UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 9, Page 7
October 28, 1993
Yikes! Flying creatures!; But don't bat an eye

     Halloween bats with flashing eyes and terrorizing shrieks have invaded
the classes of David G. Onn, professor of physics, but students don't bat
an eye.
     With purple propellers whirring, the flying creatures bat the breeze
in straight lines or circles, teaching non-physics science majors the basic
concepts of the dynamics of motion, Onn said.
     The batty lab helpers, which are each 6-inches long and have a
wingspan of 18 inches, demonstrate velocity, acceleration and gravity in
several different ways.
     For example, the bats can be mounted on gliders and fly down a
20-foot air track in Sharp Laboratory, much like a Hovercraft-the boat
that rides on a cushion of air.
     Without batting an eye, two of the bats can be programmed to perform
the "speeding ticket" demonstration. They start simultaneously at one end
of the air track, the first with constant speed, the second with only
acceleration.
     The second one catches the first one, just the way a state trooper
hidden out of sight of an unwary motorist, catches a speeder.
     The bats also fly slowly in circles allowing students to time their
flights and motion and learn about the dynamics of circular motion.
     The bats were discovered by Onn's daughter, Katie, during a Halloween
safari to Ronny's Market near Smyrna.
     Family pets, the critters have an excellent batting average--working
hard and requiring little care, consuming just two bat-teries per month,
Onn said.
     Onn has gone to bat for his new pets, he said, because they have
proved to be so successful, and he would like to acquire more, but so far
they have proved to be elusive.
     The bats are being trained for new scientific ventures, such as
circling in pairs. Once released, they are difficult to catch so they "are
also being trained to respond to a TV remote control so that we can
'channel' their activities," Onn said.
     And there is no question in anyone's mind that they will learn these
new tricks...right off the bat!
                                                  -Sue Swyers Moncure