Photo Journal

9-28-01

        The first day we setup our equipment (see Set-up) and tested it by viewing the collision visually (with our eyes). Instead of seeing the collision, we saw the two racquet balls separated, one right above the other. We thought that the collision was occurring faster than the flash unit could discharge (with no delay). To remedy this, we decided to try using the digital video camera with a constant light source. This method would allow us to capture any collision that would occur before the flash unit could be triggered with the copper plates. 

        We used the digital video camera in the attempt to capture the fall of two racquetballs dropped in immediate succession from a height of about two meters.  As part of our set-up, we constructed a tube as a dropping apparatus, but we later discovered that the friction from the apparatus was  preventing the balls from falling together. Once we discovered this, we dropped the balls by hand so that this friction was not present. After several drops with the video camera, we viewed our images with Adobe Premier. These images suggested that  the collision could be occurring too quickly for the consumer digital camera to capture. Because only the aftereffects of the collision were present, we thought that we could have been capturing the collision on the unseen interlaced frames. After determining that the video camera was not the best method of capturing the collision, we worked on setting up a trigger method to capture the collision with the traditional camera/flash method. We also determined that tennis balls were easier to drop in succession than racquetballs, so we decided to use tennis balls in our future collisions.

9-30-01

        During this set of photographs, we used the Sony digital SLR camera with the copperplate/flash set-up. 

        We first tried to take a picture of two tennis balls hitting the copper plate one on top of the other with no time delay. The following picture was the result. 

    Based on this picture, we thought that the balls might be separating slightly before impact; thus, we needed to use the time delay to capture both balls in contact with one another. 

    We then tried using the time delay, but the delay was too great... The picture to the right was the result. After seeing that the balls were so apart, we decided to decrease the time delay. This is done by decreasing resistance or increasing the capacitance (or both for maximum effect).

     With the decrease in time delay, we took more pictures. The picture on the far left had a larger time delay than the picture on the right. The capacitance and resistance used in the time delay trigger for the right picture were also used in any following pictures that used the time trigger.

     Then we wanted to get the two balls to stick together during the collision with the table, thus we used VELCRO!!! We also wanted to try racquet balls with Velcro and a mixture of the two types of balls.

    After seeing the mixture of the racquet ball with the tennis ball, we decided to try dropping them together with no Velcro. The following pictures resulted.

    After all of our adventures with different combinations of tennis balls, racquet balls, and Velcro, we decided to collect our best pictures and make this site.