Blog Update

Today I finished my kart. I glued the switch on and front wheels and with a push, the kart stayed on a straight course. I soldered the wires together, this time I was more successful doing it myself. I then glued the copper wires onto the front and end of the kart.

Then it was time to give the kart a test run, I put a little grease on the copper wires, in order to reduce friction between the wires and the fishing line. On my first run of the kart, it didn't time, but it looked faster than I expected so I was excitied. When I tested it for a second time, I got the time
= 2.795 seconds!

Under 3 seconds on my first run!!! After, I discussed with Mr. Ward why we think that having the motor on the bottom imporves the time. I thought it was a simple matter of just reducing the air resistance and adding weight to the wheels (so they do not spin). But Mr. Ward had a good theory in that, having it on the bottom actually pushes away from the axel and therefore reduces the friction.

I believe ways in which i can make my kart go faster is to

• grease between the gears and wheel joints
• add a peice of plastic on the front to the top of the battery to reduce air resistance
• sand the wheels

I will also need to measure the track and weigh my kart in order to get the data needed to finish my handed in assessment.

I am slowly reducing the amount of writing I have for my assesment. I have taken out all example non-relevant to the brief (even though there are more cases of friction than what effects the brief) and I am trying to reduce the materials list.