Miles, Damien, Peter, and I created a potato cannon in the maker space for this interim. First, we took pvc pipes (60 mm diameter and 90 mm diameter) and connected them with pvc concreat and a connector. We then attached a cap to the end. When the potato is in the barrel, it creates a seels where the propellent (in this case, hairspray) can be ignited. The way we ignited the hairspray was an automatic electric grill ignitor. The ignitor works by creating an electrical shock. Next, we drilled two holes into the propellent chamber, one on the side for the ignitor—the other hole on the back for the hairspray. Finally, we sealed the second hole with a cork to ensure the propellent didn’t escape the chamber. Saddly the cannon did not work, and we suspect there wasn’t enough oxygen in the chamber, therefor the perpellent could not light. But after we removed the apple (a substitute for a potato) and removed the cork, it was possible to ignite the hairspray. We hope we can try again in the future and make a fully functional cannon.
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