CD Hovercraft
What is a hovercraft?
A hovercraft (air-cushion vehicle/ACV) is a vehicle that floats over a surface by hovering upon an air cushion. It can travel over land, snow, ice or even water. Since a hovercraft can travel upon the surface of water, it is also called an amphibious vehicle.
Materials
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old CD
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pop-top bottle cap
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hot glue gun
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balloon
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marker and stickers to decorate your hovercraft
Procedures
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Place the CD on the table. The shiny side up.
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Let’s decorate the CD first.
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Take a hot glue gun. Glue the pop-top bottle cap to the center of the CD.
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Once you attach the cap, glue around the edge to seal tight.
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Press down the pop-top cap.
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Blow up a balloon. Pinch and twist the neck of the balloon.
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Stretch the mouth of the balloon over the bottle cap.
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Set it on a flat surface and untwist the balloon.
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When you are ready, open the pop-top cap to release the air.
Tip! Depending on the type of pop-top cap, the air can be released too quickly. In this case, attach tape underside of
the CD and poke some holes using a pin.
Science Behind It
When you open the bottle cap, the air from the balloon pushes down the table. This is Newton's Third Law of Motion.
The third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Simply, if you push an object, the object pushes back in the opposite direction with equal power.
In this case, the air from the balloon pushes down the table so the table pushes back the CD. This reaction lifts the CD a little bit so the CD can hover.
