This page is for the one day version of the Cratering lab which is used for Cheng's summer SMART outreach program.
Main Differences From Intro Lab Version
It is a 1 day, 3 hour lab for the summer SMART program.
Omit everything related to fitting and Chi-Sq.
Outline
Motivation : Describe cratering and pose question of how would you estimate the yield of a nuclear bomb, or the energy of an asteroid that made a crater on earth or the moon?
Scientific Process :
Develop a specific and testable question to explore.
Use theory or build a model to describe how you expect the system to behave. Understand your underlying assumptions.
Design an experiment to test the model.
Conduct your experiment.
Evaluate how well your data do, or do not, match your model.
Use your model to predict something beyond the range you tested.
Test your prediction.
Use your model to estimate energies for the Sedan crater and the one that killed the dinosaurs.
Examples of Scaling Laws
Metabolic Rate as a function of Body Weight. From the mass of a mouse to the mass of an elephant span 6 orders of magnitude. Corresponding metabolic rates cover about 4 orders of magnitude.
Average Life Span vs Mass.
Brain Mass vs Body Mass.
Aerodynamics. Wind tunnel tests.
Financial Markets.