If you have been following me for awhile then you know that I have been having some trouble with this particular experiment. One of the problems was that my PVC pipe didn’t have a sharp enough end. Eventually we found out that the inside of the pipe was not smooth. Thus, the little crevices let a lot of air pass in between the potato and the pipe not giving the air pressure that I desperately needed to accomplish this experiment.
So I decided to get a different kind of pipe that had a smoother inside. As I have said before, Mr. Spangler had also suggested a clear, hard plastic pipe so that we could see what was going on inside. With a quick trip to Home Depot, we searched the long aisles for the desired pipe. With some kindly help we found where the plastic pipes were. We looked at them and the plastic was not hard, it was bendable. That would simply not do! But in the next aisle we found some different kinds of metal pipes. We picked up a two foot copper pipe and we felt the inside and, with satisfaction, it was as smooth as glass. Ta-da! The employees had probably not seen a fifteen year old girl walk out with a pipe in her hand, giggling with satisfaction.
So shiny!
I made a little adjustment to the dowel rod because the pipe was two feet instead of sixteen inches. It shouldn’t be a problem. If anything it would have more room to compress the air and would have a better result. Plus I didn’t want to attempt to cut that rod!
Anyway, the stopper was moved down to just under twenty-five inches.
Then you know the drill. I punched two pieces of potato into the copper pipe. The ends were already sharp enough to get through the potato easily. With my safety goggles on and my confidence high I was ready.
I went outside and braved the bitter cold and melting snow (Yes, we do get snow in New Mexico). I positioned my dowel rod and pushed. And then……..POW!!!!!!!
VICTORY!!!!!
The potato finally flew through the air. The sound of the ”pow” was music to my ears. Seeing the potato become a tasty projectile was a sight of accomplishment. I did the launch over and over because the victory was too sweet to do once.
So it turns out it was the pipe itself that was the problem.
Wow. These past few weeks have been one of learning. It just shows that not all experiments go as planned the first time but you try to figure out what went wrong and learn from it. I have learned lessons in perseverance and problem solving (it was so much fun!). Though I felt discouraged at one point, I loved doing this experiment but I do have to say I am ready to move on.
