Totally stumped on a science project...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zardoz
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On a more serious note from my last attempt (which I now have a revision for so it's not completely a timer :) ), how about dropping a marble into a plastic tube containing a very viscous liquid (something like syrup or highly concentrated sugar water)? You could alter the viscosity of the liquid, depth of liquid and/or size of marble to control drop rate...

Oh, and I can't stop myself, so here's my revision:

Code: 
import java.util.Date;

public class OneMinute
{
	public static void main (String [] args)
	{
		Date currentDate = new Date();
		currentDate.setMinutes(59);
   		Date targetDate = new Date();
   		
   		if(currentDate.getMinutes() == 59)
   		{
   			targetDate.setHours(currentDate.getHours()+1);
   			targetDate.setMinutes(0);
   		}
   		else
   			targetDate.setMinutes(targetDate.getMinutes()+1);
   		
   		while(currentDate.compareTo(targetDate) != 1)
   		{
   			currentDate = new Date();
   		}
    }
}
 
Gil
The only other thing I can think of is some sort of wind-up toy or mechanism.
You would just have to figure out how many turns of the key would net you one minute of action.
Click to expand...
Except that it'll take years to wind it up (if possible to wind up a toy to go for 1 minute).
 
amp88
On a more serious note from my last attempt (which I now have a revision for so it's not completely a timer :) ), how about dropping a marble into a plastic tube containing a very viscous liquid (something like syrup or highly concentrated sugar water)? You could alter the viscosity of the liquid, depth of liquid and/or size of marble to control drop rate...
Click to expand...

Aye, but fluid mechanics be a harsh mistress :) Experiments like that are much harder to replicate trial after trial than we'd think. It's funny; engineering problems like these are supposed to reward creativity, yet the simplest (which is not equivalent to easiest) solution is often the best in terms of practicallity, cost, and reliability, even if it's an ultimately "boring" solution.
 
I reckon everyone who suggests an idea has to actually build it and then video it to prove how good/bad it is. Closest to a minute from 3 repeated tests gets a bonus prize! :p

kylehnat
Aye, but fluid mechanics be a harsh mistress :) Experiments like that are much harder to replicate trial after trial than we'd think.
Click to expand...

Och, I reckon with a bit of tinkering it could be fairly accurate
 
Another idea.
genius21kc.jpg
 
Get a transparent tube, put a ping-pong ball inside it then stick caps on both ends and flip the tube, the time for the ping pong ball to get to the bottom should be considerable, adjust the length of the tube to get 1 min exactly.
 
adjusting tube length while maintaining a seal is tricky business, my friend.
 
Ooh, ooh...about burning stuff. Burn a cigarette. They burn really slowly and they won't go out. They're produced in such masses that they're all the same, so doing tests will be easy, so long as the wind doesn't get to it too much. Teacher may be mad about the whole burning a cigarette thing though.
 
Purple Platypus
Ooh, ooh...about burning stuff. Burn a cigarette. They burn really slowly and they won't go out. They're produced in such masses that they're all the same, so doing tests will be easy, so long as the wind doesn't get to it too much. Teacher may be mad about the whole burning a cigarette thing though.
Click to expand...
Hey, that would work. just cut off the rest of the cig if it takes too long to burn. the teacher may not appreciate the whole class second hand smoking though.
 
I have another idea. Get a piece of bologna, and put it on the hood of your teacher's car.

When it's time to demonstrate your project, just tell him about it, and by the time he runs to his car and back, one minute will have elapsed. :D
 
Omnis
I have another idea. Get a piece of bologna, and put it on the hood of your teacher's car.

When it's time to demonstrate your project, just tell him about it, and by the time he runs to his car and back, one minute will have elapsed. :D
Click to expand...
But there are some flaws with your suggestion.
The car may be parked too far away.
The teacher may not care about his car or the fact that there is bologna on the car.
The teacher is a lazy person.
Or,
The teacher can't run to his car and back in a minute.
:D
 
The teacher will run in a minute. If the car is too close, shape the bologna into something crude, and he'll spend time covering it up.

Whether the car is too far or the teacher is too fat and out of shape is totally meaningless. He will get there in a minute to save his paintjob, or, even if he's too fat, he could never pass up a free slice of bologna.
 
Omnis
The teacher will run in a minute. If the car is too close, shape the bologna into something crude, and he'll spend time covering it up.

Whether the car is too far or the teacher is too fat and out of shape is totally meaningless. He will get there in a minute to save his paintjob, or, even if he's too fat, he could never pass up a free slice of bologna.
Click to expand...
What if he doesn't care about his car and is a vegamatarian?
 
There's no such thing as a fat vegetarian.

If he doesn't care about his car, then at least you'll have some kind of consolation for your F, as his car will be permanently stripped of its paint in the form of a penis or any other crude object of choice.
 
Omnis
There's no such thing as a fat vegetarian.

If he doesn't care about his car, then at least you'll have some kind of consolation for your F, as his car will be permanently stripped of its paint in the form of a penis or any other crude object of choice.
Click to expand...
I'm a fat vegetarian! :dopey:
 
The whole class failed.
 
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