Watch This Tiny Transparent Rocket Engine Roar on the Test Bench
It’s an eye-popping instance of YouTube science.
Sometimes, setting up one of these stories about a cool YouTube video takes a lot of convoluted exposition. In an age where there’s effectively limitless content available to consume at the tap of your fingertips, we at The Drive occasionally feel compelled to justify why you should spend a few minutes of your valuable time taking a couple of minutes to watch this clip instead of any of the other millions out there.
In this case, however? Not so much. Because this is a video of a man who built and test-fired a tiny transparent hybrid rocket engine on his work bench.
Let us reiterate: It’s a tiny DIY transparent rocket engine.
There’s only one possible word to describe that, and while it’s massively overused, in this case, it applies without question: awesome.
To build his miniature motor, inventive YouTube DIY-er NightHawkInLight used an acrylic rod, a canister of pressurized oxygen, and a graphite focusing nozzle; the rod acts as both the fuel and the housing for the tiny rocket, while the O2 serves as an oxidizer that allows it to burn. All it takes is a little spark to start the fire—after all, as The Boss taught us, you can’t start a fire without a spark—and we all score a front-row seat to watching a rocket engine burn in a way previously reserved solely for those with X-ray vision.
So since it’s Friday, kick back, take a few minutes, and see what it’s like to be Superman watching a Falcon 9 take off.
