Magnet Free-Fall Experiment
Mark 5A

The Mark 5A magnet free-fall object consists of a Mark 5 3D printed plastic front shell, and a back shell with 45 degree taper, 10mm height, and 25mm length fin size, with a hole in center back for a fishing line to fit through with a knot on the inside, all for the purpose of being held by two electromagnetic solenoid coils for a computer controlled drop, eliminating the hand method that had been used to date. The electronics used are a Arduino Nano 33 BLE Rev2, Adafruit BNO055 IMU, PowerBoost 500 Basic, a 3.7V Lipo 250mAh Battery, and a Control, NS/NS, and SN/SN magnet object.

Results

Grade: A-
  • Max Acceleration: 10.4712 m/s2
  • Average Acceleration: 10.4277 m/s2
  • Magnet: 2 x N42, 2″ OD, 1/4″ ID, 1″ thick
  • Height: 1.95 meters
  • IMU: BNO055
  • Mode: IMUPLUS – VECTORLINEARACCEL
  • Drop Method: Computer
  • Replication Warranted: No

Overview

The purpose of this experiment was to test the Mark 5 shell, slightly modified with a piece of string coming out of the back shell to squeeze between two solenoid coils which are controlled by an Arduino in order to create a computer controlled drop instead of hand dropping as has been done in the past.