1. McNeese Acceleration due to Gravity Experiment

2.  Measurement of the change of acceleration due to gravity (g) with respect to altitude (h).  The objective was not quite met due to the failure of the payload to reach to the destined altitude.

3.  Acceleration due to Earth’s gravity (g) is the acceleration that acts on all objects that fall within the Earth's gravitational field.  It is inversely proportional to the square of the radius of the earth.

5.  Time period of oscillation of pendulum is given by:  T = 2 ∏ *√ (l/g) where, T is the time period of an oscillation, l is the length of the pendulum, and g is acceleration due to gravity.  So, g = 4 ∏ 2 *f 2 *l = w 2 *l where, w is the angular frequency

6.  Our payload could not make to the proposed height of 100,000 feet.  Fell at around 22,000 feet.  The Quality of the data obtained was not good mostly due to failures in the basic stamp recording.  Data difficult to interpret.

7.  The reading was affected by various factors.  Early detachment and low altitude affected the desired g-values.  The data we got is not enough to give reliable estimates of g.  We will do more analysis later.

8.  We took some readings in the lab yesterday to verify the correctness in our set-up.  We got reasonable consistent data

9.  we changed our coil to reduce the weight of our payload.  coil with less number of turns and small diameter was used 

10.  Componentsweight BalloonSat (Basic Stamp Kit)70 g Battery, blade45 g Inner and Outer Module160 g Mesh, Frame, standoffs125 g Copper Coil900 g Total:1300g

11.  Basic Stamp editor and Matlab software were used in the project.  Our payload took voltage readings from the coil and stored it in BalloonSat. There was controlled reading of voltage from the payload with specific sampling frequency. This data was gathered after the flight.

12.  The readings will be retrieved from the EEPROM using PBASIC language in a Basic Stamp editor.  Analysis of the readings and conclusion related to acceleration due to gravity will be done using Matlab.

16.  We can use digital recorders to store the data of voltage induced in the coil by the magnet.  Connect audio jack through splicing to the wires of a coil to pick up the voltage.  Use guitar electrical pick to amplify the signal.  We performed few priliminary experiments yesterday showing very encouraging results.  Already more sensitive than the basic stamp without amplification.

17.  Thank you…