Scott Turner
In Motion Staff Writer
Lance Rothwell/In Motion
The Physics Olympics returned to Daytona State College for the second year in a row this year, and was met with a great number of attendees and excitement. Multiple events testing various different facets of physics, engineering and mathematics were available to participate in, with many high schools from around the state attending.
The event was put together primarily by Dr. Gajendra Tulsian, Associate Professor of the School of Physical, Biological and Marine/Environmental Science, who personally helped inform and gather many of the volunteers present.
“The primary goal is to let the kids who attend enjoy themselves and show them that science can be fun and is one of the best hobbies you can have,” Tulsian said.
Approximately 150 students from eight high schools attended, including Seabreeze, Atlantic, Pine Ridge, Mainland, University, Deltona, Spruce Creek and DeLand.
A total of ten events were available to participate in. Each challenge had a specific set of goals and criterion that had to be met for victory.
In Bridge Building, a bridge that can weigh no more than 110 grams with no element wider than 0.953 cm or thicker than 0.635 cm was assembled by students before coming to the event. It was then tested by hanging a bucket underneath which would be steadily filled with sand until catastrophic failure occurred. Selena Leonard from Mainland High School won this event.
Coathook Cannon’s goal was to launch a 2.54 cm steel or brass ball a predetermined distance with the greatest accuracy. Three attempts are given to each team of one to three students and the average of the three attempts taken. Myles Best, Kayla Vickers and Alyssa Clarke from Deltona High School won this event.
The Downhill Coaster required a vehicle to travel two meters down a 15 degree plywood grade then coast on level plywood for an additional two meters without crossing a target line. Bianca Casiano and Shawn Verg from Deltona High School won this event.
Also requiring some work beforehand, the Naked Egg Drop required an egg to survive a drop of two meters and remain completely intact. In the event that multiple eggs survived, the devices that allowed them to survive were measured and victory would go to the smallest one. Matt Fischer and Vincent Drews from Spruce Creek High School were the victors in this event.
During the Foil Barge event, competitors had ten minutes to construct an aluminum foil barge that would then be tested to see how many pennies it could hold without sinking. Thomas Oder, Shahrose Kasim and Jordan Troung from Spruce Creek High School took home the victory here.
Lazer Zap was a group event, requiring three students to direct a laser beam around an obstacle and back to its original target point on the wall behind it. Provided were two prisms, one isosceles triangle and one semicircular. Teams then had to calculate, based on the precise indexes of refraction of the prisms, where to place the prisms. The laser would then be reactivated and the team closest to the target would be victorious. Edward Williams, Colm Green, and Anthony Squillante from Mainland High School won this event.
The Paper Plane Pentathlon included five different events that tested different aspects of construction. Distance, aerobatic stunt capability, precision, flight time, and maneuverability were all tested. The three highest scores from all five events were added together, with Mainland and Deltona High Schools being the top scorers.
Paper Tower required teams to construct a freestanding tower using a single sheet of paper and 50 cm strip of cellophane tape. Each team had ten minutes to construct. Towers had to remain self-supporting upon completion for more than ten seconds. Victory went to Rebecca Eaton from Mainland High School.
In Soda Straw Strong Arm, competitors created the longest possible arm with soda straws and pins that could hold 100g of mass. Teams had 20 minutes to construct and could test during construction. Weston Voll and Janice Pittelli from Mainland High School were victorious.
The final event of the day was the Rube Goldberg Machine. Rube Goldberg Machines are created to perform tasks in the most complicated way possible, in this case have a pendulum sound a gong. Teams had three hours to construct their machines and victory determined by the machine that garnered the greatest approval from the crowd. Mainland High School was victorious, having the most uproarious support from those in attendance.
Pharaoh Thomas, a senior at Mainland High School, attended last year’s Physics Olympics and returned again this year.
“I came this year for the Downhill Coaster and Rube Goldberg machine. I’m planning to come back and volunteer next year. I love this event, it’s a good opportunity to showcase physics and how physics and engineering come together, even at a high school level,” Thomas said.
Kyleigh Davis, Michael Said and Anna Spurlin from Atlantic High School all related positive experiences about their first time attending the Physics Olympics.
“I came for the paper tower, paper airplane, and foil barge. It was an interesting day; it was physics and having fun and hanging out with your friends, which was nice,” Davis said.
“I was surprised. It was a bit more free-form than I expected, but it was a fun trip, and I’d definitely come back again,” Said said.
“It was a really fun time. It was a bit more open than I was expecting. It was a lot of fun and would come back next year,” Spurlin said.
The Physics Olympics were held on April 4 in the Gale Lemerand Center at the Daytona State College main campus.