Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

From LSOP Live: Rock On!, March 26, 2021
https://www.lsop.colostate.edu/lsop-live

Open House Preview: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

$Show Me Some Science: Pumpkin Drop The LSOP crew had some leftover pumpkins from Halloween 2024, and we wondered if they could survive a drop off of the 3rd floor. Free Fallin As the pumpkin falls, it speeds up; in physics, we say that the gravitational potential energy is converted in to kinetic energy. When the pumpkin hits the ground, the ground applies a force which makes the pumpkin stop. Wed say that this force dissipates the kinetic energy as thermal energy. If the force is too big, the pumpkin will break. Cushioning the Blow The force of impact depends on the weight of the pumpkin, the speed its moving, and the time of the impact. Padding the pumpkin can make it slow down over a longer time once it hits the ground. Even though this impact still only lasts a fraction of second, it can be enough time for it to survive. As you can see, an unpadded pumpkin stands no chance!$

LSOP Live: Sustainability, April 30, 2021

CNS Little Shop of Physics |