Mechanics Projects
Mechanics is the science of motion and includes things like the science of falling and gravity, of mechanisms, of pressure and of aerodynamics. Sound is also technically included in this category though we've separated it for clarity. We have a number of mechanics projects which we will share in the next batch of posts, but we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of great mechanics projects created by other institutions. Drawing Board: This is an Exploratorium Science Snack we particularly like, which records the pendulum motion of a suspended platform to create what is called a harmonogram. We sometimes call this a pendulum drawing machine, because the drawings it makes are a record of the motion of a pendulum swinging in 2 dimensions. The drawing created illustrates conservation of energy, the conversion of gravitational potential energy to kinetic and back again, which attempts to maintain the motion of the board and friction between the pen and pap...