Table of Mechanics Demonstration

List of Mechanics Equipment & Supplies

Lecture Demonstrations

Air Table Collisions - Equal Mass, 1N40.20

Topic and Concept:

Location:

AirTableSetup01-400.jpg

Abstract:

Collide two pucks of equal mass on an air table, one moving and one stationary, while varying the angle of impact between them.

Equipment

Location

ID Number

Air Table

Floor Item: ME, South Wall

Air Pucks

ME, Bay B1, Shelf #2

Red & White Gas Cart

ME, Bay B1, Shelf #2

Important Setup Notes:

Setup and Procedure:

  1. Connect the compressed air supply to the nozzle on the air table.
  2. Turn on the air when ready. See air & gas cart page for operating instructions.

  3. Place the target puck about one third of the total table length away from the end. This will remain stationary.
  4. When ready, use your hand to accelerate the other puck from the far end of the table toward the target puck.
  5. Repeat this collision using different incident angles.

Cautions, Warnings, or Safety Concerns:

Discussion:

In conservative systems, linear momentum is always conserved (the full vector quantity - magnitude & direction). The larger the angle of incidence, the larger the angle between the final momenta will be. With equal masses colliding, the only effective variable in this demonstration is the incident angle. To see the effect that mass has (notably two different masses in the collision), see 1N40.21 Air Table Collisions - Unequal Masses.

CollisionsIn2D-Wikipedia.gif

AirTable05-250.jpg

AirTable03-250.jpg

AirTable02-250.jpg

AirTable01-250.jpg

AirTable04-250.jpg

Pucks06-250.jpg

Pucks03-250.jpg

Pucks02-250.jpg

AirTableSetup02-250.jpg

AirTableSetup03-250.jpg

AirTableSetup08-250.jpg

AirTableSetup05-250.jpg

Videos:

References:

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