The Impact of Temperature on The Efficiency of a Newton’s Cradle
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Physics
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Written Paper Award
2nd Place
Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to find out if there is a relationship between temperature(T for short) and kinetic energy transferring by observing and calculating the efficiency of a Newton’s Cradle in different T variables.The efficiency means the lost of kinetic energy divided by the initial kinetic energy, which can be calculated through the distance that the ball on the left side is lifted and the distance that the ball on the right side swings out. (Finnigan 1987) In three T settings, which are 0℃, room temperature, RT for short, which was 22.3℃, and 95℃, the ball on the left side of the Newton’s cradle was lifted 13cm (initial distance, Di for short) away from the next ball. After dropped the ball, measure the distance that the right side ball swings out (final distance, Df for short) with Logger Pro. The results indicated that there is only a slight difference between Di and Df, which could be concluded that changing of T did not give an effect on the difference between Df and Di, calculated as Di-Df(ΔD for short). From the data collected, T does not affect the efficiency of the Newton’s cradle. In conclusion, T does not affect kinetic energy.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Shuai, "The Impact of Temperature on The Efficiency of a Newton’s Cradle" (2015). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 284.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/284
Start Date
4-11-2015 11:30 AM
End Date
4-11-2015 11:45 AM
The Impact of Temperature on The Efficiency of a Newton’s Cradle
The purpose of this experiment was to find out if there is a relationship between temperature(T for short) and kinetic energy transferring by observing and calculating the efficiency of a Newton’s Cradle in different T variables.The efficiency means the lost of kinetic energy divided by the initial kinetic energy, which can be calculated through the distance that the ball on the left side is lifted and the distance that the ball on the right side swings out. (Finnigan 1987) In three T settings, which are 0℃, room temperature, RT for short, which was 22.3℃, and 95℃, the ball on the left side of the Newton’s cradle was lifted 13cm (initial distance, Di for short) away from the next ball. After dropped the ball, measure the distance that the right side ball swings out (final distance, Df for short) with Logger Pro. The results indicated that there is only a slight difference between Di and Df, which could be concluded that changing of T did not give an effect on the difference between Df and Di, calculated as Di-Df(ΔD for short). From the data collected, T does not affect the efficiency of the Newton’s cradle. In conclusion, T does not affect kinetic energy.
