Elephant toothpaste experiment cannon?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the feasibility of using the "elephant toothpaste" experiment, which involves hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide, as a propulsion mechanism. It concludes that due to the conservation of momentum, the lightweight foam produced cannot generate sufficient force to lift a person. Specifically, to achieve a lift of 70 kg at walking speed, an impractical amount of foam would need to be expelled at extremely high velocities, akin to rocket propulsion dynamics.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of chemical reactions involving hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide.
  • Knowledge of conservation of momentum principles in physics.
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of rocket propulsion.
  • Basic grasp of fluid dynamics and forces in motion.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the chemical properties and reactions of hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide.
  • Study conservation of momentum and its applications in various physical systems.
  • Explore rocket propulsion mechanics and the significance of exhaust mass and velocity.
  • Investigate fluid dynamics principles related to the behavior of foams and gases.
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This discussion is beneficial for chemistry enthusiasts, physics students, and anyone interested in experimental science and propulsion mechanisms.

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"elephant toothpaste experiment" cannon?

I saw a video of an experiment called "elephant toothpaste" on youtube, where a guy put hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodine in a graduated cylinder, and it all foamed up, and went out of the graduated cylinder. If you put the chemicals in a pipe with a cap on one end, and a valve on the other, would it shoot it like a cannon? or perhaps it would be powerful enough to be like a jet pack, and you could fly around your neighborhood?
 
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Unfortunately not.
There is something called conservation of momentum.
That means that the speed*mass that you move up must equal the speed*mass of the thing that goes down.
The foam doesn't weigh very much so to lift you 70kg at 1m/s (walking speed) you would have to spit out 70kg of foam at 1m/s or 7kg of foam at 70m/s. Since foam is very light you would need very high speed.
You can see this with rockets, because the mass of the exhaust gas is so small you have to fire it out at very high speed - while with a firehouse sending out heavy water you feel a force at much lower speeds.
 

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