School of Engineering and Materials Science

Identify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

Report on a problem by Galileo Galilei, to: Determine the phenomenon that affects the speed of a body that falls through that air. Perform appropriate experiments to measure the relevant factors affecting the drop time for the body. Determine values of any relevant engineering coefficients. Develop a mathematical model that takes both gravity and the phenomenon into account to accurately predict the fall time for different spherical objects.

Ram BHADRESA 090155015 Dr. P. Wen

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

02/10/2009

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

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dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

A"! rac
+he problem ,as to, determine the phenomenon that affects the speed of an abject that falls through that air, perform appropriate experiments to measure the relevant factors affecting the drop time for the object, determine values of any relevant engineering coefficients and to develop a mathematical model that takes both gravity and the phenomenon into account to accurately predict the fall time for different spherical objects. +he time taken for a ball of mass -.".g and diameter -..cm, and a balloon of mass /..g and diameter ".cm, to fall from a height of ..0.m ,as measured using a stop,atch, and a tape measure. &oth ball and balloon ,as dropped seven times each in order to minimi1e experimental error. +he time for the ball to fall ..0.m is consistently less than the time taken for the balloon to fall from the same height. +he average time taken for the ball and balloon to fall is $.!.s and ".%$s respectively. 2rom these values the terminal velocity of the ball and balloon ,ere found. +his can lead to a development of a mathematical model, ,hich can be applied to any spherical object at standard temperature and pressure ,ith the object having a coefficient of drag !.3/.

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

#a"le of $on en !
(bstract.............................................................................................................................................i +able of 4ontents.............................................................................................................................ii $. ntroduction ..................................................................................................................................$ ".+heory...........................................................................................................................................$ 5.(pparatus .....................................................................................................................................5 3.)xperimental procedure................................................................................................................5 ..Ra, results....................................................................................................................................3 -.(nalysis of Data............................................................................................................................. -.$.6ist of 7ariables:..................................................................................................................... -.".4alculated Results................................................................................................................... -.".$.4alculation of aerodynamic drag .................................................................................... -.".".4alculation of acceleration to 78...................................................................................-.".5.4alculation of 78.........................................................................................................../ -.".3.4alculation of time to 78...............................................................................................0 -."...4alculation of time it takes bodies to travel ..0.m......................................................$! -.5.9ncertainties ......................................................................................................................$3 /.Discussion of Results..................................................................................................................$. 0.4onclusions.................................................................................................................................$/ %.References...................................................................................................................................$/

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dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

1.

%n rod&c ion

+he aim of the experiment ,as to measure the time taken for a ball of mass -.".g and diameter -..cm, and a balloon of mass /..g and diameter ".cm, to fall from a height of ..0.m using a stop,atch. +his ,ould lead to proof that a phenomena kno,n as aerodynamic drag forces act upon all bodies, regardless of si1e and that the si1e of the bodies vary the drag forces on them. +his ,ill also lead to a mathematical model being developed after analy1ing the data from the experiment, to be able to accurately measure the drop time of different bodies. :e ,ill assume that there are only t,o forces acting upon the body throughout the experiment. :e ,ill also assume no other external forces act, for example there is no ,ind affecting the bodies. (lso the viscosity and density of the fluid ,ill be a typical value based on the altitude and temperature. 'ere the temperature is assumed to be "!4 and altitude to be sea level. +he smoothness of the bodies ,ill be assumed as e;ual.

2.

#heor'

t is kno,n that any surface#body in contact ,ith a flo,ing fluid is subject to a force exerted by the fluid. +his force is called a drag force.

+he body flo,ing through the fluid, in this case air, is subject to t,o forces, gravitational attraction of the earth on the object, giving it ,eight <mg=, also a resistive force, kno,n as the drag force.

(fter a significant time period there reaches a point ,here both forces are balanced, the body reaches a point ,here the drag force is exactly e;ual to the ,eight of the body, acceleration is therefore 1ero and the body is said to have reached terminal velocity. School of Engineering and Ma erial! $
Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

+he amount of drag force that acts on a body ,ill depend on several factors. n this case the diameter of a perfectly shaped sphere. +he larger the body is, the greater surface area is in contact ,ith the fluid it is flo,ing through, thus more collusions bet,een the body and molecules making up the fluid, hence a greater drag force the body ,ill suffer. +he speed of the flo, past the body is going to have an affect on the drag force. 2or example a high ,ind is more likely to blo, a ball across a smooth table than a gentle bree1e. +his is because the speed of air molecules hitting the ball is much greater> therefore ,hen the air molecules impact upon the surface of the ball they provide a higher drag force. (lso ,hen riding a bike, pedalling it gets harder the faster the bike is moving. +his is associated ,ith the phenomenon of terminal velocity mentioned earlier in the report. ?ther factors such as viscosity of the fluid, the density of fluid and the smoothness of the body also affect the drag force on bodies moving through a fluid. n this experiment, these factors ,ere not necessary to measure and use in ma.thematical calculations, as the differences they ,ould provide to the overall outcome ,ould be negligible. (s a result of this, smoothness ,as ignores and density of fluid ,as taken to be of air at sea level and "!4. +he drag force can be accurately calculated by using a calculated value kno,n as the Reynolds number. +he Reynolds number can be calculated by using the formulae,

+his calculated value could be looked up on a log graph, of Reynolds number against the coefficient of drag.

2or this experiment ho,ever a value for the drag coefficient ,ill be a standard for a typical smooth sphere, ,ith a Reynolds number bet,een $! and $! . +his ,ill give a coefficient of drag at !.3/. +his value is based on dimension normal to flo,.
School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

"

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

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A))ara &!

$. *mall ball of light,eight material ". nflatable balloon 5. *top@,atch, accurate to !..s 3. Aeasuring tape, accurate to !.!$m .. :eighing scales, accurate to !.!.kg

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E+)erimen al )roced&re

S e) 1, +he height of the $st floor me11anine to the ground ,as measured. +his ,ould be the drop height of the ball and balloon. +he tape measure used ,as made of non@rigid material, hence ,ill not remain perfectly vertical ,hen measuring. S e) 2, +he ,eighing scales ,ere po,ered up and the light,eight ball ,as ,eighed. +he mass ,as recorded on a sheet of paper. +he balloon ,as inflated ,ith normal air and ,as then sealed. +he si1es of ball and balloon ,ere purposefully different as described earlier, relative si1e of bodies affect aerodynamic drag upon them. +he balloon ,as also ,eighed. S e) (, &oth ball and balloon ,ere taken to the $st floor and a reference point ,as set up so that the drop height ,as the same each time. S e) *, +he ball ,as released first, and the stop,atch ,as started the moment the ball ,as released. (s the ball hit the floor the stop,atch ,as stopped. +his ,as repeated seven times in order to minimise any experimental error. (s the ball ,as falling do,n vertically, it became difficult to kno, ,hen exactly the ball hit the ground for someone standing on the $st floor. +his may have led to some experimental timing inaccuracies. (s the ball also fell relatively fast, reaction times ,ill also be a source of error in time recording. S e) 5, +he balloon ,as then released from the same height. (gain the stop,atch ,as started ,hen the balloon ,as released and stopped ,hen it hit the ground. +his ,as also repeated seven times to minimise inaccuracies and errors ,ith timings. 'ere there ,as a problem ,ith ,ind currents passing through the building. +he balloon ,ould drift to one side as a draught ble,. +his ,as a major source of experimental error. S e) -, +he balloon and ball ,ere again released from the same height for a second set of repeats. +his ,as to see ,hether the times recorded in the first instance ,ere accurate and concise. +,o sets of seven repeated results ,ere no, recorded.

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

5.

Ra. re!&l !

(ssumed temperature: "!B 4 (ssumed pressure: $.""-kg#m

BALL Diameter/m 0.065

Mass/kg 0.00625

Set 1 1.07 1.01 1.19 0.97 1.10 1.12 1.06

Set 2 1.00 0.97 1.03 0.97 1.18 0.93 1.06

Mass/kg 0.00750

BALLOON Diameter/m 0.250

Set 1 2.89 2.94 2.94 3.03 2.88 2.99 2.75

Set 2 2.99 1.6 2.25 2.73 2.97 2.38 2.49

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

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Anal'!i! of Da a

-.1. /i! of 0aria"le!, D @ drag force in C CD @ drag coefficient D @ diameter of sphere in metres @ density of air in kg#m V @ terminal velocity of body relative to fluid in m#s V @ velocity of body relative to fluid in m#s t - +ime taken for bodies to drop ..0.m, in seconds T @ atmospheric temperature in B4 -.2. $alc&la ed Re!&l ! n order to analyse the ra, data, a series of calculations ,ere made and thus a mathematical model ,as produced. -.2.1. $alc&la ion of aerod'namic drag

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

-.2.2. $alc&la ion of accelera ion o V

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

-.2.(. $alc&la ion of V

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

-.2.*. $alc&la ion of ime o V

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

-.2.5. $alc&la ion of ime i a1e! "odie! o ra2el 5.35m

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

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dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

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dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

$"

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

$5

dentify the phenomenon that acts on falling objects, affecting its fall time

!"#$!#"!!% Ram &'(DR)*(

-.(. 4ncer ain ie! +he uncertainty associated ,ith each of the measured variables is given in the table belo,. +hese values ,ere chosen based on the stated accuracy of the instrument, if available. ?ther,ise, they are reasonable estimates based on values typically reported.

4ncer ain ' De!cri) ion *mall ball diameter nflatable balloon diameter +ime Aass

S'm"ol b B t m

5&merical 0al&e !.!!.m !.!!.m !..s !.!.kg

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Determination of the Drag 4oefficient of a *phere Doe 4ollege *tudent

Aarch "$, "!!" )CGR 5.$ E )xperimental Aethods

6.

Di!c&!!ion of Re!&l !

:hen the drag force ,as calculated, the force exerted on the ball ,as significantly less than the force applied onto the balloon. +his matches the predictions made by the background theory. +he smaller ball has less contact ,ith the air as it falls. +here are less air molecules to be moved out of the ,ay of the path of the ball as it travels. (s a result of this there is less impulse exerted on the ball by the air molecules and vice versa. 2or the balloon ho,ever, there are more molecules needing to be pushed out of the ,ay of its fall path. +he impulse ,ill be greater> therefore the opposing force exerted ,ill be more. (s ,as predicted, the acceleration of the ball is greater than the ball. f the net force is taken into account, this consists of the do,n,ard force, the ,eight and the opposing drag force. +he greater the drag force is the smaller the net or resultant force ,ill be. +his is sho,n on page -, in a calculation to find the net thrust for the ball and balloon. 2rom this net force values, a simple mathematical relationship, bet,een force, acceleration and mass is used to calculate the acceleration of both ball and balloon. +he acceleration for the ball is greater than the acceleration of the balloon because of the physics explained in the first paragraph. (t terminal velocity, the ,eight force is exactly e;ual and opposite of the drag force. (cceleration is 1ero and velocity of the body is at itFs maximum. &y using the relationship, the terminal velocities for both ball and balloon ,ere found. +his resulted in t,o different values of terminal velocity being found. +he velocity of the ball ,as much higher than the velocity of the balloon. +his ,as also due to the phenomenon of drag, as explained in paragraph one. +he time to reach terminal velocity ,as also found. +his took into account a simple e;uation of motion, involving terminal velocity, acceleration and time. +he acceleration used ,as the one calculated earlier. t ,as in this form, as the acceleration is not constant. +he acceleration of the body ,ill start off as g, but ,ill then decrease as the force of drag comes into play, as the velocity increases. :e can gather from this that thee acceleration depends on the drag force and the velocity of the body. &y using various mathematical relationships, the time for both ball and balloon to fall ..0.m ,as found. +he time for the ball to fall ,as less than the balloon. +his ,as because of the reasons explained earlier in this paragraph and in paragraph one. +he graphs on pages $$ and $" ,ere used to calculate the time taken for the bodies to fall ..0.m. +o find the time for this, the area under the curve ,as found by a method of integration kno,n as trape1ium rule. +his rule ,as then extrapolated through the graph and the area ,as progressively increased, until the distance#area ..0.m ,as found. (t this point the time taken ,as read off and recorded. +his ,as repeated for the balloon. t ,as found that the time taken for the ball to fall ,as less that the time taken for the balloon to fall through ..0.m. :e can explain these results by using some of the scientific theory, mentioned earlier in the report. (s the ball is released, it begins to accelerate at g. (fter a certain time period, the velocity increases significantly. +he drag force than increased greatly as the drag force is proportional to the velocity s;uared. (s the velocity continues to increase the drag force does that same. +he acceleration decreases also as this is taking place. +here then reaches a time ,hen the acceleration is 1ero, so the velocity cannot increase any further. (s the drag depends on velocity, this is also no, stable. (t this point the do,n,ard force <,eight= is e;ual to the opposing force <drag=. +he ball then falls at the same velocity for the remainder of the time, until it reaches the ground. +his is the same for the balloon, although it reaches the terminal velocity much later, even though the terminal velocity is slo,er.
School of Engineering and Ma erial! Science

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Determination of the Drag 4oefficient of a *phere Doe 4ollege *tudent

Aarch "$, "!!" )CGR 5.$ E )xperimental Aethods

During the experiment there ,ere some problems that ,ere encountered. (s the ball ,as falling do,n vertically, it became difficult to kno, ,hen exactly the ball hit the ground for someone standing on the $st floor. +his may have led to some experimental timing inaccuracies. (s the ball also fell relatively fast, reaction times ,ill also be a source of error in time recording. +he tape measure used ,as made of non@rigid material, hence ,ill not remain perfectly vertical ,hen measuring. +here ,as a problem ,ith ,ind currents passing through the building. +he balloon ,ould drift to one side as a draught ble,. +his ,as a major source of experimental error. n future it ,ould be beneficial to use a building ,ith les ,ind draught, and using t,o stop,atches instead of one. 2or example there could be one person standing on the ground floor, timing the fall time and another person on the $st floor doing the same. :e then minimise the problem ,ith kno,ing ,hen the body hits the floor. 'o,ever doing this brings other inaccuracies, as the reaction time needed to start the stop,atch from the ground floor, ,hen indicated by the person on the $st floor ,ill have to be very good, other,ise there ,ill be a time delay. ( rigid tape measure should have been used to measure the distance, as it ,ould be far more accurate. n future, there should be more si1es of ball and balloon to be used> a range of heights can also be used. +he mass of ball and balloon used can also be varied. +he formulae can then be re@ tested and see if it still ,orks. +o make the data collected ore accurate, the density of the room should be measured using a barometer, and temperature should be measured using a thermometer. :e have established that the time taken for a ball to fall form a given height of ..0.m is significantly shorter than that of a balloon. :e have established the phenomenon that acts of the bodies is aerodynamic drag, and the mathematical model is produced in the analysis of data. +he engineering coefficients are also found by using mathematical formulae and various published texts. (ll the aims have been met and analysed.

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Determination of the Drag 4oefficient of a *phere Doe 4ollege *tudent

Aarch "$, "!!" )CGR 5.$ E )xperimental Aethods

3.

$oncl&!ion!

+he results of this experiment sho, that the time taken for a small sphere, for example a ball is less than the time taken for a larger sphere to fall the same height, regardless of mass. +he phenomenon that affects the fall time is kno,n as aerodynamic drag.

9.

Reference!

:idden, A. <$%%-= Fluid Mechanics. 2oundations of engineering series. Dohn, D., 'aberman, :. <$%0!= Introduction to Fluid Mechanics 2nd edition. Ac4ormick, &. <$%%.= Aerod namics and !light mechanics. Dohnson, G., 'e,ett, *., 'olt, *., Ailler, D. <"!!!= Ad"anced #h sics For $ou. Celson +hornes htt%&''(((.internet)ournalo!criminolog .com'*ha(+2,-+2,-e!erencing+2,.uide.%d! htt%&''(((.grc.nasa.go"'///'0-12'air%lane'densit .html

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