Keep the Heat B/Thermodynamics C

[Julian]

thanks! theres no limit to how many pages right?

Unless stated otherwise, there is no page limit to binders. The focus should be on keeping it organized and knowing where everything is at the tip of your fingers, not cramming as much information into the binder as you can. Keep in mind, that you're not going to have time to read through everything during the test. The most successful Olympians are not the ones with the largest binders, but the ones that know how to use them the best.

[foreverphysics]

Largest binder I have ever seen
That is a picture of a binder at Nats. (Picture credit goes to chalker.)
Apparently, the team didn't score that well. Proof that big binder =/= good score.

[SnehaJeevan]

Are there any restrictions as to what information we can keep in the binder?

[SnehaJeevan]

Are we allowed to use store-bought clay in our device? Or does it have to be organic?

I don't think clay is allowed at all, I think it may have already been discussed in this thread
Edit: It has, and an official FAQ has been posted to address it(http://soinc.org/node/857)

Thx!

Great, now I have to rebuild my whole device...

[Julian]

Are there any restrictions as to what information we can keep in the binder?

Aside from a stolen answer key, I don't think so. If you can print it on paper, it's fair game. Pictures, graphs, charts, Wikipedia articles, whatever. Everything is fine.

[val_chen_11]

What are the most important information that you would recommend knowing for the test? ( or to put in the binder?)

[Schrodingerscat]

Has anyone acquired and used thermal imaging cameras to look at your device? If so, did you find that it worthwhile in improving your device?

[harryk]

Largest binder I have ever seen
That is a picture of a binder at Nats. (Picture credit goes to chalker.)
Apparently, the team didn't score that well. Proof that big binder =/= good score.

They got 19th, which at Nats is actually decent, and among those pictures of big binders is the one of Centerville(the overall champs) and got 5th in IAT

[Julian]

What are the most important information that you would recommend knowing for the test? ( or to put in the binder?)

This isn't such a straight-forward question to answer. Really, it varies from team to team depending on your knowledge and your level of competitiveness. Ideally you should know everything that you put in your binder. The function of the binder is primarily to refresh your memory on a topic or to keep formula and definitions on hand so you don't need to worry about keeping them in your head. Given this though, I would recommend creating a list of topics that could potentially come up on a thermodynamics test and turning that into your Table of Contents and then filling it up with relevant information from there. Check out the wiki page for the event. It has a lot of subjects that commonly turn up on the test.

Has anyone acquired and used thermal imaging cameras to look at your device? If so, did you find that it worthwhile in improving your device?

That's a really interesting suggestion, and unfortunately I don't have access to one to try it out. However, just based on my experience, in our 20x20x20 devices, we haven't noticed a lot of heat leaking out of the box. The 250ml beakers are so small relative to the box, that probably only a negligible amount reaches the outside. Maybe if there was a way to take a look at just the insulation sans box, it could provide some potentially useful thermal information.

[illusionist]

I agree too. We've noticed initially that most heat was leaking out the top of the box (makes sense since that's where the hole is and also warm air rises), but after we fixed that issue, I can't feel any noticeable temperature change on the surfaces. It would be really cool to have a thermal imaging camera though.