Air Track
with PhysGate
and PhysLogger

The Air Track uses compressed air issuing from precisely placed minute orifices equidistantly created in a metallic track. Gilders slide on this cushion with minimal friction. This assembly comprises all of what you need to perform simple or complicated experiments in your basic physics and mechanics laboratories.


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Overview

The Experiment
  • Calculating uncertainties.
  • Newton’s second law of motion.
  • Frictionless track with an air cushion.
  • Simple setup to study and investigates kinematics.
  • Determining the value of gravitational acceleration g.
  • The concepts of velocity, acceleration, and momentum.
How does it work?

Objects can glide over the Air Track, levitating in the air with minimal friction. The Air Track setup comprises different shaped objects, some affixed on the setup while others can glide on it. The motion of all of the moving objects is recorded via PhysGate attached to a PhysLogger device which makes it possible to record the motion in run-time and analyze it on a computer.


In a typical measurement, two flags attached on the glider’s edges obstruct the path of a stationary photo-gate which enables the PhysLogger to measure the time between the two events. This information is sufficient to determine:

  • The average speed of the glider.
  • The uncertainties involved with each of the above quantities.
  • The instantaneous speed of the glider and the uncertainty involved.
  • The energy and momentum loss when glider make multiple round trips on the Air Track.
  • The acceleration of the glider when a mass M is attached to it using a thread that goes over a pulley.
Major parts included:
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