An airboat is a vehicle that is meant to be used over water but can also be used on grass or ice. It moves because of propellers that provide the force of air to make it move. The position of the propellers above water makes it an effective mode of transportation on shallow waters.
If you wish to know how this vehicle works, here is an experiment that will guide you in creating your own mini airboat.
What you will need…
- A Battery (or a battery pack)
- 2 Small motors
- 2 Medium propellers
- 2 Brass fasteners
- 4 Connection wires
- 2 Paper clips (metal)
- A Knife
- Electrical tape
- A few cards (e.g. from a deck of playing cards)
- Glue gun and glue stick
- Styrofoam
What you should do…
1. Get the styrofoam and cut it into the shape of a boat. The shape will not matter as long as you have a space for the two motors and a battery pack.
2. At the end of the base of the boat, stack styrofoams together to form two towers, one on each corner. It should be big enough to hold the two motors and high enough to keep the propellers from touching the water/ground.
3. Create a propeller by cutting a strip of card. Cut a glue stick and stick that to the card. Attach the other end of the glue stick to the motor. Make two of these.
4. Make a battery pack using the battery, brass fastener and electric tape.
5. Attach the connection wires to the motors. Attach the other end of the two negative wires to one paper clip and the other end of the two positive wires to another paper clip.
6. Attach the paper clips to the appropriate end of the battery (e.g. negative paper clip to the negative end of the battery).
7. Test the airboat over water.
Important reminders:
- Make sure that the propellers are high enough so they will not touch the water.
- You can use only one propeller but make it big enough to carry the weight of the boat. You may also need a bigger battery pack.
- If you are using two propellers, space them properly so they will not hit each other while spinning.
What you just learned…
You just displayed Newton’s Law of Motion that states that an object will move once it is acted on by an unbalanced force and will continue to do so in the same speed unless another unbalanced force acts upon it. The airboat will not move unless the fan or propeller gives it enough wind force to move. It will also not stop unless it hits a wall or something similar that is greater than the force being created by the propeller.
You also learned how friction, force and motion work together to make an object and its entire weight move. The bigger or heavier the boat, the bigger battery, motor, and propeller is needed to make it move.
It is also evident in this experiment how stored energy (like in a battery) can help power a motor but that the size of the latter greatly influences the power required from the battery.
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