Putt-Putt: The wonderful world of heat engines
How does it work?
The Question How does the length of the exhaust tube correlate with the strength of the engine? How does the size of the boiler affect engine performance?
The Procedure Build a multitude of engines, each with a varying boiler length and long exhaust pipes. Test the engines in a boat and a known length of water. Record the time it takes the engine to complete the route. Cut off a section of exhaust pipe and go to step two.
Bad The Reality In order to seal the engines, epoxy was used Epoxy burns Three of the engines lost their seals Bad
The Results The shorter the exhaust tube the lower the performance. Perhaps the shorter the boiler, the better the performance.