EG1004 Lab 500: Stock Car Racer

1 Objective

The experimental objective of this lab is to build a fully functional NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car racer. We will then enter this racer into two races: the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and the DirecTV 500 at Martinsville Speedway. As the names imply, the Daytona 500 is a very high speed race on a large track, while the DirecTV 500 is on a short track where the laps are shorter, and there are many more of them. This shows a race car’s overall performance.

2 Overview

NASCAR is the world’s premiere organization for stock car racing. There are several different kinds of automobile racing. For example, the Indy 500, run on Memorial Day weekend, has entries which are “Indy Cars�?, subject to a large set of complicated rules. NASCAR races cars that look similar to the cars in showrooms. Originally NASCAR raced cars you could buy directly out of the dealer’s stock, hence the name stock cars. As times changed, the rules were relaxed, so that now NASCAR cars have little resemblance to the ones we can buy. NASCAR is actually a very large organization that sponsors races locally, all the way up to international races. At the very top, there are two major divisions: the Busch Grand National Division, and the Nextel Cup Division. The major difference between the two divisions is how much horsepower the car can have, with Nextel Cup cars having the most power (and also the higher speeds). In orde4 to handle the additional horsepower, other modifications are also allowed, such as a stronger suspension.

The Daytona 500 is, one of the most famous automobile races. It is usually run in February, and kicks off the NASCAR racing season, which runs until November. It typical draws crowds of 150,000 people or more from around the world. The Daytona track is large, approximately 2½ miles long, and average speeds of over 180 miles an hour are not unusual. Unfortunately, given the high speeds and competitive nature of the drivers, accidents are not unusual either, so the overall average speed for a race is lower.

The Martinsville track is much different. It is only about ½ long, so there are a very large number of laps for the same distance, compared to Daytona. Also, the turns are much sharper and the roadbed is much narrower. As a result, average speeds are much slower, and accidents are much more common.

For all NASCAR races, there are 43 cars competing in the race. Since we’re going to enter two races, there will be 86 competitors.

For Daytona a powerful car with good aerodynamic qualities is required. For Martinsville, a more maneuverable car is much more important. Real race teams have a number of cars, and use different cars for each race, customized to the characteristics of that race. As a new team, we don’t have the kind of financial support those teams have, and can only afford one car.

This car will have two have balanced characteristics. It will have to do well at both Daytona and Martinsville, but will also have to be cost effective since our team sponsors are thrifty. In order to achieve these goals, we’ll use a Car Competition Ratio to determine which car has the best characteristics. The Car Competition Ratio is defined as:

The cost will be calculated using the actual costs incurred in building the car, not including labor. The places are where you placed in each race. Note that with this formula, the higher the cost and the higher the finishing times, the lower your ratio will be.

Each team in the class will built a Nextel Cup car and enter it in these two races. Their race times will be recorded, their cost calculated, and the overall Car Competition Ratios will be calculated. The team with the highest Car Competition Ratio will win the competition, and will have the usual competition bonuses awarded, as described elsewhere in the online manual. Note that if your car doesn’t finish, either due to a failure or an accident, your finishing place will be poor (typically 30 or higher), and your ratio will not be good.

3 Your Assignment

PowerPoint Presentation (Team Presentation)

Describe the rules of the competition in your introduction. What consequences did the rules have for your design decisions? Use the appropriate equations in your answer.
Since one term in the competition ratio is cost, present the cost of your car. Use the page How to Show Cost Data in Presentations for instructions on how to do this.
Discuss minimal design. Did you use all the materials you purchased? Describe the importance of minimal design and explain how you employed it in your design.
Describe your car's design. Show the order of finish for each race to show how you placed. Make sure you include a discussion of the materials you chose and why. Explain your team’s strategy for winning the competition.
Describe how your design succeeded or failed. What choices could you have made to improve your final standing in the competition?
Discuss how you would improve the ratio.

Follow the presentation guidelines laid out in the page called EG1004 Lab Presentation Format in the Introduction to Technical Presentations section of this manual.

4 MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Due to financial constraints, you can use any materials you wish, but will have to buy them yourself. The University will not be providing any materials.

If you wish, you can persuade or coerce individuals or organizations to contribute to your team. Any criminal activity (e.g. extortion, threats, etc.) will not be tolerated, and will disqualify your team. It may also lead to a visit from NYPD or the FBI, followed by a long stay as a guest of one of these agencies.

5 COMPETITON RULES

Your car has to fit within the design constraints for a Nextel Cup racing car under NASCAR rules. You can visit the Web site [[1]] for a description of these rules. If you are disqualified by NASCAR for a rules violation, you will also be disqualified from the EG1004 competition.

All materials you buy must be included in the cost of the design, whether the material is used or not.

Note that for a NASCAR Nextel Cup race, your car will have to qualify for each race. Failure to qualify for either race will disqualify you from the EG1004 competition.

As outlined earlier, the car having the highest Car Competition Ratio will win the EG1004 competition for this lab.

6 PROCEDURE

Read the NASCAR rules
Design a car that follows the NASCAR rules
Enter the car in the Daytona 500, to be held February 18, 2007.
Choose a member from your team to compete with some of the best drivers in the world for the qualification and the race itself. Note: Make sure their insurance is paid up, and that the usual Poly student insurance may not be sufficient for this activity. Compete in the race.
After the Daytona 500, repair any damage the car experienced and move to Martinsville.
Enter the car in the DirecTV 500, to be held April 1, 2007.
Choose a member of your team to be the car driver. Make sure once again their insurance is paid. Compete in the race.
Calculate the Car Competition Ration based on your cost and finish positions. If your car did not come in first, your work is complete. Make sure your lab position is cleaned up, including any jacks, spare parts, grease, oil, etc.
If you won the competition, repair any damage the car experienced in Martinsville and prepare to have the car put on display in the Front Lobby. Once the car is ready, clean up your lab position, as described above.

EG1004 Lab 1701: Faster-than-light Travel

1 Objective

The experimental objective of this lab is to build a model that will travel faster than the speed of light.

2 Overview

Traveling faster than the speed of light has been subject of science fiction for centuries. The popularity of the “Star Trek�? series, originally broadcast almost 40 years ago and still in syndication, plus a number of “spin-off�? series, is proof of this.

Many people assumed that this was fantasy since Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicted that objects that approach the speed of light become increasing heavy, making it impossible to attain light speed, much less exceed it. However, it was also known that some objects such as neutrinos, always traveled greater than the speed of light. However, experiments seemed to show that neutrinos were not able to travel less than the speed of light without being destroyed, giving further evidence that somehow the speed of light could not be crossed from either direction.

Fortunately, two technologies combined to solve this problem. First, it was necessary to safely and quickly accelerate to extremely high velocities by generating and directing massive amounts of energy quickly. This was attained by using the now-familiar matter/antimatter containment vessel. Second, the space warp was discovered to be a natural phenomenon. This effect was first noted in extremely close proximity to black holes, making the phenomenon difficult to observe from Earth, and without the technology needed to reach black holes, there was no way to study them from nearby. The breakthrough came when Prof. Zefram Cochrane of Polytechnic University successfully created a small black hole in his laboratory. It should be noted that this success came after several failures where several Metrotech buildings were apparently “sucked�? into nothingness, never to be seen again, forcing him to move to an abandoned Air Force missile base in remote North Dakota.

Now, what has become trans-warp travel has become commonplace. However, this is usually accomplished with large spacecraft with crews of over 1000 people. In this lab we will “scale down�? the technology so that we can construct a small model ship that will travel faster than light for a very short time.

The model will be much simpler than a real spacecraft. Also, in order for the lab to be done in the allotted time, most of the model will already be constructed for you, including a positronic guidance system that will allow the craft to only fly in a straight line. All you will need to do is attach four stabilizers (fins) to the fuselage, insert a cartridge containing liquid hydrogen (matter) and pour in antimatter into its onboard containment, mount the craft on a stand for launch, and activate the remote launch switch.

The craft will fly straight down Jay Street to the East River. It is extremely important that the model craft be launched properly since the craft will have to fly through the supports of the Manhattan Bridge approach. At the East River the craft will hit a barrier, causing it to lose substantial velocity, and drop to sublight speed, where air friction will almost destroy it. After penetrating the barrier, the remains of the craft will travel a short distance further, and fall into the East River.

In order to verify that the craft did indeed exceed the speed of light, a strobe light will flash when the craft launches. At the barrier, two atomic clocks will run. They will indicate whether the flash of the strobe light or the craft arrived first, and the difference in time. Because the difference in time will be small, it will not be possible to accurately determine the speed of the craft, but the clocks should clearly show that the craft arrived before the light from the strobe light, showing that the craft was traveling fast then the speed of light.

3 Your Assignment

Individual Lab Report

Follow the lab report guidelines laid out in the page called [[Specifications for Writing Your Lab Reports]] in the Technical Communication section of this manual. As you write, the following discussion points should be addressed in the appropriate section of your lab report:

Describe the problem you are solving in your introduction.
Describe, in general terms, how faster-than-light travel is possible
Describe some applications of faster-than-light travel
Describe how the matter/antimatter reaction occurs and its products (Note: you will have to do some online research to answer this. Be sure to put your findings in your own words to avoid plagiarism issues)
Did your model work? What happened? If it didn’t, why didn’t it?

Team PowerPoint Presentation

Follow the presentation guidelines laid out in the page called [[EG1004 Lab Presentation Format]] in the Introduction to Technical Presentations section of this manual. When you are preparing your presentation, consider the following points:

What are some of the more widely used applications of faster-than-light travel today?

If you can look into the future, what do you think the future of space travel will be?

4 MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Spacecraft model
Tube of Super Glue®
Matter cartridge
Antimatter in a containment vessel

Remember: You are required to take notes. Experimental details are easily forgotten unless written down. EG Standard Note Paper can be downloaded and printed from the http://eg.poly.edu/Note_Paper.zip. Use your lab notes to write the Procedure section of your lab report. At the end of each lab your TA will scan your lab notes and upload them to the EG1004 course section on MyPoly. You must attach your lab notes at the end of your lab report (use the "Insert Object" command in MS Word after your Conclusion). Keeping careful notes is an essential component of all scientific practice.

5 PROCEDURE

Obtain your spacecraft model from your Lab TA. The model, without fuel, will weigh 1KG. You will have to sign a receipt acknowledging that you received the craft. All members of your team will have to sign the receipt.
Attach the control four control surfaces (fins)
Turn on the positronic control system using the red power switch. Have it do a Level 1 Diagnostic by pressing the yellow button next to the power switch. If a green light comes on, the control system is working. In your lab notes, note the time at which the control system was turned on since it has a limited battery life. Have your TA sign your lab notes, noting that the control system is functioning properly
Go out the front door of the building to the curb of Jay Street. You will see the “Roaming Lab TA�? there. This TA will give you the matter cartridge containing 1KG of matter. Snap it into the model. Next, the TA will give you the antimatter containment vessel.
CAREFULLY pour some antimatter into your model. The containment vessel will automatically pour out the proper dose of 1KG of antimatter (note: the amount of antimatter must be exactly equal to the amount of matter for this reaction). Put the stopper contained with the spacecraft model into the opening into which you poured the antimatter.
Your model is now ready to launch. Give it to the TA, and the TA will mount it on the launch stand in the middle of the street. Do not distract the TA during this operation – it is critical that the launch stand be properly aligned down Jay Street so that your model will fly between the supports of the Manhattan Bridge and hit the barrier.
One of your team members should take the Poly shuttle to the barrier so that one of you will see the launch and the other will see the end of the flight.
When the team member has arrived at the barrier, the TA there will radio back to the launch site that they’re ready. The TA at the launch site will then press the launch switch, sending the model on its way.
The team member at the barrier should note what happened when the model hit the barrier, and anything else of interest.
The team member at the barrier should board the shuttle for the trip back to the launch site to meet up with the rest of their team. The team should then meet and discuss what happened so that everybody has a complete set of observations

Your lab work is now complete. Please clean up your workstation. Return all unused materials to your TA. Refer to section 3 Your Assignment for the instructions you need to prepare your lab report.

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