SCIENCE PROJECTS

[coborn35]

Hey guys, for this years science project, I am wanting to do something with railroads. Any ideas will be appreciated.

[chad thomas]

How about a study on forum behavier....You know.. how many posters it takes to change a lightbulb or something like that.[(-D]

[JoeKoh]

how about the physics of trains??? showing the crane at a derailment or making an air brake?
just a couple of ideas.
stay safe
joe

[DrummingTrainfan]

Last year I made a model of a plant cell using a cheap B&O gondola as a base. You could probably make an animal cell out of a tank car as a base.

[csxengineer98]

show how the modern locomotive works... how they change cemical stored energy (fuel oil) into mechanical energy (prime mover) into electrical energy (the altinater/generater)..and then that electicity is then convreted back to mechanical energy to to pull a train...
csx engineer

[John Krug]

Show the life cycle of a coal train from mine to utility and return. Include cost data for mining, shipping and conversion to electricity. Also include data on BTU of coal mined, how much energy required to mine and process at mine, energy costs to ship coal, energy costs for processing at utility and final electrical energy obtained. Of additional interest would be the associated costs of railroad operation and maintanance, etc. The totat time elapsed from earth to kilowatt would be of interest. Make sure you indicate how ridiculous it would be if all that coal had to be delivered by trucks! You could inlude in that the danger of the trucks and continued damage to our highways! The waste of energy of trucks over rail would also be worth noting.

[coborn35]

All good idea's, (especially chad's, lol). I was also looking a how they take scrap rubber tires and make them into rr ties mixed with cement and steel. Maybe I could see how much more cost effective they are?

[chad thomas]

Keep us posted on what you decide and how it turns out. [8D]

[carnej1]

I suspect that many Science Fair Judges these days like to see eco friendly themes so how about the Railpower Technologies Green Goat Hybrid switchers and related GE hybrid road locomotive project?

[adrianspeeder]

How amtrak would evac fleeing people from a volcano eruption. Don't forget to stock up on vinegar and baking soda.

Adrianspeeder

[Murphy Siding]

How about something showing the comparison of the use of energy by differing forms of transpotation,to move 1 ton of freight from Duluth to Los Angelos?

[oltmannd]

Consevation of momentum. M1*V1=M2*V2
A moving car hitting a stationary car and coupling versus a moving car hitting a stationary one and not coupling. Could demo with models. Measure speed by timing a short, known distance.

PE vs KE

MgH=1/2MV^2

Demo with model coasting down a hill. Time at bottom of hill.

[coborn35]

All good, once again, but I have to actually prove something, not just show it.
How might I do that? Its an actual experiment.

[chad thomas]

How about prooving the efficiency gain of regenerative brakeing. You could rig a toy car (r/c car or something like it) to charge a capacitor, then discharge to propel the car. Just a thought.

[tree68]

How about the efficiency of steel wheels over rubber?

Long test board, track on one side, bare on the other (with some curbs to guide the rubber wheels). The scale of the track you use will depend on what you can find on suitable rubber wheels. Bigger is probably better (O or G)

You'll need two suitable scales (like the kind they use to weigh fish, or test the pulling power of model railroad locomotives). I'm guessing you need to measure in grams or ounces, not kilos or pounds.

Build a winch at one end, either hand cranked or motor driven. Figure out a suitable (and obviously equal) weight to place on both platforms (the wheeled vehicle and a flatcar).

Winch the vehicles across the platform and note the effort needed both to start and to maintain speed, as measured by the scales. It might be easier to read the scales if you double out the cord through a pulley on each vehicle and keep the scales stationary next to the winch.

If all goes well, you should be able to show that steel wheel on steel rail is more efficient than rubber tires on pavement.

[dehusman]

Make "tracks" with some steel angle iron on 2x4's. Make two identical carts. One with pnuematic tires and one with steel tires (you might be able to use pulley wheels or talk a metal shop in making some wheels by cutting 4 discs of steel, drilling a hole in the middle and then welding a inch or two wide piece of pipe to it to form a flanged wheel). You will need the bearings to be identical. Then you will need a way to pull the carts and measue the "pull" it takes to move them.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

Torque vs. Horsepower. You could do that with a model train.

m

[choochin3]

How about the diference between AC and DC powered locomotives.
Or something about tractive effort,and grades.

Carl T.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by coborn35

Hey guys, for this years science project, I am wanting to do something with railroads. Any ideas will be appreciated.

Your profile doesn't give your age. What grade level? Is this fair affiliated with ISEF, Westinghouse Science search, Odessy of the Mind, or other?

[Murphy Siding]

How about the effects of a heavy,moving object(locomotive) on rails vs. a much lighter object (car) on rubber tires. Figure out a way to measure which recieves more material damage, and which object's occupants are more likely to suffer injuries.

[coborn35]

All RIGHT! I am 13 by the way. Will let you know what I choose later.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by coborn35
I am 13 by the way.

Jr. High .... that is tough. Most of the ones I can think of are analysis problems like Is the "no whistle" rule increasing grade crossing accidents or Which is more efficient (trade off point) in electric vs self powered light rail units. A study of traffic congestion in Cities that have added light rail vs. those that didn't.

Something related to mag-lev trains, or high speed trains in the US?

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by carnej1
I suspect that many Science Fair Judges these days like to see eco friendly themes

Science Fair Judges are interested in the appropriate application of the scientific method, reguardless of the theme. I think a projects "originality" usually runs only about 5-10% of an judges criteria.

An eco friendly theme might get you into a different category if you want such as "environmental science" instead of physics. However, since I've been judging and running science fairs (1984) the environmental science category usually has more entries (hence more competition) than physics. Computer Science and Math usually has the least number of entries.

[daveklepper]

The simplest might be this comparison of steel wheel on rail and rubber on road:

Use a door with one end on the floor and one end supported by two shares. Have a model railroad track on the door next to its edge. and have it continue with a smooth horizontal curve onto the floor and continue the track across the room on a hard floor. Next to the track using shirt cardboard or whatever make a smooth road connection between the door and the floor. Make sure the path is clear across the room at the bottom of the door.

Simply take model passenger or freight car of the right gauge and let it coast down the door to the floor and continue flat out on the floor until it stops. Then do the same with a rubber-tired model car and see which goes further across the floor at the bottom of the door. Make sure both are well lubricated and have no flat spots or sticky axles or whatnot. Should make the energy efficiency of rail transportation pretty obvious.

[oltmannd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd

Consevation of momentum. M1*V1=M2*V2
A moving car hitting a stationary car and coupling versus a moving car hitting a stationary one and not coupling. Could demo with models. Measure speed by timing a short, known distance.

PE vs KE

MgH=1/2MV^2

Demo with model coasting down a hill. Time at bottom of hill.

If you do these experiments, you'd be proving conservation of momentum (related to Newton's first law) and conservation of energy (related to Newton's second law).

They'd be really easy to do. All you'd need is a 6 ft of track or so with one end raised about a foot, and few free rolling freight cars, a ruler, a postal scale (or similar) and a stop watch. The larger the scale, the less effect friction will have on the results.

[Texas Zepher]

After thinking about it I came up with one that could be very interesting. It is based off one of the projects that went to the Colorado State Fair in 1999. His project was titled "I Believe I Can Fly" and he basically did computer simulations to prove that the bus jumping the gap in the movie "Speed" was impossible. Much to his surprise his hypothesis was incorrect and he found out it was possible.

ANYWAY ... So How about choosing something they make a train do in a movie and scientifically show it could or couldn't happen in reality. If not what would it take to make it do so. You could even choose several different scenes and/or movies.

Atomic Train - could it coast to Denver from where it was to the west?
Under Seige II - could two GP20's really pull that train up the grade out of Denver on the Moffat route?
Back to the Future III - can a 4-4-0 really reach 89 mph on level track even if it destroys itself doing it?
Fugative - How far away was the collision and can a man hopping really out run it?
etc.
There is a whole list of train movies over on the Model Railroader Form.

[coborn35]

My topic is Steel Wheel on Steel Rail versus tires on pavement. (has to do with kinetic friction,rolling friction etc.) and shows how railroads are more effient. Any sites would be most helpful.

[Anonymous]

Dear Max,
I'm a highschool senior who has done an appreciable amount of science fairs. Firstly, allow me to say that having a pretty looking display board is very important, as is sounding confident. Get some nice paper for your board, and remember, use brass fasteners (the kind with the two prongs which bend out), NEVER TAPE!

Feel free to e-mail me if you wish.

Sincerely,
Daniel Parks

[tomnoy3]

A couple years ago I tested the difference in effiecency between #2 ruby diesel and different biodiesel blends. I dont know if you would be able to do this though, I was able to use our farms 150Kw generator to test it. Good luck though, I was able to take it to state.

-Tom

[tomnoy3]

A couple years ago I tested the difference in effiecency between #2 ruby diesel and different biodiesel blends. I dont know if you would be able to do this though, I was able to use our farms 150Kw generator to test it. Good luck though, I was able to take it to state.

-Tom