Accelerometer

PIRA: 1G20.76

Materials: Accelerometer, Rotating Platform, and something to hold it down

The accelerometer is a thin, rectangular container which is half filled with red fluid. It has 1 cm grid lines on one side. The curve made by the surface of the fluid provides information about the acceleration of the container. For example, a line with constant slope indicates uniform acceleration in the plane of the container, with steeper line indicating greater accelerations. As is shown above, spinning it results in a parabola. The accelerometer can also be mounted on cars and rolled down an incline to observe its behavior under gravitational acceleration.

However you accelerate it, be very careful not to break it or spill the fluid in any way. Always check both screw-in plugs on the back side before storing, and make sure it is stored with these plugs face up. The red dye will dye things red.