Combine simple household items to make a rocket propulsion system.
Posted 01.11.2013 at 2:00 pm
9 Comments
DIY Mini-Rocket
The Big Book Of Hacks
MATERIALS
Paper
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Alka-Seltzer tablets
Water
Empty film canister
STEP 1
Design your rocket, drawing it on paper. A simple cylinder, nose cone, and a pair of fins will suffice. It should stand around 6 inches (15 cm) tall and be approximately 1½ inches (3.75 cm) in diameter.
STEP 2
Cut out your rocket components (cylinder, nose cone, and fins) and glue them together.
STEP 3
Open the film canister and drop one-half of an Alka-Seltzer tablet into it.
STEP 4
Fill the canister half full of water and snap the canister cap into place. Slide the rocket over the cap, place the assembly cap-down, and get back. Watch the rocket blast off.
This project was excerpted from The Big Book Of Hacks: 264 Amazing DIY Tech Projects, a compendium of ingenious and hilarious projects for aspiring makers. Buy it here. And for more amazing hacks, go here.
Want to read more articles like this, plus tips and tricks, home hacks, DIY projects, and more? Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
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What the heck is film and where do I get a canister of it?
Are these the directions the North Koreans used?
How about a baking soda and vinegar rocket too!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3FlJZySyzM
Do a search on the internet. There are all kinds
of simply designs and have fun!
dwesnor, I read your comment and almost spit my lunch all over my desk because I was laughing so hard. :)
'film' container? I wonder if they mean my cellphone case. Hmmmm...
foam, froth, fizzle...sounds of warranty voiding. :)
when I read the Title of this article, "Build and launch a mini rocket", I thought they were going to show us adult types something that we hadn't already done when we were in the first grade. Very disappointing. Am I now to believe you have enough 1st graders reading PopSci that you can ignore the rest of us?
Get a life Mister_Fixit :)
Sounds pretty easy. I think I will try this.
Dwesnor, you crack me up!