Resumen de Conservation of Angular Momentum with a 3D-Printed Launcher
Student difficulties in understanding the angular momentum of particles have been documented.1 Examples involving a child jumping on or off a merry-go-round are often used to illustrate a particle’s angular momentum. Analogous experiments have been suggested in which a ball collides completely inelastically2,3 with a catcher on the arm of a rotational apparatus or is launched4 from the arm. Although these experiments were done with homemade apparatuses, the collision experiment can now be performed with PASCO’s projectile launcher, low-friction rotating platform, and some accessories.5 A catcher6 was previously available for purchase from PASCO, but they have now made a CAD (computer-aided design) file (STL format) for a 3D-printed version available online.7 We describe how to perform the other experiment, where a ball is fired from the beam, using the same rotating platform and a launcher based on a 3D-printed part.8
