The Stroboscope
This stroboscope project was created by Andrew Chen, Adil Husain, and Tejas Patel. With a few items and a camera, the group was able to construct a device that allows them to capture their subject as if it were stationary during an action. To get a better understanding, view the gallery below. These students have created, by far, the best project in AP Physics C history. Just look at the pics; they are so cool.
The Physics Behind the Stroboscope:
Unlike what we normally see, the stroboscope chops up a fluid motion into individual frames that appear at a regular interval. This means that instead of seeing a ball falling down to the ground or a picture of a blurry ball, a stroboscope will produce an image that shows where the ball is at at regular intervals as it falls. So although the stroboscope does not have an actual physics concept to its name, it has been useful to study motion and frequency. The stroboscope has actually been used to determine the motions that a horse takes as it runs. The image to the right shows that at one point in time, a horse will have all its legs off the ground, which was not known until it was analyzed through the use of a stroboscope. We can even use the stroboscope to show certain physics properties such as the acceleration due to gravity or the arc path that a ball will take when thrown.
