Set off a rocket with just the touch of a button! And get this—you might not even have to head to the store. Start igniting with what you already have lying around the house. Detonation from the comfort of your own home!
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ROCKET IGNITERS
SAFETY KEY:
+ Fire
SKILL LEVEL:
EASY
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
APPROXIMATE TIME:
35 minutes
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
+ Old phone charger
+ Paper matches (or regular wooden matches)
+ Electrical tape
+ Scissors
+ Alligator clips
LET’S BEGIN
SETUP
1. First cut off the head of the charger and then cut the cable into smaller pieces about two inches long.
CREATING THE WIRES
1. If you remove the outer jacket of the wire, you will see that there are two insulated wires inside, made of very thin-stranded copper wires.
PRO TIP: For this project, the thinner the wires are, the better the igniter will work.
2. You will not need the outer layer, so you can pull that off.
3. Now you can strip the ends down about half an inch, revealing the thin copper strands.
4. Carefully single out one copper strand from the bundle of wires and pull it off to the side.
5. You don’t need the other strands, so you can twist them together and cut them off at the base.
6. If your other end has nylon cordage mixed with the copper wires you will want to remove that.
PRO TIP: The best way to eliminate the nylon cordage is to lick it with a flame from a candle or a barbecue igniter.
7. Now hold the two cables side by side about a quarter inch apart and twist the bridge wire and single copper wire with the other cable. Twist it around so it meshes with the other strands. This prevents the bridge wire from unraveling.
8. To hold the wires in place, place them onto the center of a piece of tape.
ATTENTION TO DETAIL: Make sure the bridge wire is about a quarter inch above the tape and then fold the other strand into the tape.
THE MATCH
1. Now you will want to modify the match heads. Take the matches one at a time and carefully slide the match head down the edge of a pair of sharp scissors. You will want to make a small groove down the center of the tip. Using our wires attached to the tape, attach the match so the groove and bridge wire are lined up.
2. Then secure it firmly in place by wrapping one side of the tape tightly over one end and taking the other end of the tape and securing it in the other direction.
LIGHTING IT OFF
1. For one finishing touch, it’s good practice to burn the nylon strands on the igniter leads as well.
2. Then twist them together tightly so they’ll make better contact.
READY TO GO TO WORK!
1. To test them out, run alligator clips from the ends of the wires to two nine-volt batteries, in parallel.
2. All it takes for ignition is a touch of the wires to the battery terminal.
AUTOIGNITION! It all happens very quickly. The matches light off because when the circuit is completed, over six amps of electrical current surge through the tiny bridge wire on the top. The electricity gets the wire so hot that it ignites the chemicals in the match head, causing it to burst into flames.
There’s more: If you want to challenge yourself a bit more, grab an old game console controller (like one from a Nintendo 64) and convert it into a rocket-launch controller!
