Emma,+Ali,+Hannah,+Beth,+&+Corey

**Drop Box Objectives:**
Develop an experiment to test the effects of microgravity and present your findings to the class.

**Ask a Question:**
How does a pendulum react during micro-gravity and what are the actions?

**Do Background Research:**
As we know gravity causes the pendulum to swing from left to right when it is on the ground. When the pendulum is dropped in is no longer depending on gravity so we would assume that the pendulum would stop moving as well. Since the beginning of time, humans have relied on the sky to tell time. Sundials were one of the first devices people used to tell time. NASA will be experimenting with time in space. An atomic clock will be taken aboard the International Space Station (ISS). An atomic clock is a precise way of measuring time. Clocks work because of pendulums cooling shines a laser on atoms. This cools them to temperatures a millionth of a degree above that measure beats of time. This basic time beat is called a second. Atomic clocks use technology to measure the beat of a second with greater accuracy than a pendulum clock could ever achieve. A technique called laserabsolute zero. It slows the atom so that it is easier to measure. These cold atoms make excellent pendulums for atomic clocks. There are disturbances and variables on Earth that can affect the clocks' accuracy. Space, however, presents a more perfect environment for studying the time measurement. Where atoms fall almost immediately on Earth, microgravity will move atoms 5 to 10 times slower. The longer the time between beats of the atomic pendulum, the more precise the swing can be measured. The slower pace will lessen distortions in sound waves. Earth's magnetic field also creates distortions by causing atoms to bump into each other. This will be decreased on the Space Station. Slowing down the process means that tiny changes will be easier to detect. A laser-cooled clock called the Primary Atomic Reference Clock in Space (PARCS) is expected to be installed on the ISS by 2005. This clock will use microgravity to control the atomic pendulum. It should be more stable than existing atomic clocks. In space, it should keep time to within 1 second every 300 million years. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity says that the laws of physics are always the same if objects move at uniform speed. For example, if a coin is dropped, it will fall straight down, regardless if you are standing still or inside a car driving down the freeway. In space, however, there are changes that might affect Einstein's theory. Einstein's theory says that clocks in strong gravity tick slower than clocks in weak gravity. Gravity is weaker on the ISS than at the Earth's surface. The atomic clock may add an extra second every 10,000 years compared to clocks ticking on Earth. The atomic clock won't be in space that long. A stable clock will reveal signs of this effect in less than 1 year. If that happens, it would be an important scientific discovery. We already use atomic clocks on Earth. A Global Positioning System (GPS) uses atomic time. Each GPS satellite carries four atomic clocks on board. By coordinating time signals broadcast from orbit, the GPS receivers can pinpoint locations. Sailors, truck drivers, soldiers, hikers, and pilots use GPS for navigation. Some automobiles use the system to display a map on the dashboard. Same scenario, Pendulums will eventually stop swinging just like mountains become valleys over time!

**Construct a Hypothesis**
The group decided on a hypothesis that states the pendulum will be oscillating as normal, slowing down possibly.

Take a look at some of the things this website says about pendulums.... http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/physics/chapter8section5.rhtml

**Test Your Hypothesis by Doing a experiment:**
To set up the experiment our group first had to attach the camera to the door of the drop box, next the had to think of a way to hang the weight from the drop box. Our group decided to hang the weight attached to a string from a small hole on the top drop box.We then dropped the box and eventually watched the video. The group also placed a scale measure displacement during micro gravity, which is attached to this report.

**Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion:**
-The pendulum was swinging from left to right, when ther box dropped the pendulum shot straight up from the right and hit the top and kept bouncing up and down until the box hit the ground, then the pendulum swang in circles!

= =