Introduction



What is a mousetrap powered car and how does it work?

A mouse trap-powered car is powered by the energy of a wound-up mousetrap's spring. The most basic design is to tie one end of a string to the tip of a mousetrap's snapper arm. The other end of the string has a loop that is designed to catch a hook that is glued to a drive axle. Once the loop is placed over the axle hook, the string is wound around the drive axle by turning the wheels in the opposite direction of the vehicle's intended motion. As the string winds around the axle, the snapper's lever arm is pulled closer to the drive axle causing the mousetrap's spring to wind-up and store energy. When the drive wheels are released, the string is pulled off the drive axle by the mousetrap causing the wheels to rotate.

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A string is attached to the mousetrap's lever arm and then hooked to the drive axle. The loop knot tied at one end is designed to catch a hook attached to the drive axle. It is also designed so that the string can release itself after the pulling force is spent. If the axle's hook is too long or the string's loop knot is too tight, the string will not properly release from the axle and your vehicle will suddenly stop.

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To wind the string around the axle, the wheels are turned in the direction opposite to the motion of the vehicle's travel. It is important that the string NOT be wound loosely or it will snag itself as it is pulled from the axle by the lever arm. Don't push on the mousetrap's lever arm during this process, you want the string to be tight and to pull the lever arm over.

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Once the car is released, the string is pulled off the axle and causes the wheels to rotate, which propels the vehicle. If the mousetrap is located too close to the drive axle the wheels will spin at the start and waste energy.



How do you build your
mousetrap car?


There's no single way to build one. The best approach is to apply your best understanding of the laws of physics without over exaggerating any one concept to your design. To build the perfect mousetrap car you have to find a balance between all the elements and variable that will affect the car's performance. Be willing to try something original. The first step to making a good car is simple, put something together and find out how it works, it may not be pretty but it's a start. Once you have something working you can begin to isolate the variables that are affecting the performance and learn to adjust to improve your results. Building these cars is a simple process of design engineering, you build, you test and experiment, you change, and you do it all over again.

Considerations

What is the difference between a good speed racer and a good distance traveler?

A good distance car will not be a good speed racer. When you build a car for distance, you want a small energy consumption per second or a small power usage. Smaller power outputs will produce less wasted energy and have greater efficiency. When you build a vehicle for speed, you want to use your energy quickly or at a high power output. You can change the power ratio of your vehicle by changing one or all of the following:
  • Where the string attaches to the mousetrap's lever arm
  • The drive wheel diameter
  • The drive axle diameter

The amount of energy released by using a short lever arm or a long lever arm is the same, but the length of the lever arm will determine the rate at which the energy is released—this is called the power output.

Long lever arms decrease the pulling force and power output but increase the pulling distance.

Short lever arms increase the pulling force and the power output by decreasing the pulling distance but increasing the speed.

Tips for making a long distance traveler

If you're building for speed, you want to maximize the power output to a point just before the wheels begin to spin-out on the floor. Maximum power output means more energy is being transferred into energy of motion in a shorter amount of time.

Greater acceleration can be achieved by having a short length lever arm and/or by having a small axle to wheel ratio.

If you're building for distance, you want to minimize the power output or transfer the stored energy into energy of motion at a slow rate. This usually means having a long lever arm and a large axle-to-wheel ratio. If you make the lever arm too long, you may not have enough torque to keep the vehicle moving, in which case you will have to attach the string to a lower point or change the axle-to-wheel ratio.



Inspiration from outside



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Inspiration from within



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