how to Build a Steam Powered Boat
Steam can be used to operate complicated machinery, all the way down to more mundane tasks, such as lighting a room, heating a bed and making a car run. Fulton built a steam-powered boat that was called by journalists "Fulton's folly"--until he started up the boiler and proceeded to navigate the Mississippi. You can power a tiny boat with steam but no boiler. Here's how.
Instructions
-
Building a steam powered boat
-
1
Cut an empty half-gallon milk jug in half.
-
2
Punch two holes in the back of the milk jug that are roughly one inch apart and a half-inch from the bottom.
-
-
3
Place the tea candle at the bow of the boat to keep the boat level on the water.
-
4
Cut roughly 2 feet of copper tubing that is a quarter-inch in diameter. Slowly bend the middle of the tubing so that it has a coiled center.
-
5
Put both tubes through the holes you cut in the back of the boat. Bend each one slightly for better water movement. Set your steam boat in the water. Let one side fill with water and inhale on the other tube until you taste water. Now light the candle. The bottle will run for hours and function until it runs out of the heat source.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Be careful not to crack the tubing while bending it.
Safety glasses should be worn during construction