Step Instructions:
- The first step in this Rube Goldberg Project is dropping one marble and one dice into separate shoots. This kickstarts the whole project and will be the start of the chain reaction.
- The second step is the dice rolling down the original shoot, then down a funnel-like contraption. From there, a paper towel roll carries the dice to the rock on my space bar, which will play the video (The Pi Song).
- The third step brings us back to the marble. After it has gone down the shoot, it will be transported by a screw, then dropped off onto an inclined plane.
- The fourth step is where the marble hits a stick, which knocks off a rock sitting on the edge of a counter, causing the rock to fall into a toilet paper roll and down a second inclined plane, which will lead us into our last step.
- The fifth and final step includes the end result of this project. Once the rock lands into a paper cup, the rock gets pulled down by the weight, activating the pulley system we created. The other cup (that has water inside) has additional string attached to the wall of the cabinet, restricting how high one end of the cup can go. Once the water cup gets pulled up, the end facing the clear glass cant go higher, causing the cup to tip slowly, pouring the water into the glass below it.
Energy Transformation Description:
First Transformation: Gravitational -> Mechanical
This is gravitational to mechanical because first we drop the dice, making it fall into the shoot, where it then becomes mechanicals, due to the energy actively moving the dice.
Second Transformation: Mechanical -> Sound
This is mechanical to sound because the dice moved to the spacebar, which caused the video to play, causing sound.
Third Transformation: Mechanical -> Light
This transformation is the same as the previous one, instead of sound, light plays as well. Once the dice hits the spacebar (or at least the dice hitting the rock, hitting the spacebar), then the video plays and light is produced.
Energy Forms Description:
Gravitational
We used gravitational energy when the marble/dice first dropped into their shoots, and when the rock fell into the cup.
Mechanical
We used mechanical energy when the marble/dice were being moved by the ramp.
Sound
Sound energy was used when we played the video via the marble hitting the rock, therefore hitting the spacebar. The sound is the ‘Pi Song’ by AsapSCIENCE.
Light
When the Pi song was played, so was an animation. There were moving colors, shapes and objects, meaning light was omitted from the screen during the duration of the video.
Electrical
Electrical energy wasn’t used as one of our examples, but the use of the computer itself is the use of electrical energy. By this account, another form of energy we could have included is thermal energy, since the use of the computer slowly heats the device up as we were recording our video.
