quote:
Original post by etran1
I love the idea of finding G but I need to get it approved by my teacher first, and if that happens, I think one of my hardest problems would be getting the required equipment. Where would one go to obtain such equipment or even just rent it out?
Etran
A local University might actually have one of these Cavendish balances already that you could use. If not, chances are good that you''d end up manufacturing/assembling much of the setup yourself, and you may very well be able to use things commonly available at big hardware stores such as Lowes and Home Depot (in the USA). You can even buy for cheap some fairly sophisticated instrumentation off the shelf these days. (I''m thinking of these hand-held laser-measurement devices for measuring the area of rooms that are very cheap at Lowes/Home Depot.)
You will need the ability to
very accurately measure displacements of objects without much risk of floor vibrations knocking the measurements out of whack. That is hard to do, and you won''t be able to afford renting the equipment. You need to think "donations" of the use of equipment and time of people who know how to use it. IDEALLY, you will need to find a local business or University willing to help with that free of charge. Key things to look for are companies that manufacture things, especially custom things that have to be very precise. Companies who use lasers to measure things. I think you''ll find that many local businesses are
VERY willing to help students with projects such as this. Its good for their public image, plus, who knows, maybe you''ll eventually be hired on there as a star researcher in the future. A good place to start, apart from the physics department of a local university, would be land survey companies. I believe they often use laser equipment these days. They may not have a structurally secure room with foot thick marble floors and tables like the folks at Dynamic Engineering, Inc. or MicroCraft in Hampton, Virginia. But they would be a good start.
Now, don''t get too discouraged if you can''t find the perfect way to do such an experiment. Your teacher cannot expect you to reproduce the experiment in the same perfection as well-funded scientists. If you are unable to find a "corporate sponsor" (fancy name for local business with free use of equipment) you could still do this. The goal will be to do the best you can, set things up carefully, document your instrument design, geometry, and setup---basically follow the scientific method... Get the best result you can with whatever setup you can manage. Use the cheap laser measurement device from Home Depot. Build the thing in your basement or school. It will be a challange, but it can be done!
Graham Rhodes
Senior Scientist
Applied Research Associates, Inc.
Graham Rhodes Moderator, Math & Physics forum @ gamedev.net
