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Transcript for NASAConnect - Plane Weather
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[Commentator:] NASA's aeronautic
safety program is a program
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designed to help pilots
fly their planes safer.
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To know where storms are so
they could fly around it.
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To be sure they know where other
planes are so they won't crash
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with them, to understand
where the ground is
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so they won't have
difficult emergency landings.
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It will help them
maintain the planes better
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so they won't have engine problems.
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They won't have cracks in the
wings they won't have electronics
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that fail.
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It will help them see through
storms and see through the night
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and it will make airport
much safer.
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[Van:] Hi!
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I'm Van Hughes for Connect.
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You know it seems everybody is
always talking about the weather.
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I mean anyone can easily adapt to
the change in weather conditions.
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There are many variables that
help define weather like the sun,
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the rain, and even the snow.
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But weather can also influence a
lot of things in our everyday life.
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In this program you will learn how
weather impacts air transportation
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and the actions taken by pilots
and ground operators in preparation
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for planes to fly during
inclement weather conditions.
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You will see two examples
of NASA and FAA research
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that is currently being conducted
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to address weather related
air travel concerns.
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For example, the F106 behind me
was subjected to lightening strikes
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by NASA researchers to study
how lightening impacts air
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borne aircrafts.
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So that's pretty cool.
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In this program you'll
be asked to participate
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in the math based problem
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and experience first
hand a demonstration
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of how weather can
impact air travel.
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At any time during this
program when you hear this,
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and you see that on the screen
write down the connect web address.
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By using an internet accessible
computer you'll be able
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to access NASA and the
FAA researchers and hear
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from them their perspectives
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to questions presented
throughout this program.
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You'll also find other
experts highlights including
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meteorologists, pilots
and even kids like us.
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But for right now, join us as we
began a new season of Connect.
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The United State is
subjected to some
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of the world's most
diversified weather conditions.
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During the course of a normal year
our country may experience plus one
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hundred degrees temperatures,
jungle humidity,
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negative thirty degrees cold,
severe draught conditions as well
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as being the world leader
in tornado activity;
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not to mention an occasional
east coast hurricane.
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As our transportation system has
expanded so too has our tendency
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to commute on a daily basis to
work in the recreational events.
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The potential for weather
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to complicate our lives is
therefore also increased.
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Aviations perhaps more than
other readily available mode
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of transportation today
is strongly impacted
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by weather conditions.
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Did you know that
seventy five percent
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of all airport delays
are related to weather?
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In 1996, the estimated price tag
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for weather related delays
diversions cancellation
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and unexpected operating costs
was two point one billion dollars.
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The US government invested
approximately eight hundred
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and thirty million dollars
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in aviation weather
efforts during 1997.
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As the magnitude of these numbers
indicate ensuring weather related
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safety and efficiency
of flight has economic
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and human lifeline applications
to business and travel
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in public communities.
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Weather has continual impact
on both the safety of aircraft
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and flight and the efficiency
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of operations throughout the
national aerospace system.
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To complicate things even more
air traffic is projected to triple
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over the next twenty years.
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More planes and people in the air
flying longer distances more often
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and as you know weather
delay will mean
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with more air traffic
talk about a traffic jam.
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How important is weather
information
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to your daily activates, how well
we understands the weather system
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and interaction of the various
elements on the daily forecast,
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but most of all how might weather
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in one location affect your
plane travel to different region.
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Today's meteorologists have the
tools and advanced technology
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to explain complex weather
phenomena in a way that is simple
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to understand; thanks largely
the satellite information
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and computer based modeling.
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Dennis Smith of weather channel
in Atlanta, Georgia has offered
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to explain and help us understand
the fundamentals of weather.
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Dennis.
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[Dennis Smith:] Thanks Van, as many
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of you know the weather channel
provide twenty four hour weather
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information both from a national
and international prospective.
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Our meteorologists
constantly monitor
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and update weather information.
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Now today we are going on fly
through some basic weather concepts
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and talk a little bit
about winter weather
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which can cause some
problems for aircraft.
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To explain how our weather
occurs we must first travel
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out pass the boundaries
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of our atmosphere ninety
three million miles away.
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Our sun emits visible
and invisible energy
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that we call solar radiation.
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Radiation from the sun travels
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through the earth's atmosphere
heating the air, the land
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and the water it contacts.
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The earth surface absorbs much
more radiation in the atmosphere,
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this means that the
sun heats the ground
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and the ground heats
the atmosphere.
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Not all parts of the
earth are warmed equally.
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Regions around the equator receive
more concentrated solar radiation
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than to area around the
poles; the result is
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that the equator is
warmer than the poles.
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Temperature differences
also result because land
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and water do not absorb
solar radiation equally.
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Because air moves warm air and
cold air are constantly mixing
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in the atmosphere.
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This mixing not only even out
the global temperature contrast,
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but results in the various
weather conditions we see everyday.
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If solar radiation
penetrates all layers
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of the atmosphere then why
does nearly all weather occur
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in the lowest layer,
the troposphere?
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The troposphere is
warmest near the ground
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and cooler the higher you go.
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Its temperature pattern is
favorable for the development
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of vertical air turns
relatively warm air tends to rise
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and relatively cool
air tends to sink.
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As warm air rises in the
atmosphere it expands and cools
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as air cools clouds can form
and precipitation and fall.
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Warm air rising causes
less pressure to be exerted
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by the atmosphere lower air
pressure cool air falling causes
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more pressure be exerted, high air
pressure as warm and cool air flow
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from one region to
another pressure changes
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and soak in the weather.
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When air pressure falls quickly it
usually means a stormy weather is
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approaching that's a result
of low pressure system.
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When air pressure rises there
weather typically results;
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that's result of a
high pressure system.
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Wind is another bi-product
of changing air pressure,
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winds flow because of the pressure
differences in the atmosphere.
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Air moves from the areas of high
pressure to areas of low pressure,
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winds spiral inward toward
low pressure causing a piling
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up of air forcing air to
rise and cool forming clouds
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and eventually precipitation.
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Around high pressure wind
spiral outwork promoting sinking
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in and fair weather.
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Okay now while you are
surfing of that information,
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lets think of something
a little bit more fun.
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When you think of winter is
this the picture you see,
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snow, snow and more snow.
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But there are other types
of winter precipitation.
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The type of precipitation of
falls during winter depends
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on how warm air moves over
a layer below freezing air.
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A good place to start
is with sleet,
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sleet is frozen precipitation
falling is ice pellets.
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These ice fall ups warm and snow
flakes pass through a thin layer
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of warm air and melt, they
refreeze in the ice fall ups
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as they fall to another layer of
colder air close to the ground.
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Freezing rain is made of
water droplets that fall
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to the earth surface and freeze
upon contact with the ground
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or objects near the ground.
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For freezing rain to
develop cold air close
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to the ground needs to be shallow.
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The rain doesn't have time
to freeze in the ice pellets
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but upon contact with frozen
objects, it turns in the ice.
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Snow is frozen precipitation in
the form of six sided ice crystal.
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Snow is produced in clouds where
water vapor changes directly
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into ice crystals that remain
frozen as they fall to earth.
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Snow will fall when
temperature remain below freezing
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from the clouds to the ground
or on a very shallow layer
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or above freezing air is
present near the ground.
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Winter weather can be a
lot of fun to play in,
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but it can cause some problems
for us when we try to get out
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and travel either by foot, by
car, and especially by air.
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Now you have better
understanding of weather,
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here is a question for you.
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Weather reports of snow are
typically based on visibility.
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Snow fall is considered heavy when
an observer cannot see very far
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to the flakes, but visibility
is not the critical element
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to the meteorologist interested
in your craft operations.
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What do you suppose is the
main issue that is considered
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and looking at snowfall from
the perspective of aviation?
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Back to you Van.
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[Van] Thanks Dennis.
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We have just seen the
weather channel for people,
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but can you believe that airplanes
need their own weather channel.
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To tell us more about the aviation
weather channel is Tom Vanmeder
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of the Federal Aviation
Administration.
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[Tom] Thanks Van.
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Pilots need to have a continual
awareness of the changing nature
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of the atmosphere on
their regular flight.
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In order to be able to react
to changing weather conditions
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in a safe, efficient, and
timely manner; it is the job
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of the weather coordinators here
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at the FAA's air traffic
control system command centre
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to provide aviation
weather information.
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The operational aviation decision
makers such as traffic management
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and severe weather specialist
here at the command center,
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along with the traffic management
units and severe weather specialist
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in the field facilities.
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While the national weather
service looks at a wide range
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of weather conditions.
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Information that the weather
coordinators are looking
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for as aviation related, such as
icing conditions and thunder storms
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that can have a major impact on
the national aerospace system.
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Weather phenomena such as thunder
storms, clear air turbulence,
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volcanic ash, and severe
icing can cause large portion
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of the national aerospace
system to be unusable.
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Geographical features and
altitude also have an affect
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on aviation weather.
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Moisture drawn from the great lakes
can causes light effects no storms
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to form on the east side of
the great lakes for the rest
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of the Midwest remains clear.
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When icing conditions such as
freezing rain occur at an airport,
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ice may build up on air craft
wings changing their shape
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and adding a considerable amount
of weight to the aircraft.
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This change in shape and addition
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of weight can cause the
aircraft to be unable to fly.
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To counter the effects of icing
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at certain airports the airport
may go into deicing status.
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Deicing is a slow procedure
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in what's the entire aircraft
is spread with the deicing fluid
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to remove the ice and temporarily
prevent additional build up because
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of the time it takes to deicing
aircraft there is a reduction
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in the number of aircraft that
can depart from that airport.
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When this happens if a
corresponding reduction
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in the arrival traffic is not
made the number of aircraft
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on the airport would grow
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until there is no longer
any ramp space left in which
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to park additional aircraft.
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This situation is
known as grid lock.
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The traffic management
specialist at the command centre,
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monitor the situation at the
air ports and the deicing status
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and if necessary will adjust
the arrival flows in order
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to accommodate the airports
capacity and prevent it
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from going into grid lock.
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When icing conditions are lot
impact a large geographical area.
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The traffic management specialists
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in the command centre
severe weather unit work
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with the affected
facilities to develop routes
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around the icing conditions.
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Aircraft that are not
equipped for flight
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in icing conditions may use
these roots or may divert
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to another airport to wait until
the icing conditions have passed.
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Aircraft's that are equipped for
flight in icing conditions may fly
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through the area of desire.
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Consider the weather
related condition of icing.
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Our icing characteristic are same
everywhere so let me ask you,
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how my geographic and
atmosphere features contribute
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to icing differences in different
regions of the United States.
[00:12:47.659]
So now you know people are the only
one who need a weather channel.
[00:12:51.419]
[Shelly:] Consider the
dilemma in working in the field
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of meteorology unlike
other science fields
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where laboratory test can be
performed under tight controls,
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meteorology has no laboratory
accept the vast dynamic
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atmosphere outside.
[00:13:08.119]
Our friends at the weather channel
[00:13:09.979]
and FAA air traffic systems
command centre has helped
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demonstrate the science and art
in making weather predications
[00:13:16.559]
and decisions that effect us
on the ground and in the air.
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Hi I am Shelly Kenley
[00:13:22.589]
[inaudible] officer for NASA
and host for the Connect series.
[00:13:26.019]
Thus far we haven't given
some basic understanding
[00:13:28.939]
of weather fundamentals
and the impact weather have
[00:13:31.399]
on aviation operations.
[00:13:34.289]
Meteorological conditions
which have been quickly causes
[00:13:37.219]
of aviation delays injuries
[00:13:39.329]
and accidents include poor
visibility thunder storms,
[00:13:43.009]
wind shield or micro-burst, clear
air turbulence, snow storms,
[00:13:46.729]
freezing rain and icing.
[00:13:48.069]
In today's program you
will hear from leaders
[00:13:51.259]
in the federal government
what made aviation safety
[00:13:54.249]
and aviation weather
a specific mission.
[00:13:57.299]
Central to this is research it's
a key factor in the developmental
[00:14:01.259]
and implementation of
new technologies related
[00:14:03.499]
to aviations weather and
because of all that you are going
[00:14:06.719]
to have the opportunity to
present some unique NASA facilities
[00:14:09.839]
and witness the ground breaking
research and as you listen
[00:14:13.079]
to the researcher's stories
[00:14:14.209]
on their investigations
consider these questions.
[00:14:17.879]
What is the relationship
between science and technology?
[00:14:21.979]
What is the role of mathematics
and mathematical tools
[00:14:24.879]
in scientific inquiry?
[00:14:26.359]
What is the value of
collaborations and partnerships
[00:14:29.929]
in conducting research?
[00:14:32.689]
We have already mentioned the many
types of meteorological conditions
[00:14:36.169]
that can effect aviations
operations
[00:14:38.509]
for the remaining portion
of this program we are going
[00:14:41.109]
to learn our focus
on one type icing.
[00:14:44.669]
Icing can have a profound
effect on the in flight
[00:14:47.579]
and ground operations
of the aircraft.
[00:14:49.739]
Let us visit to NASA research
centers that are involved
[00:14:52.679]
in various icing research studies.
[00:14:55.059]
We'll start our icing travels by
visiting NASA Louis Research Center
[00:14:58.479]
in Cleveland, Ohio and
its Icing Research Tunnel.
[00:15:01.619]
Now this facility is the world's
largest refrigerated wind tunnel.
[00:15:06.579]
So bundle up, let's go
visit that's a giant cooler
[00:15:09.689]
and have a closed look at
icing effects on air craft
[00:15:12.569]
and the icing research
been conducted.
[00:15:14.779]
Listen to learn how one
measures the effect of ice
[00:15:17.999]
on aircraft performance.
[00:15:19.609]
[Judy:] Thanks Sherry.
[00:15:21.909]
My name is Dr. Judy Van Zante and
I'm standing in the test section
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of the Icing Research Tunnel.
[00:15:27.609]
Right it's nice and warm in here,
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but later on its going
to get really cold.
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Alright, what this tunnel was built
for was to stimulate down here
[00:15:35.859]
on the ground what is
like when air plane to fly
[00:15:38.639]
through an icing cloud up there.
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We do this by creating a cloud
that mimics what you see up there.
[00:15:45.939]
As one of the research
engineers, I ask the operators
[00:15:48.979]
to select by five parameters.
[00:15:50.809]
One is the air speed coming pass
the model one is temperature how
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cold it is or below freezing.
[00:15:57.629]
Two parameters are about the cloud
density, how much water I have
[00:16:00.879]
in the cloud density
how big each drop sizes.
[00:16:04.549]
The final parameters I select is,
[00:16:05.969]
the time that I will be
flying through that cloud.
[00:16:08.679]
I select the cloud conditions,
[00:16:10.069]
I select the model I
either select an engine
[00:16:13.339]
which provides the airplane
forward trust or select a wing
[00:16:16.789]
which provides the plane live and
I want to see one of three things.
[00:16:21.149]
One is what kind of ice do I grow
on my model what is it look like
[00:16:25.789]
for the given cloud condition and
the other thing that want to look
[00:16:28.729]
at is how to keep icing growing
on that and ice protection system
[00:16:32.879]
and the third thing and
that I want to look at is
[00:16:34.549]
to see how well I can predict with
the eye-shape is gonna look flat;
[00:16:38.269]
using a mathematical
module and a computer.
[00:16:41.219]
All these three functions
are done in the tunnel.
[00:16:44.179]
I use this tunnel along with Conrad
[00:16:46.309]
[inaudible] for the tail
plane icing program.
[00:16:48.319]
We did there was to see how
ice contamination effects the
[00:16:52.189]
operations of the tail plane.
[00:16:53.959]
Let's take a look at
what the tail plane is
[00:16:55.729]
and how it effects
their craft operation.
[00:17:00.099]
What we have here is an animation
of an airplane or flight.
[00:17:03.509]
The forces acting on this
airplane are the weight which acts
[00:17:07.189]
through the centre of gravity.
[00:17:09.549]
The upward lift is provided by
the wings and the tail plane
[00:17:12.619]
on the right side of the screen
provides a downward lift.
[00:17:16.199]
In equilibrium flight we
got the following force
[00:17:19.249]
and movement balances to consider,
we've got the weight which acts
[00:17:23.089]
through the centre of gravity
[00:17:24.309]
which is also the
aircrafts pivot point.
[00:17:27.419]
That's always forward of
the wing centre of lift.
[00:17:30.589]
Those two forces acting
together create a nose
[00:17:33.449]
down pitching movement.
[00:17:34.889]
The tail comes in to
provide a downward lift.
[00:17:38.829]
As you can see that's a
simple geometry problem.
[00:17:41.689]
The plane acts an often
lot like a sea-saw.
[00:17:44.539]
The tail plane icing
project that Tom and I worked
[00:17:46.819]
on investigated the question
of what happens if you move
[00:17:49.869]
that wing centre of
the further back.
[00:17:52.109]
How does tail plane if you
got an eye-shape on it.
[00:17:55.899]
We NASA Louis
[00:17:56.969]
[inaudible] centre took
this information and gave it
[00:17:59.069]
to the pilots so they
can make better
[00:18:01.009]
and safe operating decisions.
[00:18:03.119]
Back to you Shelley.
[00:18:05.789]
[Shelley:] Good science
boils down to making as many
[00:18:08.219]
of high quality observations
as possible and then analyzing
[00:18:11.879]
and interpreting them.
[00:18:13.279]
At NASA Langley Research
Centre in Hampton Virginia,
[00:18:16.049]
a five year research program
called the Joint Runway friction
[00:18:19.879]
measurement program is under way.
[00:18:22.189]
This international effort is
investigating aircraft losing
[00:18:25.489]
touching on icy runways.
[00:18:27.839]
This icing research program is
having some groovy spin offs.
[00:18:31.339]
Let's meet with Tom
[00:18:32.189]
[inaudible] and learn more
about runaway, runways.
[00:18:35.749]
[Tom:] Thanks Shelley.
[00:18:37.249]
I am standing here this morning
[00:18:38.879]
in our aircraft landing
dynamics facility shop area.
[00:18:42.379]
Behind me you can see one of
our test carriages we have got
[00:18:45.969]
to display here all the landing
gear system that we are looking
[00:18:49.079]
at to evaluate from a standpoint
[00:18:52.359]
of reducing the loads
going into the fuselage.
[00:18:56.149]
On my right here is a display
showing some of the work
[00:18:59.219]
that we have done to support the
shuttle tire program that's started
[00:19:04.669]
in the mid-70s and has been
quite successful since then.
[00:19:08.479]
We have done several modifications
to the runway down there based
[00:19:12.349]
on the research data
that we obtained here
[00:19:15.069]
at our aircraft landing dynamics
facility in Hampton ,Virginia.
[00:19:19.479]
We've also done work in
modifying the tire design
[00:19:22.679]
and the break unit that's used on
the shuttle that's been flown later
[00:19:30.159]
on this month from
Kennedy Space Centre.
[00:19:33.779]
We do a lot of work,
you are looking
[00:19:35.169]
at aircraft set design how
the grooves are positioned
[00:19:39.049]
and minimized the hydroplanic
potential can occur,
[00:19:43.379]
join aircraft landing and take
off operations on wet runways.
[00:19:48.099]
You are doing a typical aircraft
landing your tire touching
[00:19:52.089]
down on a contaminated
or ice coverage surface.
[00:19:56.709]
And due to the reduced friction
the capability between the tire
[00:20:00.389]
and the ice that takes
a considerably long time
[00:20:03.639]
for this tire to spin up,
to a spin that's equal
[00:20:06.759]
to the forward motion
of the airplane.
[00:20:10.009]
We are currently involved in
fourth year of a five year program
[00:20:15.059]
with partnership with the
FAA, Transport Canada,
[00:20:19.079]
the National Research Counsel of
[00:20:21.959]
[inaudible], the National Defense
Department out of Winnipeg as well
[00:20:26.759]
as several aviation organizations
supporting this activity
[00:20:31.129]
where we are evaluating
aircraft breaking performance
[00:20:35.929]
under winter conditions.
[00:20:37.549]
These conditions improve
snow, ice, slash and water
[00:20:42.139]
and today the majority of the
tests have been taking place
[00:20:45.839]
and North Bay on Ontario,
which is about two
[00:20:48.739]
and half hours north
of the Toronto.
[00:20:52.789]
We have evaluated breaking
performance of the Falcon Twenty
[00:20:57.479]
at the Dehavilland
Dash Eight airplane
[00:21:00.189]
in FAA Boeing Seven
Two Seven airplane
[00:21:04.079]
and a NASA Boeing Seven
Three Seven airplane.
[00:21:08.069]
Coming up in this program you'll be
involved in classroom experiment,
[00:21:12.579]
that will give you a better
idea of how coefficient
[00:21:15.829]
of frication influences
the motion of two objects
[00:21:19.759]
for example pavements and
tiers in order to work here
[00:21:24.039]
at the track facility we
have identified the fact
[00:21:26.789]
that the higher the
friction coefficient,
[00:21:29.649]
this short is the stopping
distances for an airplane operating
[00:21:32.649]
on a runway and the last chance he
has of going off either the side
[00:21:36.979]
or the end of the runway.
[00:21:38.679]
Some of equations that determine
this behavior of vehicles operating
[00:21:44.259]
on pavement surfaces
will be explain to you
[00:21:47.259]
in the classroom experiment and I
want to wish all of you a good luck
[00:21:52.059]
in conducting that experiment.
[00:21:55.049]
[Shelly:] Just see that the tip
[00:21:57.119]
of the iceberg regarding
the amazing research,
[00:22:00.029]
researches and research tools.
[00:22:01.859]
Make you wonder though whatever new
technologies are under development
[00:22:05.519]
for reducing ice in
hazards, but you know what,
[00:22:08.709]
now the time to put you to work
coming up is a high school student
[00:22:12.869]
who has spent this
summer at NASA Langley
[00:22:14.659]
in a nine week mentorship
working closely with Tom
[00:22:17.819]
[inaudible].
[00:22:18.199]
John has prepared a special hangs,
on minds on activity which a group
[00:22:22.789]
of students will demonstrated.
[00:22:24.459]
Following in the program
you are encouraged
[00:22:26.499]
to replicate the same
investigation.
[00:22:28.919]
[John:] I spent nine
weeks in the NASA program
[00:22:32.059]
for high school student
called Sharp.
[00:22:34.139]
Under this program I had the
opportunity to work with Mr
[00:22:37.209]
[inaudible].
[00:22:37.789]
I learned a great deal about
the research being done
[00:22:39.839]
on runway frication, tier designs
and new types of runway services
[00:22:43.729]
to minimize bad weather effects.
[00:22:45.839]
Aftermath I was little
nervous at to beginning just
[00:22:48.659]
because of I wasn't sure if I knew
enough math and science to be able
[00:22:52.099]
to graph the research
and to be able help
[00:22:54.049]
out in the evaluation
of the research data.
[00:22:55.859]
But I did okay I found that math
I had taken in middle school
[00:23:00.049]
and high school gave me a good
foundation that I could build on.
[00:23:02.619]
But help of two undergraduate
students that I worked
[00:23:05.769]
with during the summer
Brian and Jonathan,
[00:23:08.339]
I have a simple experiment
that I would like you to try.
[00:23:10.619]
In this experiment you will
investigate how surface conditions
[00:23:14.009]
influence the coefficient of
friction between to surfaces.
[00:23:17.459]
Your surfaces will include
a ruler, sand paper,
[00:23:19.869]
and objects found in the classroom.
[00:23:21.909]
Now my friends and I did an
experiment similar to the one year
[00:23:24.829]
about to do but it is a
little more complicate
[00:23:26.959]
and it involves the
little more math.
[00:23:28.229]
This experiment has been recreated
on Connect Plane Whether website.
[00:23:32.259]
So you might try this
with your friends
[00:23:33.489]
or your family following
the program.
[00:23:36.249]
Enough said, let's get started,
the math formula you need
[00:23:39.419]
in doing your experiments
looks like this.
[00:23:41.209]
The friction coefficient close
height divided by length.
[00:23:47.639]
[Student:] The final materials
were collected for our experiment;
[00:23:50.479]
three matching rulers at least one
of the rulers has to be plastic,
[00:23:53.869]
sheet of sand paper large enough
to cover ruler and four objects
[00:23:57.489]
to test a rubber eraser, a large
amount of paper clip, plastic
[00:24:03.209]
[inaudible].
[00:24:04.379]
John how does I identified
the dependent
[00:24:06.229]
and independent variables
for our experiment.
[00:24:08.589]
The independent variable
which is roughly
[00:24:10.239]
with the changing is
the ruler surgface.
[00:24:12.979]
We used a plastic ruler to
simulate a smooth runway surface
[00:24:16.549]
and then it cover some sandpaper,
stimulate a rough on your surface.
[00:24:20.849]
The dependent variable
for the experiment was the
[00:24:24.299]
classroom object.
[00:24:25.559]
Before giving our test we talked
[00:24:27.589]
about how each object
was alike and different?
[00:24:30.599]
We shared ideas on how the
surface condition, which we --
[00:24:34.159]
what why these objects cross
may affect friction force
[00:24:38.279]
of each objects.
[00:24:39.369]
We have prophesized about the
affect the surface change could
[00:24:42.869]
have on the objects.
[00:24:44.179]
Here are the test
procedures we followed,
[00:24:46.919]
one metric ruler we identified
as the test based enabled
[00:24:50.569]
with the number one, it would
be used to measure the line.
[00:24:53.789]
A second ruler in label two
was held up right for the test.
[00:24:58.479]
We would measure the
height from this ruler.
[00:25:00.699]
The third rule labeled
with three was plastic
[00:25:03.319]
and will represent the run light.
[00:25:05.259]
One person handles
the runway ruler,
[00:25:07.379]
one person held the height ruler,
third person is responsible
[00:25:11.359]
to the height and base measurements
[00:25:14.139]
and the fourth person was
responsible for recording that.
[00:25:18.039]
Running our two surface
tests, we were interesting
[00:25:21.059]
in collecting the heights
measurement for that vertical ruler
[00:25:24.649]
and the length measurement from
the base ruler at the point
[00:25:28.559]
when an object began to
slide down the runway ruler..
[00:25:31.929]
We tested each object three times
on both smooth and rough surface.
[00:25:38.079]
The smooth surface was the
backside of our plastic ruler.
[00:25:41.999]
The rough surface was the sand
paper attached to the ruler.
[00:25:45.829]
Here is a diagram to show you
how the experiment worked.
[00:25:50.339]
Each test object that faces at the
end of a ruler and then one end
[00:25:55.129]
of the ruler was slowly raised.
[00:25:57.509]
We start raising the ruler one the
object start to slide down the sofa
[00:26:01.629]
from one way and then tip our
measurements of height and length.
[00:26:05.219]
Now that we have finished
our testing we are ready
[00:26:07.499]
to look closely at our data.
[00:26:09.229]
First we will calculate the height
and length average for each object
[00:26:18.229]
[00:26:18.439]
on each of the surface types.
[00:26:27.439]
[00:26:45.929]
[ Music ]
[00:26:46.929]
[00:26:55.149]
[Student:] Using these averages
we will apply John's formula
[00:26:57.989]
to find the friction coefficient.
[00:27:00.369]
That formula as friction
coefficient equals height divided
[00:27:03.879]
by length.
[00:27:04.759]
Now we are ready to
answer our question.
[00:27:06.969]
What affect the surface
conditions have
[00:27:08.869]
on the friction coefficient
between two surfaces?
[00:27:12.729]
Well, this is our experiment and
we leave you with the challenge;
[00:27:17.489]
what other variables can you think
of after testing this experiment?
[00:27:22.489]
[Shelly:] Okay gang you've
received your challenge.
[00:27:24.759]
Complete your own runway traction
experiment and then do further test
[00:27:28.819]
on different surface conditions.
[00:27:31.179]
As we bring this program to
close, let me remind you to check
[00:27:34.019]
out the Connect website for
responses from a variety of experts
[00:27:37.789]
to questions posted
throughout this program.
[00:27:40.449]
And also to participate in
an online such an experiment.
[00:27:44.149]
Let me slight things to Van
now for some closing comment.
[00:27:47.389]
This is Shelly Kenley for Connect,
connecting you with real science
[00:27:51.069]
and with real scientist
in near real-time.
[00:27:54.039]
Take it away Van.
[00:27:55.469]
[Van:] Thanks Shelly, I hope
you know the plain understanding
[00:27:58.679]
of plane weather, I
know I assured you.
[00:28:01.109]
Join us for other Connect programs.
[00:28:02.929]
Simply access or Connect
website for information
[00:28:05.379]
and program availability.
[00:28:07.019]
So until next time stay CONNECTed.
[00:28:09.379]