Accelerometer - Physics Demonstrations - Accelerometer | Physics Undergraduate Labs

Purpose

An inverted water-filled flask with a fishing float rides on a spring-mounted cart. When accelerated, the heavier water pushes opposite to the acceleration while the buoyant float moves toward the acceleration direction — the same reason a helium balloon in a car moves forward when you hit the gas.

Inverted 2L Erlenmeyer flask filled with water and containing a red-white fishing float, mounted in an aluminum frame on a wheeled wooden cart, connected by a metal spring to a wooden block clamped to the bench

Figure 1: The accelerometer: inverted flask with water and float on a spring-mounted cart. Push or pull the cart and the float moves in the direction of acceleration.

2 L Erlenmeyer Flask with Water and Float

1
Cart, Block, and Spring

1