Tangential Velocity Launcher

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$10.00
10 55 $10.00 - $55.00
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A Tangential Velocity Launcher for demonstrating that an object moves tangent to the curve once it leaves its circular path


A marble or bearing can be spun up with the lever in the down position and then released by opening the lever gate. Provided with the instructions to “score a goal”, students tend to “discover” the idea of tangential velocity on their own :)

​As with everything on this site, I want to make everything available to teachers for free. If you have access to a 3D printer, I have posted the files in the following locations:
Note: 
  • ​The lever is held together with a single M3 x 12 mm machine screw. This screw threads itself into the ring piece but is a slip fit on the lever allowing it to move freely.
  • To hold the ring together when the gate is down, two 3x1 mm neodymium magnets were superglued into the recessed holes designed into the adjacent faces.