Teach Engineering: Wimpy Radar Antenna

Students will reinforce an antenna tower made from foam insulation, so that it will withstand a 480 N-cm bending moment (torque) and a 280 N-cm twisting moment (torque) with minimal deflection. One class will be used to discuss the problem, run the initial bending and torsion tests and graph the results. The following classes will be used for design and construction of a sturdier tower, its testing and graphing of the results.