UIUC Physics Lecture Demo: Balloons with Pump (Rocket Effect)

UIUC Physics
Lecture Demonstration
Database

Demo # 46

Balloons with Pump (Rocket Effect)

ID # 46

Description:

Fill a balloon with air. Hold the end closed with fingers or a clothespin, and then release the balloon. The balloon is propelled across the room or along a string, in the opposite direction of the escaping air, conserving linear momentum.

Picture of Balloons with Pump (Rocket Effect)

Physics Concept:

Mechanics
Linear Momentum
Conservation of Linear Momentum

The demonstration takes about 2 minutes to perform.