Vacuum Cannon

Step 3 Test It!

Place the tube on a horizontal or angled surface. Put the ball in the tube, then press something (newspaper, plastic, etc.) on each end. Start the vacuum and it should hold the seals on the end. Remove one of the seals and the ball should fly out the other side. Depending on how you did it, the ball can have a lot of velocity, so be careful.

Play with the different types of tube and the length and diameter of the tube. Some will work better than others. Change the type of projectile, too. For some fun, try shooting marshmallows or mini marshmallows. There are endless possibilities with this project.

Comments

[hapman9]

dont vaccums suck stuff up

[ilpug]

they do. The whole premise of this cannon is that the vacuum creates a vacuum in the tube, and then air is allowed into the tube, propelling the ball out as it rushes in to fill the vacuum.

[hapman9]

Message me back cuz i dont really get it........ and i wanna try it out

[_Scratch_]

The way i understand it is that the vacuum cleaner creates a vacuum in the tube due to both sides being covered. Then, when the paper on the side that the ball is on is removed, air is sucked in to the tube (from the side of the ball) to fill the lack of air in the tube, thus propelling the ball to the other side of the tube because the other side is still covered, and breaking the other piece of paper.
So really the vacuum cleaner isn't pulling the ball to the other side, the incoming air pushes the ball.