Re: Ealing 3.75m air track VS Pasco tracks??

[Hugh Haskell <hhaskell@mindspring.com>]

> > How many of you still have and use the old Ealing
> > 3.75m air tracks sold circa 1970??
>
> We still have two of them at Rice, probably the same ones as when you
> were here.
>
> > We still have 2 in our department that are used every
> > semester in our demonstrations in the lecture courses.
> > While the air tracks are still operational, we must
> > always adjust the levelness of the track by adjusting
> > the bolts that are attached to the I-beam support. The
> > track gets a lot of milage because we have to move it
> > from the first floor to the second floor and back a few
> > times a semester. Another thing we do is file corners of
> > the gliders
> > after they are dropped on the floor during the demonstration.
> > Still, this track is an excellent demonstration.
>
> Agreed. Since ours move less they continue to work well with little
> fuss.
>
> > I have noticed that Pasco sells a long track on which friction-less
> > carts ride on and basically do the things that the Ealing air
> > track can do.
> >
> > Does anyone have any experiences to share about the Pasco track and
> >  any recommendations??
>
> We recently acquired a Pasco set up also, with the long track. It
> works as advertised but it is different than an air track. Which you
> use depends on what you want to do.
>
> The Pasco carts have more drag than an air track. For some
> demonstrations, particularly when you want one cart to be stationary,
> this is a real advantage. The air track is better if the forces are
> small or you are trying to get the best quantitative results.
>
> Practically, the Pasco system is easier to set up and quieter, since
> there is no blower. I think it also works a little more easily with a
> sonic ranger, presumably because there is less acoustic noise and less
> air disturbance in the beam.
>
> Ideally, one should have both available, so you can use whichever is
> better for the situation.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Stan

Well, so much for my reading comprehension. I thought that you were
referring to the Pasco Air track, not the Pasco Dynamics carts. We have a
couple of the dynamics carts setup, but not enough to use them as
laboratory apparatus. We use them primarily as demo equipment, which means
we don't make too many quantitative measurements with them, so I can't
comment about how well they would work in that setting. For demo's though,
they are great. They are easy to set up and to modify. The carts have velco
pads for inelastic collisions and both magnets and spring-loaded rods for
elastic collisions. They have lots of accessories that can be connected to
them. They can be fitted with smart pulleys or sonic rangers for
quantitative measurements. The segments of track can be connected together
to make longer ones. On and on. They are not as low friction as an air
track, but if you hold the time duration of any demo or experiment down to
a reasonable minimum that shouldn't be insurmountable. The carts are very
sturdy, and survive being dropped quite well. And of course, since they
require no air source, they are very quiet to operate. In general, although
they are not a replacment for air tracks, they are a very use suplement for
them.

Hugh


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Hugh Haskell <mailto://hhaskell@mindspring.com>

The box said "Requires Windows 95 or better." So I bought a Macintosh.
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