I teach high school chemistry and physics in Whitefish, Montana. I'm brainstorming ideas for a concussion unit. Students would do background research in several areas related to concussions and then test existing helmets and design their own helmet.
I have a Vernier 25g accelerometer embedded in a foam head that we will use for testing. Search vernier 25 g accelerometer and you can see the specs. I'd like to drop objects on helmets placed on the head but the problem is that it is very easy to max out the sensor. Dropping a baseball inside a PVC tube from 1 foot keeps the value under 25 g.
I'd like to do more realistic testing with a higher g accelerometer. Several helmet standards set 300 g as a pass level so a sensor that goes this high may be a benefit.
I'm looking for advice since this is all new to me. Any suggestions on accelerometer models and what interface device to use would be much appreciated. Of course cost is an issue.
Thanks for any help.
Todd Spangler
Chemistry, Physics Teacher
Whitefish High School
Whitefish, Montana