I think a bodged together soap box derby car would be cool. With four races, one for each member of the team.

-- Miike Poulton (mtpoulton@yahoo.com), February 15, 2001

Answers

Naw, I think you should have all four of them on it. Find a nice mountain road somewhere and have a course that would take about an hour to complete.

What physics/engineering principals would it teach? I suppose some issues about potential -> kinetic energy and some significant issues about controlability.

And yes, while it would be exciting to watch the entire team careening down a mountain in a speeding hunk of junk, would it be safe? Why would it take 10 hours to build? Wouldn't they just be best taking a junked car and adding weight as required?

I think there is potential there, but I think we'll have to come up with something innovative to force construction of something, rather than use an existing vehicle.

-- Michael (Canadian P.Eng.) (michael@mks-tech.com), February 16, 2001.

Hey, Let's simplify it to it's pure idea. Each team must get a tire from the junkyard and roll it down a hill.

-- John Gap (mindthegap64@hotmail.com), February 16, 2001.

I see where this one could go. A vechile powered only by the incline of the road. The sleeker you make the body, the more effecient. The balance has to be right of it would make the car slower. Kinda like the Pinewood Derby the Cub/Boy Scouts do around the country but with real cars. I like the idea of each person getting a ride. Average each teams times and fastes average times wins!

C'mon, all the "we need to do less motor driven" shows people need to pipe up and be heard. THIS IS A GOOD ONE!

BROADCAST JUNKIES WEBSITE http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/broadcastjunkies

-- Joey Falgout (Broadcast Junkies) (joeyinalexandria@hotmail.com), February 19, 2001.

John Gap, you must be the most intelligent person who posts on this BBoard.

Mike

-- Mike Poulton (mtpoulton@yahoo.com), February 19, 2001.

No...a relay race that is like this! The idea is to move "weapons" in a war...A member coasts down a hill "silent running" with "money" to a waiting member who must attach a method of powering the vehicle back up the hill with "the pruchased payload". The third member again coasts down with more "money" and the last member must attach a different drive system on with a bigger payload...

-- Dan Denney - Team Captain (Rustrenegades@hotmail.com), February 19, 2001.

This challenge might be more interesting if there were uphill portions in the course. The machine would have to store energy during the downhill portions (wind a spring, compress air into a cylinder...) and then use that energy to propel it up the uphill sections.

-- Chuck Vomacka (cvomacka@cox.rr.com), February 19, 2001.