Badminton for GiantsSarah DuffeyAward: Top 100
School: minnetonka high school There are four shuttlecocks on the grounds surrounding the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, each weighing 5, 500 pounds and standing over 17 feet tall, demonstrating the physics of non-homogeneous masses despite their massive size. These shuttlecocks were made as the remnants of a game of badminton between giants across the museum. Shuttlecocks like these almost always land on the cork tip, which is the orange part of the object. This happens because the shuttlecock is a non-homogeneous mass, due to the fact that the cork is denser than the feathers, preventing a consistent density throughout the shuttlecock. Because denser objects like the cork tip experience less air resistance, the denser cork tip will hit the ground before the less dense feathers. This rule applies not only to shuttlecocks, but also to many other projectiles with non-homogeneous masses, such as dandelion seeds and missiles. Whether it be shuttlecocks for giants or an average person, the physics of non-homogeneous masses will always apply. 
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