The Design of the Egglander:
Since a portion of our group had taken on the challenge of building an egg glider the previous year, we were well aware that a structure allowing flexibility and absorption of the impact would help the survival of our fragile egg. Therefore, we came up with two original designs for our egg glider. The first one was a series of triangles that surrounded the egg from all sorts of angles, ensuring that the egg would not crack no matter what angle it fell at, and the triangular structure giving a strong support, as triangles were often thought to be the best shape suited for providing strength and stability. The other design was a cube with extended supports sticking out at the corners. The straws sticking out from the corners were to separate the egg from the impact of the drop as much as possible, so that the structure would help absorb the impact as opposed to it transferring to the egg.
In the end, we thought it would be the best to combine the two designs together, as the triangles allowed the egglander to provide maximum support to the egg. Then, the straws would extend beyond the structure to absorb the impact of the fall for the egg, providing a good distance between the egg and the hard surface of the ground.Since we had no way of telling which side the egg was going to land on, we knew that it would be best to make our design symmetrical, allowing it be protected on all sides.
The triangle was supposed to act as a container for the egg, and so, we added straws going across the frame to secure the egg in place, and protect it. Even though we want the structure to have flexibility, it is not good for the egg to have that space to move, as it is extremely delicate and can break easily. Finally, we realized we were left with our newspaper. We were finished with the structure of the egglander, and ended up using the newspaper as a bit of cushion for the corners of the structure, as another way of lessening the impact of the fall.
The Results:
Even though we originally had an extravagant plan for the egglander, the time limit, restricted materials, and tons of miscommunication resulted in a structure that was less than what we had hoped for. Since we were given only a certain amount of tape, we thought it would be better to use small pieces, but that was clearly the wrong logic, as the small pieces of tape failed to hold our structure together. The egg ended up slipping through the straws and cracked even before we had dropped it! Also, in our attempts to create more distance between the egg and the ground, we connected more straws to the outside of the egglander, but only to one side. This completely threw our "symmetrical" idea down the drain. When we dropped the egg, we never expected the fall to have such a huge impact, but then again, the weight of the egg, multiplied by the acceleration of gravity, gave the egg a huge force downward. Even though the egg may have landed on the side we gave more protection too, the structure was not constructed well, and toppled over, causing a less protected side to hit the ground. Unfortunately, that side did not absorb the impact as well, and the slightly injured egg we already had, ended up bleeding profusely.
Improvements for the Future:
Even though there is an endless list of improvements that could have been made to the structure, I'll just state the main ones. To begin with, we should have used longer pieces of tape. This actually turns out more efficient, as one long piece of tape is stronger than tons of tiny pieces stuck together. As for the design itself, we should have planned better. Instead of going into the construction with millions of ideas all over the place, we should have thought of one design, and stuck to it until the very end. The countless "modifications" we made to our egglander not only weakened the structure, but really wasted the tape we needed. When constructing the egglander, we should have been more patient. Even though we were given a time restraint, doing a quick job with the taping and placing of the straws really resulted in a weak, messy structure.
As for the shape of the egg lander, we really should have left it symmetrical, so the egg would have been protected on all of the sides. The container for the egg should have been much more secure, so the egg would not have been able to move or slip out...Extending the straws at the corners of the structure would have really helped to place a longer distance between the egg and the ground, allowing more of the impact to be absorbed in the straws. Even though we thought the triangle was a strong shape, a cube might have actually been a better design, as it has more areas for the extension of straws, thus providing more cushion for the egg.
Overall, the egg lander was an exciting project to have, even though the intensity and stress of building it was no less than the egg glider from last year. Same as before, I am left with a bitter resentment at the thought of ever becoming an engineer (out of fear that the event with the egg might repeat itself, but instead, with real people), and an even bigger admiration for the engineers of my community.
