Engineering the Curveball Flyer

Hi, I am Jared. Welcome to Fun Science Demos. Scientists collect and gather data. Engineers are a type of scientist that use that data to make something better. Well, here we have made something we call a curveball flyer, and it uses the energy from a rubber band to fly in a curve. Check it out. So to launch this thing we need the power of a rubber band, and I just put together three rubber bands, put it right in the middle. I am going to hold it with my thumb. I am going to stretch it back and then wind it two times around my curveball flyer. Stretch and wind. One, two. Now all I have to do is pinch it and let go, and watch this curveball flyer fly. Here we go. Three, two, one. Beautiful. It is pretty cool to watch those curveball flyers fly. In a previous video we talked about how to make curveball flyers and how to use them to gather data. Today we are going to talk about how to use different materials to see if we can make these curveball flyers better, and that makes us an engineer. So what kind of materials can we use for our curveball flyers? Well, pretty much anything that is round is worth a try. Keep in mind it may not work. That is all a part of engineering, and it is okay if it does not work. How do I figure out if it does work better than the original curveball flyer? Well, I need to gather data, and then I need to observe that data to see if I can compare it with the original. So let us start with the soda cans. I am using smaller cans. You can try the bigger cans and see how they work. I am just going to take some electrical tape, hold the tops of the cans together, line them up as best I can, and start to wrap the tape around the cans. It is a little slow to start, but it will go quicker as I get the tape onto the cans. Start wrapping it around. Go out a little bit from the edge so I know it is going to hold onto the can because as these spin, I do not want the cans to separate. A couple more wraps with the electrical tape, and believe it or not, my aluminum curveball flyer is done. And ready for a test flight. So now we are ready to launch our aluminum curveball flyer. Keep in mind, I have no idea if this is going to work or not, and that is totally okay. It may not curve at all. That is part of engineering. Here we go. Three. That did happen. So now let us try plastic water bottles. I could try small water bottles or big water bottles. Let us try the bigger water bottles. I wonder what would happen if I tried 2 liter soda bottles. That is something that you could also try. Let me get the tape started around one of the bottles, pinch them together, and start winding the tape around the bottles. I really want to make sure they are joined together tightly so that they stay together when I go to launch these things. They are going to be spinning pretty quickly, so I want to make sure I have plenty of tape holding these together. Tear off the tape. And now I am ready to try to launch this curveball flyer. Now let us try our plastic bottle curveball flyer. We will see how it goes. Three. Two. One. So we have tried flying our new curveball flyers. Well, both of them flew and both of them curved. But how do we know which one is better? Well, that is where our data comes in. We need to measure how long they were in the air, how high they flew, how far out, how long of a distance they traveled, and compare the data to see which one really is better. That is what would make us an engineer. Engineers are always trying to make things better by careful observation and collecting data. Then they compare that data to make new improvements. Take a look at these two curveball flyers. These were both made by some of my students. This one, the students actually took two different types of cuffs and taped them together. This one is actually two different funnels, or two funnels taped together. How are they going to work? Well, to figure that out, I would have to launch them and fly them, observe, gather data, and compare it to the original flyer. If it does not work better, then I try something else. That is what the process of science is all about. Try making your own new and improved curveball flyer. Try lots of different materials. If it is round, give it a try. A straw, a styrofoam ball, a small plastic bottle. If it does not work, try again. If you want some more engineering ideas, check out our engineering playlist on our channel, Fun Science Demos. Until next time, stop and try to wonder why.