Room temp and humidity. Do they...

[WEIRDWOLF]

Does humidity and room temp have an affect on the bases?
If yes, at what point does it take a noticeable affect?
Obviously playing in a freezer as opposed to a sauna is going to change things, but in normal conditions, how much does it change the way a base runs?
Is a 70 degree room different from an 80 degree room?

I started thinking about this in regards to The MFCA Skills Combine in an attempt to be able to compare results from one venue to another. Of course, type of field and amount of vibration are the main factors, but it got me wondering about humidity and room temp.

[GrandMasterKC]

I know this by fact

Wolf,

I 'm glad you asked this question! Now that I've retired from Molecular Virological Research, I can concentrate on Health and Safety Issues. ONe of my areas of concentration is Industrial Hygiene. Please allow me a short 15 minute break and I'll be right back to answer your question.


Our bases are made of plastic polymers. This plastic is simlar to Polystyrene. Polystyrene is a long hydrocarbon chain bonded to aromatic benzene or styrene rings. When we burn our bases it burns a yellow-organe flame that gives off soot ( the back smoke that come from the bases when flashing the prones). This tells use that the material can with stand high temperatures
240 C. The Bases are strong and durable! They are water resistant, can with stand high temperature and extreme cold. They are not biodegradable! That's why some bases have been around for decades in good condition. If your bases start sweating from the heat, your in big trouble. If they start to crack from the cold, your in big trouble! The difference in humidty will be more noticable to us before it affects the bases. Your boards, decals and paints are not as durable. In other words, a competion in Alaska would be the same in the desert of Arizona.

[Coach Rip]

Lights, ..............can have an effect on boards, ............metal and plexiglass, ............the direct light on those boards cause heat which cause expansion....

[WEIRDWOLF]

So how sensitive are bases to heat and humidity? For example, If we run a timed speed contest in a room set at 80 degrees and the next day run it at 70 degrees are we going to see a substantial difference? (It's looking like I may have to dig out my old science book and try to remember how to run a scientific experiment.)

Furthermore, scientifically, Is there a way to acurately measure the vibration on a field so that I could tell a guy in California and a guy in NY to run there field at 100 vibs per second (measured by some fancy instrument) in an 70 degree room and then acurately compare the results. Not that I am going to go to all this trouble but for arguement sake and maybe some interesting discussion where I might learn a thing or two.

Wolf,

The study of sound and vibrations are closely related. There are two types of vibrations: free and forced. We need to study forced vibrations.You would perform a Sine test or a random test. Remember, vibration acceleration is a vector with magnitude expressed in units of meters/second(squared).The gravitational acceleration, g equals 9.81 m/s (squared). You woul need to use a differential equation and Newton's Second Law. This is hard to explain,but if you go to Wikpedia. Search vibrations and it will get you started. Flash backs from Calculus & Differential Equations is scaring Tron!
Tron Out!!!