Matchstick Rocket

Materials Needed:

• 2 match book matches or wooden stick matches
• Small square of aluminum foil
• Paper clip
• Safety pin

1. Take one match and wrap a small piece of aluminum foil around the match-head. Wrap the foil tightly.

2. Make a small opening in the foil wrapped around the match head by inserting the point of a safety pin and bending upward slightly.

3. Bend the paper clip to form a launch pad as shown in the diagrams. Erect the match stick rocket on the pad. Make sure the pad is set up on a surface that will not be damaged by the rocket's exhaust such as a lab table. Several layers of foil on the lab table work well.

4. Ignite the match by holding a second lighted match under the foil until its combustion temperature is reached.

Caution: Make sure matchstick rockets are pointed away from people or burnable materials. it is recommended to have water or some other fire extinguishant available. The foil head of the rocket will be very hot!

Matchstick rockets demonstrates Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion as they relate to rocketry. Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. The exhaust of the fire products from the burning match (smoke and gas) is the "action" and the movement of the rocket in the other direction is the 'reaction.' The action thrust is produced when the match burns in an enclosed environment. The aluminum foil acts as a rocket combustion chamber. Because the opening in the foil is small, pressure builds up in the chamber that eventually escapes as a rapid stream of smoke and gas.

Matchstick rocket

Matchstick Rockets - Instructions on how to make a match stick rocket by NASA. www.grc.nasa.gov

Match Stick Rockets - Instructions on how to build match stick rockets. www.matchstickrockets.com

Small rockets for a small planet - Instructions on how to make a match stick rocket. www.bizarrelabs.com

Matchstick rocket - Instructions on how to make matchstick rockets and miniature match rockets. www.everything2.com

Fused Matchstick Rocket - Step by step instructions how to make a fused matchstick rocket. www.instructables.com

Make Matchstick Rocket Video - This video explains how to make a simple matchstick rocket. www.metacafe.com

Making Matchstick Rockets - This video explains how to make match stick rockets. www.youtube.com

Fused Matchstick Rocket

A matchstick rocket is typically launched from a little paper clip launch pad.