what a crazy idea??

I am building a knex rollercoaster in the shape of a U. It is 12 feet by 8 feet. I was wondering can I use a small co2 cartrige to send it up the track. I think it will work. do not think I will try it

Will It Work ??????

TTD was built

TTD opened

TTD was rode *** Edited 12/17/2003 9:28:36 PM UTC by CP Dude***

I think it will work, but too well. It will probably be too powerful and may very well cause the car to break away from the track. I would not reccomend it, if you are going to try it anyway, be careful. Those CO2 cartridges have a surprising amount of pressure built up inside them.

*** DISCLAIMER *** DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME ***

When I was in high school, my friends and I constricted a CO2 morter. It was plastic PVC pipe with a stopper and a nail on the inside of the end pipe. You would drop the CO2 down the pipe, and stay away from the muzzle. It would shoot so far, we sometimes lost sight of the thing. Where did it land? I dunno.

Sounds like a great idea, make sure to have a video cam rolling and send it into on of those "You gotta see this shows" on TV.

I think I like the morter idea. How long was the pipe? (how far did it need to drop to get a good puncture?)

hope it doesn't explode...

I can just imagine a little K'nex roller coaster car found somewhere in the country. "It's them little alien critters tryn' to probe me 'gain."

Be careful with CO2 cartridges. Ask a friend of mine when we were testing out CO2 cartridge powered cars, being hit by one of those things ain't fun. I recommend you duct tape that thing down to the K'NEX car, and make sure it doesn't fly off. Especially if you're testing it inside, that thing can do alot of damage.

Soggy: Reminds me of what my friends and I did just a few days ago for their physics video. We built a cannon using PVC pipe, and we launched these stuffed hackey-sack type balls (pretty soft). We launched it a good 50 yards, but that was a hell of a loud shot! :)

Don't try this at home kids.

That reminds me of the potato gun I made a few years ago. It's amazing how far hair spray will shoot a little spud.

How do you plan on releasing the CO2? The only canisters I can think of are the kind used for bb guns. Those cartriges need somthing sharp to puncture them too.

Good luck! and wear eye protection.

I had no idea running a coaster toy would be so dangerous. :)

This may be the toy is more dangerous than the real thing!

Please wear safety gear! Please!

Rats, the site seems to be gone, but along similar lines, there was a project called the BFPG-9000, an attempt to make a supersonic potato gun. If memory serves, they got the potato up to an estimated 550mph, but the supersonic attempt failed because the barrel shattered under the load.

If anyone can find that, please post a link :)

Man how the times change. Back when I was a kid, if we had CO2 catridges we weren't attaching them to a toy roller coaster.

One word - 'whippits'

I have to admit though a CO2 powered impulse would be nuts - make sure you videotape it (and the subsequent damage) and share.

I am not going to try it atleast for a couple months

Sorry if I disapointed anyone I will think it out a little better next time. I am just going to use rubberbands.

Use CO2, don't be a crowd tease :-)

Heh heh...do it now! ;)

Lord Gonchar:

I believe those cartridges were filled with a different gas..... ;-)

edit:sp *** Edited 12/19/2003 12:49:23 AM UTC by Zingo!*** *** Edited 12/19/2003 1:14:11 AM UTC by Zingo!***

This reminds me of when Arrow tried to make the suspended coaster go upside-down. The cars broke free from the chassis and when through a brick wall. The CO2 will overpower the train uphill and remain in contact with the celing for awhile.

Im not sure jet propulsion was meant for knex. Why don't you just go get some hydrazine and blow that sucker to the upper atmosphere. send pictures or a streaming vidoe when it happens!!

Hey,

I just private mailed cp_dude a solution but to be honest I didn’t want the kiddies trying it so I will simply say it involves a paintball gun.

OnDrew