A lunar construction crew will be building a state-of-the-art mass driver to launch Helium-3 shipments from the Moon to Earth, replacing dangerous and expensive rocket propulsion systems. Your students will take on the role of a HAWC engineering team tasked with designing and testing a mass driver that will achieve this goal.
Experiments

• Students now will build the Mass Driver Launch Box
• 1. Design, build and test a mass driver.
  2. Map the flow of energy through the system as it is converted from one form to another.
  Objectives
  1. The student will understand the difference between Potential, Kinetic, Magnetic, and Electrical Energy.
  2. The student will develop an understanding of the law of conservation of energy and be able to explain why energy conversion processes are not 100% efficient.
  3. The student will be able to create a model for projectile motion in two dimensions.
  4. The student will understand the three laws of motion.
  5. The student will state and use Ohm’s law to solve electrical circuit problems.
  6. The student will demonstrate an understanding of linear and non-linear functions.
  7. The student will be able to use the right-hand rule to draw magnetic forces in a line, ring, and coil.
  8. Design and construct an electromagnetic coil and use the coil in a mass driver.
  9. Map the flow of energy through the mass driver while maintaining an energy balance.
  10. Calculate the efficiency of transferring electrical energy into kinetic energy for a model mass driver.