Anyone Still Use Ticker Tape for Measuring Free Fall?

[bigjohn45]

Just dug out some ancient ticker tape machines to use as an alternative way to measure g by free fall. I'm having problems getting reliable marks on the tape, sometimes the strike bounces and leaves two marks, sometimes marks don't get left at all, especially at low speed at the start of the trace. Anyone got experience of this?

 

[jedishrfu]

We used an Atwood machine with a vibrating pen. As the mass fell the pen would trace out a sine curve that got stretched out as the mass fell.

Then we used the measurements between wave peaks and the wave peak number (* time for the pen to move back and forth) to compute the value of "g" using the s= (1/2) * g * t^2

 

[martane]

Hey there,

I don't have personal experience with using ticker tape machines to measure g by free fall, but I have heard of others using them before. It sounds like you're encountering some technical difficulties with getting accurate marks on the tape. Have you tried adjusting the speed of the machine or the tension of the tape? That could potentially help with getting more consistent marks.

Another thing to consider is the condition of the machine and the tape itself. If they are old and haven't been used in a while, they may need some maintenance or replacement parts. It's also possible that the tape itself is too worn or damaged to produce reliable marks.

If you continue to have trouble, perhaps reaching out to others who have used ticker tape machines for this purpose could provide some helpful tips and advice. Good luck with your experiments!