Accetaline Cannon

Warnings[1]

First of all, opologies, if I've miss spelled accetaline.

Second of all, Accetaline is a very fun cheap way of making fire. First of all, you can fill a balloon, rubber glove, condom of any other kind of airtight burnable thing. When you light the glove, balloon, or condom, it basically goes up with a ball of fire, lots of black smoke and nasty smell. Ahh, it's beautiful.

Of course, you can make a cannon out of it too. Obviously, gas is not the best way to make a combustion cannon, but its' fun and cheap. What you need is a metal pipe, with the one welded shut, and a hole in the closed end. It helps if a ping pong ball fits into the pipe perfectly, like it does with mine. Then you fill a bit of accetaline (from your oxy-accetaline welding set up, of coure). The ammount is cucial to make it work. You need little enough that it does not fill up the pipe all the way with gas, since it need oxygen to burn, and that is supplied by the air. So when you drop the ping pong ball into the pipe, there is some air in front of it. But you also need enough gas that it won't all get pushed back out the little hole at the plugge up end. Then you take your striker (little thing that makes sparks) and strike it above the little hole. If all goes well, the ping pong ball will fly over fifty feet. This is kind of wimpy for a cannon, but YOU try throwing or batting a ping pong ball that far. it's not easy. The only drawback is that if you use anything heavyer that would fly better, it wouln't be too heave to go anywhere. I'll get some black powder sometime, and try that, but that's been done. On the other hand, gasoline is supposed to work a lot better than black powder....

Just remember to blow out the pipe before you re fill it, in case there is still a bit of flame left, which would ignite the new gas

[1] seeing as how you are making an explosion, useing a combustibile gas, it is a good idea to at least wear protecitive eye wearm, and gloves, incase something goes wrong, and also start small (just use a little accetaline at first), so you don't blow your self up!