Amelia Zhang
Design: Investigation of the Rubber Band as a Propulsion Device
Abstract:
The propulsion ability of a rubber band is determined by numerous factors, which relate directly to the rubber band itself (e.g. spring constant), as well as how the rubber band is projected (e.g. the angle of propulsion, friction on the object…). The factors that will affect the efficiency of a rubber band as a propulsion device are too vast to simply investigate in one single experiment. Ultimately the decisive factor for the efficiency of a rubber band as a propulsion device will depend on the elasticity; hence this experiment will focus on how heat will affect the elasticity of the rubber band.
Research Question:
How does heat affect the elasticity of a rubber band?
Hypothesis:
Understanding that the rubber band is a polymer, and will go through stages of glass range, elastic range and viscose range, I am quite sure that at extreme low temperatures, the rubber band will be brittle and break. As one would observe a garden hose crack easily on a winter day. On the other end of the extreme-extremely high temperatures, I am sure that it would melt the rubber band, loosen the molecular binding force amongst the atoms and cause it to enter a viscose range, liquid like, and not able to stretch at all. My assumption is that the room temperature maybe the most suitable environment to enable the highest performance. Yet knowing that these stages aren’t definite periods, hence my hypothesis is that the extremities of heat will decrease the elasticity of the rubber band, whilst close to room temperatures will be the optimal condition for performance, and the mathematical relationship will no be linear, but rather a series of different slopes, resulting on both ends as horizontal lines.
