The pop boat is a French invention of the engineer Désiré Thomas Piot in the 1890s. That's to say that it has a lot of experience. Very serious, despite its name, there is even a world championship of pop pop boats in France.
How does it work?
A pop boat works with a rudimentary steam engine. Concretely, a small pocket of water, the boiler, will be heated by a candle to create steam. This pocket is connected to two pipes immersed in the water under the boat. When the steam is formed, it takes more space than the liquid water and therefore the boiler will expel water through the pipes which will propel the boat. Then, as the volume of gas decreases, water is sucked back into the hot zone and the cycle begins again.
This type of engine is called a pulsoreactor. However, its efficiency is very low. Only 10% of the mechanical energy of the water movements in the pipes is converted into propulsion energy, whereas the efficiency of a propeller, for example, is about 75%.
The material for the construction of a pop boat
The video proposed by the Montreal Science Centre shows the making of a model pop boat from the following materials:
- an aluminum can for the boiler
- a carton of fruit juice or milk for the shell,
- two straws for the pipes
- two wooden sticks and two clamps to hold the cover.
The following tools and supplies are also required:
- sandpaper for sanding aluminum,
- epoxy glue,
- of the fixed paste,
- scissors and a cutter,
- a square, a ruler and a pen
A fun way to learn about science
In addition to the timeless pleasure of sailing little boats, building a pop boat with children is an excellent tool for learning about science, including propulsion, forces and fluids.
However, as the device uses a candle, special attention must be paid to the handling of the boat and the risk of burns.
Did you know that?
If, in French, its name is "pop pop", because of the characteristic noise it emits while moving forward, it is called differently in other languages: put-put, puff-paff, toc-toc phut-phut, pouet-pouet, can-can. ..
