Electro Magnet Gun
I need to build a catapult for my physics class and besides doing it the regular way I had some questions about making one that propelled a platform to shoot the object with electro magnets.
I need to shoot a bouncy ball 3 feet into a 32oz cup simply put. I just have some questions.
How hard would it be? How much would it cost? How much electricity would I need? How hard is it to build a delay circuit for tenths?maybe less of a second? Is it worth even trying? IF all this is possible, how hard would it be to put some sort of adjustment dial on it so I could control how far it shot?
I figure I?ll build a regular one too, but this would just be neat and I could win some bonus points if it worked
I need to shoot a bouncy ball 3 feet into a 32oz cup simply put. I just have some questions.
How hard would it be? How much would it cost? How much electricity would I need? How hard is it to build a delay circuit for tenths?maybe less of a second? Is it worth even trying? IF all this is possible, how hard would it be to put some sort of adjustment dial on it so I could control how far it shot?
I figure I?ll build a regular one too, but this would just be neat and I could win some bonus points if it worked
Comments
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gun has some links to pages that show how to build a working model. You could probably adapt a design for your catapult. Might be more work than just making a regular catapult.
There are so many ways to do this. I'd recommend pressurized gas because it's so easy to fine tune the initial velocity (depends on pressure) AND it's very easy to aim. It would take some amount of part scavenging and a tube of KY, but all in all it's a far more mechanically simple (read: reliable and easy) device than any sort of catapult.
Plus, you'll learn about pressure instead of spring constants and torque, which are more simple to figure out from a book.
so go with air pressue...