Tag Archive for: dynamics
Tag Archive for: dynamics
Big Mouth Tumblewings
/0 Comments/in Simple/by Joe ShimwellExplore flight the unusual way, with a tumblewing – a spin-stabilising slope-soaring paper plane. Easy to make, challenging to fly.
Vacuum Bazooka (shooting sprouts, just to be festive)
/0 Comments/in Intermediate/by JonathanStuff flying through the air is always fun. Unless you’re the owner of the priceless vase which happens to be in the way of the otherwise-graceful arc, but that’s obviously not going to happen to you, right? You’re more careful about aiming. Ahem.
Even better is making things you really really don’t like sail through the air with the greatest of east. Above, TV presenter Greg Foot dons his best festive jumper and uses a vacuum clear to hurl his hated brussels sprouts as far as possible. This sort of vacuum bazooka is a classic thing to make, and while it can be a bit fiddly it’s well worth having a go if you’re feeling bored over Christmas.
If you’re really ambitious, you might end up completely obsessed with the things, like our chum Dave Ansell:
Or, if you fancy something a bit simpler, our partners the Centre for Life have a not-quite-the-same-but-similar-results demonstration:
Merry Christmas. And do try not to put anyone’s eye out with flying objects.
Rubber Band Cannons
/0 Comments/in Simple/by JonathanAn easy make & do with household scrap and elastic bands, from the Royal Institution’s excellent ExpeRimental series. These are all straightforward activities using household materials, perfect for families to collaborate or compete over on a rainy day.
This film shows you how to turn crisp tubes and a small pop bottle into a surprisingly powerful (and entertainingly inaccurate) foil-firing cannon. Along the way there’s plenty of opportunity to discuss energy transfer and projectile dynamics… or simply to knock things over and cause widespread mayhem.
