Preliminary Project 1: Repeating Strobes

To: R&D Team

From: James W. Bales
Date: 25 February 2019
Re: Applications of repeating Strobes in our manufacturing plant.
IM1531-JWB
--------

Background
We believe that many of our Quality Control (QC) problems are the result of motors in
our factory that are going the wrong speed. It would cost too much to equip each shaft in
the factory with a speed sensor. Can stroboscopy tell us the speeds of these motors?

A second QC concern deals with observing objects moving over larger areas (typically a
square up to 10 feet per side). I need to know what we can do with a multiflash technique,
and if we can do it in-house. As a test of the multiflash process, make your best effort to
measure g (the acceleration due to gravity) using a multiflash photograph of a falling ball.

Also, we've been asked to submit a photo for the cover of the company's annual report. It
has to look great, yet be quantitative. Create images that can be candidates for the report
cover. Examine your images and tell me what quantitative measurements you can make
from them, and how they can be improved if they aren’t ready for publication.

Assignment
Investigate stroboscopy for measuring the speed of rotating equipment. Also assess the
accuracy of the multiflash method by determining the value of g from a multiflash photo
you take of a falling ball. Finally, take a multiflash photograph of something really neat
to be used for the annual report. Try for a photo that might appear in a physics textbook
or photography publication. Pick a subject such that you could make a quantitative
measurement or estimate, if asked. Report your results in a memo to me that should:

1. Define multiflash and stroboscopy. Discuss the types of problems that they can be
used for, and any tips for improving the images.
2. Tell us if we should use stroboscopy to measure the speeds of motor in our factory.
3. Discuss the calibration (i.e., the relationship between the actual flash rate of the strobe
and what the dial reads) of our existing equipment and tell us the correct flash rates
for every dial setting you used on the Strobotac.
4. Provide the production team with a description of your procedures with sufficient
detail to allow them to recreate your results.
5. Present your results for g, the image(s) used to determine the results, and a detailed
description of your calculations, error, and possible sources of error. Include a plot of
velocity of the ball as a function of time. Compare them to your HSV results.
6. Present your image for the annual report. Describe how you created it. Include things
like the planning of the image, number of flashes, total event duration, etc. Discuss
what quantitative measurements (or estimates) you could make from the image. If the
image is not ready for publication, tell us how you would make it better next time.

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 Assignment
As a group, email your proposed experiment to 6.163-staff@mit.edu at least 48 hours
before lab.

Read the Sample Memo before lab to know how to measure BCPS. (Bring it to lab.)

Pre-lab questions, to be handed in at the beginning of lab:

1) Have your equipment list and work plan written in your notebook when you arrive for
lab. For this lab, estimate the time you think it will take your team to complete each task
in your workplan.

2) Describe, in plain English, why the stroboscope is able to (1) make the image stand
still, and (2) make it appear that the stick figure is running forward or backward in time.
Imagine you are writing for a high school or junior high school class.

3) Read part 1 of "Work in the Laboratory," below. Develop two equations that will
allow you to predict the flash rates that produce the forward and backward illusions of the
stick figure. Choose the flash rates that provide these illusions, and are the closest to the
rotation rate of the motor. Your answers should be expressed relative to the rotation rate
of the motor (that is, fMOTOR should appear in each equation).

Assume that, as you face the disk, 1) that the disk spins clockwise, and 2) that the images
are distributed in chronological order counter-clockwise around the disk.

4) For the final part of the lab (taking a multiflash photo of a subject of your choosing),
plan in advance the area your picture will cover, the magnification that you will use, and
the lens you want to use, with an estimate of where you will need to position the camera.
Have these ready to hand in from your notebook when you enter lab. (We have focal
lengths of 28 mm, 50 mm, 90 mm, and 200 mm available.)

Work in the Laboratory:

1. In the lab you will find a disk mounted to a motor. Around the edge of the disk
are 20 images of a stick-figure running. By adjusting the frequency of the
Strobotac you can make the image stand still, or to make it appear that the figure
is in motion.

Measure the fundamental frequency of rotation of the disk. For every Strobotac
flash rate you record, also record the flash rate measured with the digital
oscilloscope and vacuum photocell. Are they the same? If not, which one do you
believe, and why?

Using the equations you determined prior to lab, calculate the expected flash rates
for forward and backward progression of the images of the figure running. Then
adjust the strobe to produce those effects and measure the actual rates with both
the dial and the oscilloscope. Calculate the error and discuss the possible sources.

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2. Set up the Multiflash and learn its operation. Use the vacuum photocell to
measure the flash rate for all 6 settings of the flash rate. Also, using the procedure
from the sample memo, measure the BCPS for the "low" setting at any one flash
rate.

3. Take photographs of a ball as it falls over a distance of 1 meter. Plan in advance

the area your picture will cover, the magnification that you will use, and the
lens you want to use, with an estimate of where you will need to position the
camera. Have these written out when you enter lab. (We have focal lengths of
28 mm, 50 mm, 90 mm, and 200 mm available.)

4. Create a multiflash image that you would be proud to hang on your wall. It should
(a) communicate something, preferably quantitative, about the event it documents
and (b) have appeal as a thing of beauty.

This could be something like an experiment or phenomenon out of a physics book

or something drawn from your daily experience. It could be a dance, athletic, or
martial arts motion. Use your imagination. In planning the photo, think about
contrast and other factors that enter into multiflash photography. If a person is
going to be in the image, the color of their clothing may be an important factor in
the final image quality. For planning purposes, assume the multiflash strobe has
an output of 150 BCPS, and illuminates a 8-foot diameter circle at a distance of 8
feet from the strobe. Don't forget to specify your lens choice.

Your work plan must include an outline of your procedure for this part of your
experiment. Include your best estimate of the time it will take your group to
complete each part.

5. Take measurements from your image of the ball falling. In your report, construct a
table that includes the position of the ball for each flash of the strobe, and the time
of the flash. Compute the average velocity between flashes. In your report plot the
velocity as a function of time and fit the velocity data to a straight line.

Compare this result to that you got for high-speed video. Also, discuss possible
sources of error in your measurement of g.

NOTE: In determining g, you cannot assume that either the initial position or the initial
velocity of the ball is zero. (The graphical technique we specify avoids this issue.)
Also, given the position of the ball at two different times, (x1, t1) & (x2, t2), you
can calculate an average velocity, but what point in time do you pair with that
velocity -- t1? t2? Some other time? Be certain that your report tells us why you
picked that time.

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