Build Your Own G-Force Test Rig

Rockets are powerful stuff, and satellites and astronauts experience tremendous G-forces pushing down on them during launch.  For picosatellite work, it is necessary that your design be able to withstand forces equivalent to perhaps 10 times Earth gravity-- 10Gs.  To test this, the easiest way is to build a centrifuge.Think of the spinning bucket gimmick.  If you tie a bucket to a rope and fill it with water, you can make the bucket swing in a loop-the-loop over your head and not spill, as long as it is spinning fast enough.  You need enough spin to counteract the 1G of the Earth's pull, so you need a spinning centrifuge of at least >1G. read more

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