I could not find a long stainless steel screw, the most important element in my device. I asked teachers if they could order or find any, but it did not work. It would take too long to arrive and was not environmentally friendly. Therefore, I had to make another alternative design/plan to back up my plan.

• Day 3: March 2

I researched videos about Newton’s Pendulum, but most of them had really simple, unstable DIY pendulums made out of craft sticks. Because I wanted to challenge myself and make it stable, I decided to use woodblock (I used the same bottom and marble). However, to stand the heavy metal balls, I decided to use thicker wood cylinder blocks as the supporter. To replace the stainless steel screw, I will use a thinner cylinder block.

I will drill holes and use needles to fasten the blocks all together.

• Day 4: March 4

I have gathered all materials for the toy, and I just had to assemble them together. I was going to use a needle gun to fasten the woodblock together. However, the design teacher advised that using a needle gun is unnecessary and might take too much time. Therefore, I used a hot glue gun to stick the blocks together. This saved a lot of my time since it was much simple.

                  

I then hung the marble strings onto the frame.

After hanging the marbles up, I realized the toy did not work; the marbles would swing irregularly. Therefore, I looked back at some of the YouTube videos and images and realized my mistake. Some marbles were also hung shorter or longer than others- the lengths were all different. The design teachers also advised me that the marbles have to be in a perfect line for the toy to work. They also suggested gluing the marbles onto the wood pillars to become more stable.

     

Therefore, I realigned the marbles into a straighter line. This process was especially challenging since the threads were too thin and tricky to tie and untie.

The toy worked a little bit after putting the marbles in a straighter line.

• Day 5: March 8

This was the very last day at the design center. So I made some small changes before taking pictures for the blog. I realized some of the marbles were still a bit longer than others even after I glued last class. Therefore, I glued a bit more to secure the threads on the wood stick. I also took some pictures in a nice, clean background for blogs posts.