Office Supplies Challenge - Liquid Fuel Rocket

Liquid Fuel Rocket made from office supplies. Warning, this is kinda dangerous, I had one blow up in my hand already, it was more startling than anything, the two halves flew off in different directions, (wear leather gloves just to be safe.). But they'll fly about 75 feet straight up.

Step 1: You Will Need

A Sharpie
Canned Air
Electrical Tape (Substitute Packing Tape)
Ball Point Pen
Rubber Band
Bottle Cap
Leatherman
Robot Sticker (optional)

Step 2: The Rocket Body

Disassemble the sharpie and remove the ink and the point.

Cut a piece of ink tube 3/4" long from a ballpoint pen and wrap one half with a small piece of electrical tape.

Insert the tube into the sharpie where the point used to be, tap it until firmly seated.

Reassemble the two halves of the sharpie.

Step 3: Guidance

The fins are made by folding tape over on it self and attaching the tag ends to the rocket body, trim into a rocketish profile. Attach three equally spaced around the body.

Step 4: Propulsion

Take the canned air, bend the straw down next to the body, space it out with the bottle cap and secure with a rubberband.

Step 5: Launch

Outside, invert the can of canned air, slip the rocket body onto the straw. Hold the rocket body and depress the trigger on the can, allow a short time to pass and release the rocket. Wash Rinse Repeat.

Comments

[Matthew Yang]

I'm going to fill mine with model rocket fuel. Then, I'm going to attach it to a skewer. I'm going to attach a lighter to a long stick and hold it right under the hole. Then, it will launch at a very high speed. It will also probably go much higher.

[he who crashes often]

the ones at my local hardware store are compressed co2 and if you turn them upside down they shoot out liquid co2 and you can flash freeze things. i once used an entire can on an onion, threw it on the ground and it shattered. however despite this i can walk into my hardware store (san francisco, ca) and buy it.

[timbit1985]

I can almost guarantee that the cans are not in fact compressed co2. Unless you are purchasing a regulated compressed gas cylinder (big, thick walled, 50lb) you are actually using an aerosol. The liquid coming out IS very cold, but it is due to expansion cooling. Force a volatile liquid like butane or propane through a small opening in an area where it can freely expand. It will flash off, removing a ton of heat. This is essentially how your freezer at home works, except it recycles the gas.

[junkelsplitsy]

Agreed. Thermodynamics, man. It's all about the enthalpy, baby.

[jfr5dh]

Words cannot describe how beautiful this comment is, and for it I thank you junkelsplitsy

[timbit1985]

You could stab someone with a screw driver too if you wanted, and you can still buy those.

[pyrobossVII]

ENTER THIS IN THE LAUNCH IT CONTEST

[elkhuntr]

thats not liquid fuel

[resistanceisfutileiflessthan1ohm]

you're right, liquid fuelled rockets carry a fuel and oxidiser that react through combustion to produce an explosion and generate thrust. the instructable should be renamed compressed gas rocket. overall it is a good tutorial though.

[Nightkilla]

Eh...... not an explosion. A (hopefully) controlled deflagration.

[3DMHuff]

I can't find them anywhere either.

[Zaphod Beetlebrox]

Win a contest no mater how small.

[shaneomacmcgee]

might wanna wear leather/rubber gloves for this; you can easily get frostbite if you get sprayed with that stuff.

[Pizzapie500]

True That!!! I got it onto my finger and it hurt sooooooooooo badly! That finger was numb for days and skin fell off!! Also never shake the can!! I did and frost appeared on the outside of the can! (actually it might not be frost, but the can was very cold)

[Cheezpaper]

Didn't hurt that bad for me... And it definitely didn't cause any damage after spraying my finger for 10 secs.... You're probably just overreacting.

[Pizzapie500]

Did you get the white stuff onto your hand? What it does is expand and freeze. So if it gets onto your hand it'll stretch your skin (make it peel off) and it'll give it frostbite (make it numb).

[c3ralki1l3r]

my freind spray some in my mouth D:

[Moofish]

My doctor used this stuff to remove a wart on my hand, even though local anesthetic was applied to my hand, it still hurt like crazy.

[Kasm279]

And here I am turning the can upside down to freeze stuff :P

[jmontgomery3]

That is how I kill spiders around my computer.....