2004 HS Photo Contest Pictures

2004 High School Photo Contest Winners
Sponsored by Vernier Software and Technology
129th AAPT National Meeting , Sacramento, CA

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Special Award - Special Recognition

Title: Tiddlywinks
Student: Robert Ochshorn
School: Ithaca High School, Ithaca, NY
Teacher: Deborah Lynn

Using a strobe light in a pitch-black room, I photographed the act of "potting" in the game of tiddlywinks. When a downward vertical force is applied on the "wink" by the "squidger," the mat is compressed to form a "ramp." The mat acts as a spring with a restoring force proportional to the displacement. The spring force propels the wink forward and upward, and also initiates rotation, which is apparent in the photo. Finally, the force of gravity pulls the wink into the pot along a parabolic path.