Match Rocket (Funky Physics Experiments)

You will need:

1. Matchsticks
2. Paper clip (with no
   rubber coating)
3. Pin
4. Small squares of
   aluminium foil

Rockets are fun to play with, so why not make your very own rocket out of simple matchsticks? Create a tiny rocket of matchsticks and see Newton’s Laws of motion in action.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take a matchstick and cover the head very tightly with a small square of aluminium foil.
2. Take your pin and gently insert it between the foil and the matchstick head, moving the foil very slightly away from the matchstick and making a small hole. Be careful not to tear the foil.
3. Take a paper clip and bend the paper clip in such fashion as to design a launch pad.
4. You can do that by bending the outermost prong of the clip outwards and the U portion of the clip upwards at a 45- degree angle.
5. Make the wrapped matchstick stand upright by placing it (foil side up) on the U portion of the clip.
6. Light another matchstick and hold it under the foil-wrapped matchstick until it lights up.

RESULT

As soon as the foil-wrapped matchstick catches fire, gases are released. Because of the foil, the gases have no place to go except the small gap created by the safety pin. The mass of gas thrusts itself outwards from that gap, causing a force in the opposite direction and propelling the matchstick into the air.