The HAPPy capsule has a 650 gram experimental payload capacity and is taking several experiments along for the stratospheric ride!
Experiment 001 – San Marcos High (Santa Barbara, CA)
Marshmallow Experiment
Purpose – To see what happens to a marshmallow at 100,000 feet elevation.
Hypothesis – The marshmallow will expand in the near vacuum that is found in near space. There is some debate whether the very cold temperature (up to -60°F ) will freeze the marshmallow and stop the expansion due to low pressure.
Procedure – Attach a marshmallow to the onto the top of the capsule and use a GoPro video camera (also on top of the cooler) to video what happens during the flight.
Scientists – Je Ella Bennet, Dakota Wolf, Stefano Gonzagui.
Result – Watch the video to see for yourself 🙂
Experiment 002 – San Marcos High (Santa Barbara, CA)
Twinkie Experiment
Purpose – To see what happens to a Twinkie in a near vacuum at almost 20 miles above the earth.
Hypothesis – Time has no impact on a Twinkie and neither will low pressure.
Procedure – Attach a Twinkie to the onto the top of the HAPPy capsule and use a GoPro video camera (also on top of the cooler) to video what happens during the flight.
Scientists – Daniel Mendez, Byron Elton.
Result – Watch the video to see for yourself 🙂
Experiment 003
Temperature Experiment
Purpose – To determine whether a lack of air impacts heat dissipation.
Hypothesis – Devices that generate their own temperature get hotter in a near vacuum because the heat does not have a medium to disperse into.
Procedure – Measure the temperature of the Canon G9 CCD sensor every 15 seconds using CHDK and log the info to a file. Also measure the temperature of the environment outside the capsule. Compare these two to see if there is a marked differential.
Scientists – Greg Lawler and Geoff Parker.
Result – Take a look at the graph of temperature and altitude over time…
