science fair project ideas

Loren Booda

Try depositation of dust residue on differing airfoils, like fans. Relate the shape of the residue to a modification for improved airfoil efficiency. To speed up the process, you might charge the blades slightly. Do well!

Physicsfool

Thanks so much!

oookhc

This site is with some science fair project ideas:

http://www.ScienceOxygen.com/idea.html

pack_rat2

Here's my idea for a science-fair project, which should be a lot of fun: dertermine and compare the aerodynamic efficiency of modern cars with cars from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. This could be done by getting models of representative cars from a hobby shop (all of the same scale), putting each in a wind tunnel, and measuring the drag force on it. And here's an important bit of info...at subsonic velocities, a "tear-drop" shape (a 3:1 length to width ratio is considered optimum) is the most efficient shape. Furthermore, the shape up front is relatively unimportant compared to that of the rear: a tapered "tail" is best, and a flat vertical surface is terrible.

delton

The science fair I want to enter: the Intel ISEF requires original research in a specific field. Any ideas?

gschjetne

Recently I did a project on the flame-retardant properties of citric acid and acetic acid solutions! Now that's some fresh new science, and it actually worked quite well!
If anybody's interested, drop me a mail!

plusaf

my college roommate once experimented with liquid flow: if you have, for example, a 2-liter size plastic bottle and it's filled with water, how long does it take for the bottle to empty if you just flip it upside down? if you tip it at some angle, does it empty faster or slower? are there any other things you could do (without changing the physical characteristics of the bottle... no squeezing, puncturing, etc.) to get it to empty faster?

hint: try getting the water to spin around inside so it comes out like a little upside-down tornado... is this faster or slower, and why?

Mk

Of course you would need it automated, so it would turn at a set speed, and not move after it reached the angle to be.

plusaf

ah, maybe not exactly what i was trying to say.... for home experimentation, fill a plastic bottle with water, then invert it over the sink.

watch the water bubble/gurgle out in spurts.

then refill the bottle, flip it over again, but quickly rotate its AXIS a few times, similar to the motion of the precession of the axis of a spinning gyroscope. don't spin the bottle on ITs axis; spin the AXIS, holding the open mouth of the bottle at the bottom, as a pivot point.

this will make the water in the bottle spin within the bottle, and, in my late roommate's opinion/experiments, empty the bottle faster than just letting it gurgle out.

my added theory is that, after you get the water in the bottle spinning, there might be an optimum angle from the vertical for the axis of the bottle, for which the liquid empties fastest.

in a local science store some years ago, i saw an item for sale that coupled two two-liter bottles together, mouth-to-mouth. fill one with water with the other empty, then couple them together, and you can do this experiment over and over without losing the water!

i hope that's a little clearer..... and i'm looking forward to hearing some results!

happy new year!

plusaf

i really like this one! taking a look at the fan above my desk, i note that the dust has collected only from the middle of the front side of the blade (the side facing me) to the trailing edge. from the leading edge to the middle of the chord, there's virtually no dust stuck to the plastic blade!

--- write me at plusaf at plusaf dot com, and i'll send you a photo of one of the fan blades, if you'd like.. ---

howcome?!

is this "dust collector effect" desirable? undesirable? inevitable and inescapable, or can it be modified by changing the blade's shape, airfoil, etc?

or maybe fans should just be designed with removable covers so you can scrub the dust off every so often!

Loren Booda

plusaf,

How about determining the optimum ratio of air to water to salt for dissolving most efficiently in a shaken cylindrical container? E. g., given ten shakes of the container, what is the residual amount of NaCl left versus the original salt/water and water/air proportions?

Thanks for the photo offer, but I have one very dusty fan of my own to observe!

Zaimeen

Think about finding a new place to live in space other than the Earth!

siliconhype

Here is a great resource for biology projects and information...

http://www.dnahack.com/

Shows u how to extract DNA too! Easy stuff.

Quantum_Prodegy

create a hexalifter and then explain what is happening....check it out:

http://jlnlabs.imars.com/lifters/hexalifter/index.htm

plusaf

determine if there is any reason why six sides are better or even different from a construction with 3, 4, or 5 sides.

research whether there's any similarity here to how fanless air purifiers work, such as the ones from Sharper Image http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/ca...737SNX/hppos=1 , for example

plusaf

first, how did the engine and your project work out? please share with us.

second, for others interested in engines and things like that, you might find it interesting to make a model of the hybrid system used in the Toyota Prius. it's not a simple, straightforward, "easy" system to understand, but it works very well. it took me hours and hours to finally "get" how it REALLY works, though you'll probably catch on sooner...

it combines an internal combustion engine which does NOT work via the common "Otto Cycle", two motor/generators, one set of planetary gears, and a chain drive to the front differential! quite a combination, eh?

it also provides means of regeneration, both for just plain putting some charge back into the main battery, as well as for the equivalent of "engine braking", or the slowing effect you get in a "normal" car when you take your foot off the gas and shift to a lower gear.

see how long it takes you to grok it all....
ps.
there is no "reverse gear", either. how the heck do they get the car to back up?!

+af

grays0n

what are some idea for projects that are really cool, like the lifters that someone previously likned to. What are some other ideas or links for projects with really cool, almost unnatural results. Idk, just something really amazing when you see it. Not your everyday run of the mill physics or astronomy/cosmolgy project.