Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

i really can't believe how hard this is becoming i had a design and then i sat and looked at it and guess what it measured the wrong way it was so angering OMG. and now i've tried another one and the wings woudnt stay steady enough to be measured and now my teacher thinks i havent done anything. well now i have one that i know will work and it wont unless......................................................
i find a material that has very little friction and wont melt AND ALSO GUESS WHAT IT IS SOL WEEK TOO and i have another design from this website but guess what i have no clue how it will measure lift so im stuck can you plz help me find a material

r4gg3d wrote:i really can't believe how hard this is becoming i had a design and then i sat and looked at it and guess what it measured the wrong way it was so angering OMG. and now i've tried another one and the wings woudnt stay steady enough to be measured and now my teacher thinks i havent done anything. well now i have one that i know will work and it wont unless......................................................
i find a material that has very little friction and wont melt AND ALSO GUESS WHAT IT IS SOL WEEK TOO and i have another design from this website but guess what i have no clue how it will measure lift so im stuck can you plz help me find a material

Hello, r4gg3d!

I can see that you are very frustrated about your project. Would you be so kind as to provide more details about your project? For example, what is your goal? What are you trying to demonstrate, measure or determine? Have you searched the Science Buddies web site for project ideas and assistance? I just did a quick search for "wing" and found many links.

We want to help you, but we need more information to do so.

Thanks for looking at my message Brian my design that i think will work but needs that material consists of a box with a slit in the front, and a wire in it holds my wing. i just need something to make the wire nearly frictionless. OH, i nearly forgot my question is what of four wing designs is the most effecient in the aspect of lift. and yes i've serched on the internet and on sciencebuddies. oh and i only need too measure the lift i have my wings

r4gg3d wrote:Thanks for looking at my message Brian my design that i think will work but needs that material consists of a box with a slit in the front, and a wire in it holds my wing. i just need something to make the wire nearly frictionless. OH, i nearly forgot my question is what of four wing designs is the most effecient in the aspect of lift. and yes i've serched on the internet and on sciencebuddies. oh and i only need too measure the lift i have my wings

Hi, r4gg3d!

I think it would be a good idea for you to take a look at a similar set of questions and answers. Check out:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... highlight=

I also went to the Science Buddies home page

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/

and typed "wing" into the search box. The search yielded dozens of results on the Science Buddies web site. One of the most interesting links was to this page:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... p004.shtml

You have asked what are the most efficient wing designs. I don't know the answer, but it seems to me that a reasonable experiment for you to conduct would be to compare the lift of a few designs that you create or select. You could compare the lift produced by airfoils that are round (a dowel rod), rectangular (a flat piece of wood) and a traditional wing shape.

The goal of scientific experimentation is to answer one or more questions about the way things work or behave. The goal of your experiment ought to be to answer some questions or to validate an assertion you've made.

Best wishes on your project! It sounds pretty cool!

Brian,

All that information will really help but in oder to complete my experimentation i need some kind of material that willl create very little friction and is not really expensive.

Any ideas LoL

[quote]If someone is still looking at my thread My Dad requires that i ask how should i use my wheights to mesure the lift?

My idea is simple i make some sort of lightweight basket and attach it to the wire on both sides and slowly ad weights untill it stops lifting of course for this i still need that material.

Brian:

We're still reading your thread, but I'm having real trouble following it.

Please explain, in detail, what you are suggesting building. It sounds like you already have built a test apparatus, but got results different than you expected.

If you are using someone elses design, please include a link here for us to look at.

Not sure what is so important about being frictionless (which is essentially impossible, BTW.)

The apparatus that Brian and I were suggesting for the previous student, would work for you as well:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... highlight=

So, fill us in with more details, and we'll see how we can help you.

zzzzdoc wrote:Brian:

Actually, I meant this for r4gg3d, not Brian. Brian I understand perfectly (ah, engineers. )

r4gg3d wrote:

If someone is still looking at my thread My Dad requires that i ask how should i use my wheights to mesure the lift?

My idea is simple i make some sort of lightweight basket and attach it to the wire on both sides and slowly ad weights untill it stops lifting of course for this i still need that material.

Hi, r4gg3d!

The basket idea sounds like it would work as long as you take into account the weight of the basket itself. You can find other suggestions for measuring lift by reading the thread I referenced in my earlier post.

It seems that zzzzdoc and I are confused about your request for a near-frictionless wire. If we had some idea of your design we might be able to help. If friction is a problem, then the wire must be moving against something. What is that something?

I'm wondering if you are talking about a string/wire/nylon filament holding up the wing, going through a pulley, then on the other side of the string/wire/nylon filament having a basket with weights in it. Once air flow is started over the wing and lift is generated, weight would need to be removed from the basket until equilibrium is reached again.

Is that what you are doing? If not, and even if it is, we need a better description of what you are doing. Then we can talk about the effects of friction on your setup.

Thanks but i already finished and im now recording my data thanks though.

OK. Good luck. We're here if you need us.

Good to know