Hey guys, for this years science project, I am wanting to do something with railroads. Any ideas will be appreciated.
How about a study on forum behavier…You know… how many posters it takes to change a lightbulb or something like that.[(-D]
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
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.
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
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.
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?
Keep us posted on what you decide and how it turns out. [8D]
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?
How amtrak would evac fleeing people from a volcano eruption. Don’t forget to stock up on vinegar and baking soda.
Adrianspeeder
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?
Consevation of momentum. M1V1=M2V2
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.
All good, once again, but I have to actually prove something, not just show it.
How might I do that? Its an actual experiment.
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.
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.
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.
Torque vs. Horsepower. You could do that with a model train.
m
How about the diference between AC and DC powered locomotives.
Or something about tractive effort,and grades.
Carl T.
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?
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.