DIY vacuum cannon uses atmospheric pressure as fuel
What can you make with wood scraps, PVC pipe, and aluminum foil? If you are YouTuber NightHawkInLight, then you create a powerful vacuum cannon capable of exploding a watermelon. Using atmospheric pressure, this cannon requires no fuel or compressed air to turn everyday objects into fast-moving projectiles.
According to David Grossman for Popular Mechanics: "The neat thing about this project is that it shows off core components of Newtonian physics, specifically Newton's Second Law, in a really easy way to visualize.
Newton's Second Law states that the rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the force applied, and this change in momentum takes place in the direction of the applied force. With no fuel, the cannon uses both the force of the sealed vacuum and the weight of the Earth's atmosphere to fire off the projectile and the PVC pipe guides the direction of the applied force."
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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