Physical Science Lab

[ichaelm]

RULES CLARIFICATION:

I emailed the SOINC guys a question.

Question: According to the rules, the blade assembly must fit the dimensions "when mounted." Does this mean at the moment at which the blade assembly is attached to the mount, or throughout the duration of the testing?

Answer: Throughout the duration of the event.

I guess this means my giant unfolding parachute idea won't work.

[haven chuck]

Is that the only rules clarification for this event so far?

[Flavorflav]

Is that the only rules clarification for this event so far?

Who knows? They aren't posting clarifications like they used to. I think I have submitted more than there are on the site all by myself.

[haven chuck]

I dont know. Last year, i submitted 3 and didn't get any answered. Hopefully they will be more efficient this year, but it sounds lke not

[fleet130]

i submitted 3 and didn't get any answered

It's amazing, but an unbelievably high percentage of questions are submitted with an incorrect email address. There's no way to answer them.

Another favorite is submitting a question from an account protected by "Spam Assassin" or one of the other anti-spam systems that only accept mail from subscribed addresses. Chances are, you won't get an answer. Better to use a "throw-away" hotmail/gmail account and make sure you enter it correctly.

[Flavorflav]

i submitted 3 and didn't get any answered

It's amazing, but an unbelievably high percentage of questions are submitted with an incorrect email address. There's no way to answer them.

Another favorite is submitting a question from an account protected by "Spam Assassin" or one of the other anti-spam systems that only accept mail from subscribed addresses. Chances are, you won't get an answer. Better to use a "throw-away" hotmail/gmail account and make sure you enter it correctly.

I am getting answers, but often they are refusals to answer. Once it was "the rules are silent on this question" (which was kind of why I was asking it) and once it was "the rule is clear," which I obviously disagreed with. I've been submitting clarifications for a few years now, and have always been satisfied with the process even when the ruling wasn't what I hoped it would be. This year, I have stopped bothering with Soinc and am talking directly to the regional and state coordinators and event supervisors.

[danger will robinson]

Where can you get the regional/state coordinators and event supervisors emails?

[fleet130]

If you don't know how to contact them start with the regional/state websites or the state director's contact page.

[danger will robinson]

Yay! Thanks a bunch.

[croman74]

Hey Y'all!!! i no its feb., but.... I HAVEN"T EVEN STARTED BUILDING THE DUMB THING YET!!!!!!! I get sidetracked when i start building... i have some questions.......
how heavy?
what material?
flat or curved?

first off, don't constantly post after yourself. People aren't just waiting on the site to answer your questions. be patient.
To answer your questions, you want to make the rotor light, as it will spin faster and generate more voltage. You can use any material, some people like to use balsa wood. To answer your question about the flat or curved, i believe curved is better, but you really have to test for yourself. Try different techniques to see what works best. That's one of the main ideas for this event: test and find out. You can't be certain what's best until you try it and see for yourself.