Pasco Scientific ME-6830 Instruction Manual

Contents

Pasco Scientific ME-6830 Instruction Manual Manual pdf 5 page image

012-05375B Ballistic Pendulum/Projectile Launcher1®IntroductionThe PASCO ME-6830/ME-6831 Ballistic Pendulum/Projectile Launcher (BPPL) has been designed forprojectile experiments and demonstrations as well as theclassic Ballistic Pendulum experiments. The onlyadditional equipment required is a C-clamp for clampingthe launcher to a table. The features of the BallisticPendulum/Projectile Launcher include:• LAUNCH AT ANY ANGLE: Balls can belaunched at any angle from zero to 90 degrees mea-sured from the horizontal. The angle is easily ad-justed using thumb screws. The built-in protractorand plumb-bob on the side of the launcher give a con-venient and accurate way of determining the angle ofinclination.• THREE RANGE SETTINGS: There are threeranges from which to choose. For the Short RangeProjectile Launcher these three ranges are approxi-mately 1.2 meters, 3 meters, and 5 meters, when theangle is 45 degrees. For the Long Range Demonstra-tion Projectile Launcher, the three ranges are approxi-mately 2.5 meters, 5 meters, and 8 meters. The differ-ence between these two versions of the ProjectileLauncher is the strength of the spring. The long rangeversion is intended for large classroom demonstra-tions and should not be used with the Ballistic Pendu-lum base.• FIXED ELEVATION INDEPENDENT OFANGLE: The Projectile Launcher pivots at themuzzle end so the elevation of the ball as it leaves thebarrel does not change as the angle is varied. Thebase has three sets of slots. The top curved slot isused when it is desired to change the angle and thecenter two slots are used when it is desired to shoothorizontally only. The bottom mounting holes are foruse with the Ballistic Pendulum experiment.• REPEATABLE RESULTS: There is no spin on theball since the piston keeps the ball from rubbing onthe walls as it travels up the barrel. The sturdy basecan be secured to a table with a C- clamp (not in-cluded) so there is very little recoil. The trigger ispulled with a string to minimize any misalignmentcaused by other methods of trigger release.➤➤➤➤➤ IMPORTANT: Experimental results can befurther improved by making sure that the ball doesnot stick to the blue vibration damping ring prior tobeing launched. This is particularly critical for thelong range setting and for launching angles above30°. To assure the ball does not stick to the ring,push it gently with a pencil from the back of the barrel.• BARREL SIGHTS AND SAFETY PRECAU-TIONS: The sights for aiming the ProjectileLauncher can be viewed from the back of the launcherby looking through the back end of the barrel.➤➤➤➤➤WARNING: Never look down the front of thebarrel because it may be loaded. To see if the ball is inthe barrel and to check whether the Projectile Launcheris cocked, look at the slots in the side of the barrel.The yellow indicator seen through the side slotindicates the position of the piston. The ball can alsobe seen through these slots when it is in the piston.• COMPUTER COMPATIBLE: Photogates can be at-tached with the ME-6821 Photogate Mounting Bracketto connect the Projectile Launcher to a computer for mea-suring the muzzle speed. Also, a photogate at the muzzleand an ME-6810 Time-of-Flight Accessory can be usedto time the flight of the ball.• COMPACT STORAGE: The Projectile Launcherstores away in a small space. The ramrod attaches tothe Projectile Launcher with Velcro® and thelauncher can be turned vertically so it takes up theminimum amount of space on the shelf.• RELIABLE BALL-CATCHER MECHANISM:The sensitive spring-loaded barb-type catch on thependulum will catch balls with a large range of mo-menta. In addition, the ball is held in line with thependulum rod for best accuracy.• REMOVABLE PENDULUM: All moving parts ofthe pendulum may be removed so that the mass andthe center of mass can be easily determined. In addi-tion, the pendulum can be reversed to compare the ef-fects of inelastic and elastic collisions.• VARIABLE-MASS PENDULUM: Masses can beadded to the bottom of the pendulum so that meaning-ful measurements can be taken with either heavy orlightweight balls, over a wide range of velocities.