Stoppomat

Key takeaways

Stoppomat belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Stoppomat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Stoppomat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Stoppomat is a time measure system for cyclists.

History The Stoppomat was devised in Germany in 2005. The first installation was put into service in spring 2006. Similar devices have been manufactured in Switzerland and Austria. The Swiss Trophy, since 2003, uses three mobile plants at nine locations. Units have been used at Grossglockner and on Albulapass. The first plant in Germany is on the Höchsten at 833 meters of altitude, the highest point in the District of Lake Constance. The start area is 499 meters above sea level. The start house and the mountain station were planned in spring 2006 by the cycling club RSV Seerose e.V. from Friedrichshafen, built and put into operation. On the 8.2-kilometer-long stretch, 360 meters of elevation must be overcome to the summit. The course record is held by cyclist Jörg Ludewig of Wiesenhof–Felt with 16:09 minutes. This is an average speed of 30.46 kilometers per hour. The main event at the plant is the annualLightweight Uphill. With 560 participants in 2006 and 620 participants in 2007, the competition is Germany's biggest cycling time trial. In the years 2006, 2007 and 2008, cyclists used the facility approximately 11,800 times to document their training times or entwine permit. Each year 22,000 athletes use the Stoppomat system. About 55% use the registration and each comes to use the system 2.5 times each year. 2013 First plant for mountainbikes opened in black forest in the valley of Renchtal. A combinated plant for racebikers and mountainbiker on two tracks.

Handling

The device enables the documentation of run results for cyclists.

The athlete draws a card from the card dispenser, For the start timing the card is stamped with the time, The card is stamped at the destination, The athlete leaves the card in a box. This is regularly emptied and the data entered into a database. The results are available on a website for retrieval.

Components of Stoppomat

The device consists of a metal casing and at least two radiocontrolled clocks. It can stamp time cards in various formats. The documented start, intermediate and end times can be further processed. The Stoppomat is equipped with electronics with printing function, a stopwatch with a DCF77 radio receiver and an independent power supply for a buffer period of one week. It is constructed to be resistant to vandalism, rain and temperature extremes. It is based on the Linux input and output software. It sorts scores, by age, sex, origin, association membership, shows, zip codes and sports equipment. Second generation The case has a carbon housing for the stamp unit. The station is protected by a shelter from excessive weather.

Inventor and developer The inventor and developer of Stoppomat is Roland Hecht, who lives at the lakeside of the Lake Constance. Developer of the datasystem, homepage and value system is Dr.Th.Bischof also living at the lake.

TOUR Stoppomat Challenge Since winter of 2007/2008 several new plants have been built, which are operated by volunteers from sports clubs and by local sponsors. Since the introduction of a nationwide seriesTOUR Stoppomat-Challenge in 2008, 25.000 athletes have participated. Plants have been put into operation at:

Hoher Meissner (Werra-Meißner-Kreis) Kalmit (Haardt) | Kalmit (Neustadt an der Weinstrasse) Königsstuhl (Odenwald/Germany) | Königsstuhl (District of Heidelberg) Hirschhorn (District Bergstrasse) Pfullingen (Reutlingen) Höchsten (District lake of constance) Gauernitz (Meissen) Parcent (Alicante / Spain) Suderburg / ( Lüneburger Heide ) Fuchshofen (District Adenau) Nitztal (District Mayen) Renchtal (District Oppenau) racebicycle and first mountainbike Grosser Feldberg (District Taunus) racebicycle and mountainbike Göllheim Roenckhausen (Sauerland) Koenigsstein (Elbsandsteingebirge) To obtain the average of a series of ratings, an investment analysis software generates and sets this ratio to 100. The personal journey is set in relation to plant ratios and then added up in the series standings. Thus, the athlete can increase overall ratings by the use of multiple route.

External links Builders Result list ARD television report on the Stoppomat, 20 September 2007 call for TOUR Stoppomat Challenge 2008, a story of StoppOmat by Thomas Musch, tour-magazin.de of 28 April 2008 HR radio interview on her maiden voyage on Stoppomat Hoher Meissner / Werra professional cycling with Dirk Muller, 3 June 2008

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stoppomat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stoppomat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Stoppomat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Stoppomat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Stoppomat

In research: Stoppomat appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Stoppomat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Stoppomat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Clocks, Cycle sport, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stoppomat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Stoppomat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Stoppomat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Stoppomat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stoppomat in simple terms?

The Stoppomat is a time measure system for cyclists. History The Stoppomat was devised in Germany in 2005.

Why does Stoppomat matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Stoppomat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Stoppomat.