suspenseful chain reaction toy using hot air to move the fire.
Candle mechanism
A collaboration with Adel Visser.
The first assignment was to make an ineffective nutcracker mechanism that is human powered, from there we were allowed to take the aspects we liked and made the essence of our nutcracker into another piece. We first made a chain reaction using a windmill, gears, an arm that sets off a matchstick contraption using springs, the fire burns a string that sets off another matchstick, this fire burns a string that sets off our katapult which launches our wallnut, but the walnut is saved by a parachute.
For our final product we boiled all of that down to a chain reaction using fire and little mills, the suspense was kept in our final work. We made most things except the metal rods out of scrap material. If we were to finalize this project it would be a guide and a kit of how to build it, not the product itself. The parts can be cut out of soda cans. Most of the joy and suspense in this project comes from assembling it yourself and seeing if it works. The first act is to light a candle, the hot air from this candle will make the propeller above it spin. The propeller also works as a gear, slightly ticking against another balanced shape that is carrying two matchsticks underneath it. These will spin through the flame of the first candle and pass the fire on to a fuse which lights a lantern. If we had more time we would have made this final lantern a small hot air balloon, which is held by a string so it will stay a meter into the air.
