With Elton John blaring in the background, College of the Siskiyous physics instructor Mike Read made the final adjustments to his “rocket bike” as he prepared his very hands on demonstration of Newtons’s Third Law.
I’m not the man they think I am at home... Oh no, no, no... I’m a rocket man...
After donning his helmet and flashing a quick thumbs up, Read unleased the fury of his homemade chopper-style bicycle, which was propelled by a CO2 fire extinguisher mounted to its frame.
Newton’s Third Law states that for every action (or force) in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
“In this case, when the nozzle of the fire extinguisher pushes back on the gas, the gas pushes on the nozzle,” said Read, explaining that the end result is the foward movement of the bicycle.
The crowd of more than 50 students and staff had fun cheering the animated instructor as he navigated 100 yards of campus walkway.
Though he’s an avid bicyclist, Read probably won’t be spending too much time on this bike, given that a tank lasts approximately one minute.
A longtime COS instructor, Read said that he uses many demonstrations like this in his classes.
He thanked welding instructor James Sanderson and his students for designing and building the bike, as well as John McCarthy of Siskiyou Fire Equipment for providing both the fire extinguisher and the CO2.
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With Elton John blaring in the background, College of the Siskiyous physics instructor Mike Read made the final adjustments to his “rocket bike” as he prepared his very hands on demonstration of Newtons’s Third Law.
I’m not the man they think I am at home... Oh no, no, no... I’m a rocket man...
After donning his helmet and flashing a quick thumbs up, Read unleased the fury of his homemade chopper-style bicycle, which was propelled by a CO2 fire extinguisher mounted to its frame.
Newton’s Third Law states that for every action (or force) in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
“In this case, when the nozzle of the fire extinguisher pushes back on the gas, the gas pushes on the nozzle,” said Read, explaining that the end result is the foward movement of the bicycle.
The crowd of more than 50 students and staff had fun cheering the animated instructor as he navigated 100 yards of campus walkway.
Though he’s an avid bicyclist, Read probably won’t be spending too much time on this bike, given that a tank lasts approximately one minute.
A longtime COS instructor, Read said that he uses many demonstrations like this in his classes.
He thanked welding instructor James Sanderson and his students for designing and building the bike, as well as John McCarthy of Siskiyou Fire Equipment for providing both the fire extinguisher and the CO2.
