Method
Equipment
Set-Up
We set up our Splashlight on top of a table, to put all parts within easy reach. The Splashlight is the entire system that drops the milk, and makes it pass through a photogate, and is constructed out of wood.
We positioned our digital camera as close as possible to the subject. To do this, we had to increase the depth of field of the photograph. We accomplished this by increasing the aperture, and placing the flash unit very close to the subject. The flash unit had to provide enough light on the subject, but couldn't create a glare in the photograph. Then, we placed the bowl/spoon directly under the milk dropped and photogate, and filled it with milk. Also, we filled the dropper inside the Splashlight with milk. The next step was to color the milk in the Flashlight and spoon/bowl. We used contrasting colors (red for the Flashlight and blue for the bowl/spoon) to make it easier to see the different components of the collision. Finally, we connected the photogate (located inside the Splashlight) to the Delay Unit, and the Delay Unit to the Flash Unit. Then we were ready to take some photographs.
Set-Up Diagram
Procedure
Once our experiment was set up, we began taking photographs. To adjust the photographs of the collision, we adjusted the time it takes for the milk drop to fall. This is done using the Delay Unit. By using the delay unit, we slowly manipulated the part of the collision observed in the photograph. Our goal was to adjust the delay to where the milk drop has not collided with the milk in the bowl/spoon. Then, take a series of photographs, increasing the delay of the splash at small, equal intervals. Once we took pictures of the entire collision and resulting waves, we got a clear visual of the entire splash. Then, we put all of these photographs together to create a small video clip of the milk drop. In other words, we created a high speed video of a milk splash.
