That first long range shot at normal speed made my jaw drop. The second one was awesome too but it's a lot more exciting when you see and hear the power at normal speed. Either way, it's an amazing build, and I have a ton of appreciation for the work you put into it. You have my subscription! 😃
Thank you for the kind words! I will be taking the cannon out again this spring to do more shooting and will have a new video - I will be sure to leave in some normal speed clips!
Hey Craig, LOVE the cannon. About 40 years ago I shot a muzzle loading black power rifle at scout camp. We used a small patch of fabric around the lead ball to seal the ball a little. I 'm wondering if you could attain even more distance if you used a bath towel or something to decrease the blow by?! Again, Great Video!!!
Thank you! I agree that we could probably get more distance with some "wadding". In fact, I did have a bed sheet to use as wadding but we decided to leave it out so that we wouldn't over-stress the barrel. However, we are planning another day of shooting and I've got 150 golf balls to throw down the barrel and we will definitely be using the bed sheet as wadding when we do that - but we will likely keep the powder at .5 pounds. And, maybe at the end of testing all of the new things we can jam the wadding in and shoot a bowling ball with it! Thanks for the idea and for watching!
@@BealsScience if you use a sheet as wadding try a plastic bucket thats close to barrel size cut slits from top to half way to bottom load it with golf balls... slits should fan out like a brake let the golf balls stay tight...like a giant buckshot round lol.
So I’m camping in Montana, and I took my car from work at the bowling alley/pizza delivery. My vehicle has a three foot bowling pin on the roof. Out in the middle of nowhere, I hear a low whistling and see the pin explode. I don’t know who you are Brenda, but hats off to your dedication.... I
Thank you! You should see the looks I get when I drive it around town! People look at me like I am a crazy person...but...maybe they are right?! Thanks for watching
My science and physics teacher got me interested in all things science some 40+ years ago, and I've never lost that interest. We may have shot off model rockets and monkey guns IN the classroom, but nothing quite so grand as some of the demonstrations you have done. I'm guessing this one was a "blast", and a good teaching moment. Not only on projectile motion, mass and acceleration, etc., but also on metal stresses, gas expansion, reaction forces and the like. Then again, this also looked like 'just plain fun!' :) It does bring to mind the saying, "Careful; you'll shoot your eye out!".
Thank you for the kind words! I too have a long line of science teachers to thank for inspiring me to keep learning! And, like you mentioned, this project has brought so much learning to the classroom but more importantly it is a good reminder that science and learning can (and should) be fun!
I'd love to hear what you think of the Jeep Cannon! And, let me know what you think we should launch out of it next and what we should shoot at! Thanks for watching!! ~Craig
Oh my God, a giant golf ball cannon (or Cricket or Bocce balls) shot at the side of a car would be amazing. I dont know how a wadding would work though. Hmmm...🤔 Maybe you could use the bottom half of one of those small buckets the width of a bowling ball as the plastic wad, and then ~10-20 Cricket or Bocce balls, or ~200 golf balls, and then a bunch of paper to push and hold them all in the bottom of the bucket? I don't know, I'm just brainstorming. Ignore my nonsense, lol.
Fantastic science experiment. I watch a load of these type, and always enjoy them. I wonder why I never saw one where a chip or tracker was drilled into the ball so that it can be traced and shown how far it has gone, and where, to correlate with the trajectorial predictions. If it can be located using the chip, it would be interesting to see the impact results as well.
I am editing a video right now where we tracked down and found every ball we shot. We did it old school by having a search party watch and locate the ball. But, I am going to try to put an Apple AirTag in one of them the next time we go out to see if it will work!
A tail made of something BRIGHTLY COLORED, DURABLE and FIRMLY ATTACHED to the projectile would make the in flight view of the projectile more visible. Twelve foot length and maybe 1 - 1/2" wide ??? (Velocity might destroy it though)
I mean... he was a a community nuisance and reckless danger to himself and others... he's lucky lasted so long. Should have stayed in prison, would have been alive still.
That's really sweet . Only thing I might suggest is maybe useing a electrical ignition system where there's no chance of a quick fuse or pre- ignition while you are in close proximity . All and all it's absolutely cool and I enjoyed the video.
Yeah freaked me out when he was looking down the barrel. Could also damp mop it and use some kind of wadding. I't hate to see this awesomeness go all Wile E. Coyote
Absolutely great video had me at the edge of my seat ,keep them coming I think the bowling ball is a good projectile but I would like to see what it does to a cinder block wall 👍👍🇺🇸
That’s extremely impressive with how inefficient that cannon is, i love to see that with a towel wrapped around the ball to make a better seal, i bet you could almost double the velocity
That falls under the category "It seemed like a good idea at the time." To increase velocity you need to increase pressure, so you're on the right track. Howevva comma the materials being used to construct these toys aren't able to stand the much higher chamber pressures you're trying to obtain.
Absolutely!... and I think that bad seal is what makes some balls splinter before they leave the cannon. The big powder flame says the seal is making it lose power, range, and waste of black powder.
Some ideas that came to mind that you can shoot/shoot at: - A bucket of ping pong/golf balls at a shooting range target - A snowman (in a couple of months) - A row of buckets filled with colored water - An axe (to see if you can split the ball) - Watermelons (of course) - A riot police shield - An old TV You could possibly put a burning cloth around the bowling ball but I don't think that's very safe at all
Your ideas are FANTASTIC! Thank you! If we try any of these on the next shoot, I will definitely give you credit! The row of buckets with colored water could look incredible in slow mo!
@@BealsScience If you really feel adventurous you could try shooting a small bucket of golf balls as a simulation of civil war grape shot (aka if you do try this make sure you have a separation of the golf balls and powder for safety sake )
@@BealsScienceWell skys the limit! If you have a broken down unusable car somewhere thst you can haul out you can do that or if you'd like you can set up a tower of soda bottles or cans. You could also shoot it at furniture, you can really fire it at anything. :)
Get some drones to try and follow the cannon ball on its way. Just nuts, loved it. I grew up in Connecticut where if they saw you driving along in that “technical” you’ve created, they would try to incarcerate you for 900 years.
At about 5:37 he looks down the barrel of a loaded cannon with a lit fuse. It is unlikely, but if it went off the results would be catastrophic. Cannon safety; Only put things in front of a cannon that you want destroyed, no hands, fingers, kids or heads. Make certain that your cannon is being fired into a controlled firing range. Even at two miles, it is lethal. Use a mirror to look inside for burning bits of wadding before loading in the powder. Hearing protection, eye protection and keeping dummies at an extreme distance is useful.
A small hole in the breech end to accommodate the fuse. NEVER ignite from the muzzle, and make sure the barrel has NO glowing embers. Load powder with a cup on the end of a stick so you're not in the line of fire if something ignites the powder prematurely.
I waited so long for another video i got scared that you had stopped posting... Just yesterday i actually found your email on the website and was going to ask you what took so long......
@@BealsScience If you actually do that, I want a photo! (even if it's a plastic unofficial plate that any prop shop can make, they do that for movies, parades, etc)
It does! The last time I took it out we blew the bolts off the passenger seat mount, blew a shock, sheared the bolts on the alternator and partially separated the body from the frame! It is really hard on my poor old jeep but we just fix it up and get it back out there!
You need to add some wads behind the ball so it was sealed the ball coming off, don't wrap the ball around it just put the powder in then stuff some rags down the top of the powder and then roll the ball down in it that will seal the ball and give you more pressure coming out the cannon is thick enough to take the pressure t it would not blow up that heavy wall pipe you did a wonderful job keep up the good work Ray
As a former ammunition team chief for a 155mm howitzer crew in the US Army, I give this a full-on "Oosha!" (artillery version of hooah)! Longer and tighter tube would make for a more accurate and longer shot at lower angles (20 degrees down to 7ish). Tighter tube would allow for less gas to escape.
It’s crazy isn’t it! The last time I took it out for a shoot it flexed so bad it broke the bolts on the seat mount, the steering column, and a leaf spring. Nothing a little welding can’t fix.
I just subscribed . Your video of the CANNON BALL JEEP is GREAT . They are FUN and ACTUALLY INFORMATIVE. Keep the videos coming , they are extremely fun. Thank You .
Awesome build and video. Nothing like hitting a turlet with a bowling ball. How about setting up an alley two miles away and see how many pins you can knock down.
Okay ... so now, add all the high school physics explanations about "projectile motion" and re-edit it into a physics demo. Physics teachers across the country will love you! (I'm a retired physics teacher so I'm pretty sure about this). Cheers from Texas.
@@BealsScience I make cannons on my mini lathe (started as something to do on retirement I'm not a machinists) smallest one is a 4.5 mm tiddly, to my biggest yet at 10 mm caliber and 178 mm bore. that beastie chucks a 9,8 mm patched lead ball at 893 meters per second, All the barrels are machined from solid EN3 round bar. The cannons are all styled as ships guns loosely based on the British and French designs.