Demonstration of the Balloon Hovercraft Experiment for Kids

Video Transcript

" Hi this is Scott Thompson from expertvillage.com, and today I'm going to demonstrate a way to put those used CDs to use by building a small balloon hovercraft. What is happening with these hovercrafts, why they actually work as they do, is the source of air pressure that, in our case, is in the balloon, is allowed to kind of sneak out underneath it. And because it is a force, it can distribute itself under the whole diameter of the hovercraft and actually lift it up. This is the same principle as full size hovercrafts use. In the military there are some big ones; there used to be some huge versions that crossed the whole English channel, and they would go as fast as 35 to 40 miles per hour, just on a cushion of air. But in our case, instead of large balloon, they had huge fans that push air down into the hovercraft skirt that lifted it up, and also huge propeller that propelled it forward. That shows how air can be put to work for us."