Building an Egg Launcher: Get Creative with Surgical Tubing

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on building an egg launcher using 2 feet of surgical tubing, emphasizing the goal of maximizing distance through elastic force. Participants are considering designs inspired by historical weapons like the Roman Ballista and crossbows, while also exploring unconventional methods such as using centrifugal force. There is a consensus that a gentle acceleration is crucial for achieving greater distance, despite the egg potentially cracking upon landing. Suggestions for research and creative launching ideas are encouraged, with an emphasis on the mechanics of the launch rather than specific formulas. Overall, the project invites innovative approaches to a classic engineering challenge.
dudestermikey
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A bit early for a culminating.. but here we are at the much overused "Build an Egg Launcher" project. The idea is to use surgical tubing (2ft) to launch an egg the farthest possible (the egg can crack, it doesn't matter). The only force allowed in this is the elastic force of the surgical tubing (you can stretch it out before hand). There is a maximum weight of 2.5kg.

Right now, I'm thinking along the lines of a Roman Ballista, though perhaps if the weight exceeds 2.5kg, I'll move onto just a regular crossbow..

There is, of course, the over-done slingshot that I'll resort to when all else fails. I was also trying to wrap my mind around a way to use the surgical tubing with centrifugal (or centrifical; God knows) force -- that is, to somehow wrap it around a pole, and have it spinning out.

Any ideas? I'm not looking for formulas at this point.. but perhaps just names of things I could research, or some original launching ideas.

Thanks a lot.
 
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If the egg crack before it lands chances are that it will not travel as far as it would have if it did not. So I would suggest a gentle but long acceleration. That probably implies a long elastic.
 
The maximum surgical tubing length is 2ft. Also, the distance is recorded by where the egg first lands, which is why it doesn't matter if it bounces and rolls further, or cracks.
 
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'

Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'

Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...
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