Physics of an egg drop

[gr8one626]

I need to write a short paper on the physics of dropping an egg from a 5 story building. Below are questions I pondered...

What are the forces acting on the egg as it falls?

How can you control the forces that cause the egg to break?

What are the common characteristics of the materials that protected some eggs?

Does layering of materials play a role in protection?

[PiRsq]

As the egg falls, force of gravity, air friction and wind act on it. You can control the air friction by letting the egg drop from rest and not giving it an initial velocity.

[gr8one626]

thanks for your input.... any other comments/suggestions?? IM DESPERATE!!!! [:((]

[arcnets]

No wonder you're desperate. First off, I never heard of a 'physics of dropping an egg'. This means you may invent one. All I can say is, in doing so, you should apply some basic ideas in physics:

1) If it says 'dropping an egg', then we should take this literally: An egg and nothing else. No 'protecting materials'...

2) The term 'egg' is not defined in physics. So we may talk about anything that can be called an egg. For instance, a piece of caviar.

3) If, however, you choose to talk about a chicken egg, then still nothing is said about its state. It could be fried. It could be frozen.

4) We are not told where the building is. It could be on the moon. It could be under water.

5) It doesn't even say, from the TOP of a 5 storey building.

If I was you, I'd write a paper on how problems in physics must be precisely stated. [6)]

[gr8one626]

ok smart guy... go drink a glass of shutup juice and make sure you enjoy it... [g)]

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Is it possible that an "egg" was chosen because of the (chicken) eggs aerodynamic shape, hence a study in aero/fluid dynamics, with respect to gravitational forces accelerating it, towards the earth.

It is the best 'airflow model' after all......

[physics247]

Its not the fall that hurts the egg; its the sudden stop.

Consider ways to increase the interval of impact. A slow change in momentum is associated with a smaller force.

[amt86]

I just did a project in class where we had to drop two eggs in a shoebox that also contained a brick. We had to cushion the egg anyway we wanted. The best cushion turned out to be sand. This worked best if you fixed it so the box broke open and the sand spilled out allowing the force of impact to be dispersed through the sand and the eggs were fine. It also helps to place the egg vertically with the small end facing down. We dropped these from the top of a football stadium.. I dont know if this helps any but hope so...

[dr.probable]

@physics247 it is not the sudden stop that breaks the egg but the negative acceleration which is acted upon it once it meets the ground causing its physical structure to be strained past capacity and ultimately break. Hence you are trying to make the velocity final of the egg be the lowest number possible so when it undergoes this negative acceleration it has a dampened effect allowing your egg to survive this can be accomplished through air friction or some sort of shock absorbing device.