Battery slug for a constant velocity car

Many physics teachers use "constant velocity" cars for student lab activities. With a battery slug, you can have two identical cars that move at different speeds (one car is running off 3.0 V from two batteries, the other off 1.5 V from one battery and the slug completing the circuit.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• physics
• constant velocity
• motion
• kinematics

[brownkowing]

Lee --

I just use a dead battery (no shortage of these in my class!), cover it in masking tape and then wrap this in aluminum foil (thanks to Don Yost @ 98 UCD workshop). It's guaranteed to fit with no trimming necessary.

-- Sherry

[leetramp]

@brownkowing Thanks, Sherry. Just when you think you've got something really cool worked out, something cooler comes along. Leave it to Don to have great ideas. --And, if you don't have any dead batteries, wrapping the foil around them will surely make them dead :-)

[bclamore]

I do something similar, but I wrap the cardboard with some Al foil and then another wrap of masking tape around the middle. Works great too.