New Vacuum Cannon Design - No Vacuum Pump Required! 

Here's a question for you to think about: Why does there appear to be no recoil when this cannon fires, but my last vacuum cannon recoiled heavily? Hint: The answer is not just because the cannon is held down more securely, though that's part of it.

Maybe if you put the flap underneath the barrel it will move out the way before the projectile hits it because it won't have to work against gravity, hope this helps

Maybe you can use a magnet to hold the projectile

0:05 how to crack open a cold one with the boys

I feel like you should patent this new, novel, and highly effective method of stamping aluminum.

This is seriously the best cannon on youtube... So simple yet so powerful!!! I love it!

Would it be possible to scale it down even further? My thought was to make it a handheld dart launcher using it like you would draw on a bow.

As far as my Tastes go, you have to be one of the most if not, the most premier, RU-vid creator out there man. Bravo once again.

I know where I'm going during the zombie apocalypse. You make all the cool toys!

you should put smoke or fog behind your project where its sucked and record it in slo-mo

So simple, yet so ingenious! Great work!

It's not fair. You're extremely inventive and ridiculously good looking! The rest of us have no chance! :) I really like the simplicity of this design. No pump, only one (well, two, if you count the projectile) moving parts, and it builds on a previous design (your PVC piston).

I am going to make this with my son this summer, it will be a great project with him to get him interested in working with some of the tools in my shop. Thank you!

That cannon has some serious power. Great video!

I really like this design! Great video too.

Don't give up on the flap idea. I'm thinking that you could use a much thinner and lighter weight flap. I would try either stiff aluminum sheet, or better yet, some carbon fiber sheet. The gasket could be made from Silpat (or any other silicone baking sheet). Also, that hinge looks pretty heavy as well; maybe just tape the top with a small length of scotch tape. With this design, the you are basically making a reusable disk more than a flap. Love your stuff! Never stop building!

I waited entirely too long to watch this video. Awesome.

This is a phenomenal design! I did a science fair project on vacuum cannon barrel lengths a number of years ago and ever since I have wanted to find a way the same results could be achieved without a vacuum pump. I love the simplicity of this cannon with the same amount of power as your other cannons. Nice work Ben keep it up!

Have you thought about using a Spring to open the Flap disk faster? You could use a Piece of String to hold it down while you are pulling the Vacuum, then release the string and the vacuum will hold it shut. as you fire the Spring will open it faster than the pressure alone, at least that was my thought Process. Maybe it is worth it to check it out? as alwysy Great Video Mate Best Regards Joe

Awesome! Just put on a vacuum accumulator on the muzzle to get rid of the back pressure, and you have a winner.

I like this style of video where you speak directly into the camera instead of a voice over. Also, I love how you made sure we knew you weren't wasting the beer, that might be considered alcohol abuse :P

Make a REALLY big one that you pull back with a winch on a truck. Im thinking 10" pvc thats 20' long would make enough force to get a preemptive strike on north korea.

I wonder whether its possible to build a miniature version for two handed portable operation with normal pvc parts. This cannon design is really good, it really has the potential to become as popular as a crossbow.

I can think of a couple of upgrades. - A bellmouth at the rear of the barrel to assist in getting more air in behind the projectile faster. - A piston ring style band around the projectile to help seal it in the barrel better.

Dude, very very awesome! I love that it doesn't require a vacuum pump... Now to find time to build one.

Would it be feasible to make a handheld version? Much like a toy or maybe close to the power of a slingshot? That would be a rather interesting project :)

Fantastic application of the PVC piston!

Thank you for all the ideas and projects. My family loves your easy to follow teachings and expertise

watched your videos for years, and I've always found them very engaging, useful and informative!

Really enjoy your videos, and have done so for a few years. The number of supporters on patreon is a bit disappointing considering the quality of the videos you produce. I'd love to support you, but I don't have a regular income yet and no payment method available to use on patreon. But some day, I'll be there. Anyways, continue making great, well-produced videos showcasing awesome ideas!

Now thats what I call cracking open a cold one with the boys

dude, like, coolest physics teacher ever

It would be so cool if you could pull the piston back using some king of crank or gear system

His eyebrows go up every time he looks at the camera

I really love this video. The enthusiasm and explanations it's so fun to watch and I get a smile from ear to ear when I watch you talking about a amazing creation!!!

In stead of using ducttape you could do this: 1) Saw off an inch or less of the kind of pipe you used for the barrel, to create a ring. 2) Cut open that ring, I recommend cutting diagonally. After that just bend it open. If it doesn bend easy enough, just heat it up and bend it out a little bit. 3) In stead of taping the burst disk, just jam on that ring. If've cut it open diagonally you won't have a region where it's not held tight. 4) If it doesn't hold a vacuum try with 2 rings, put on one with the slot on the top, and the other one with the slot on the botton. --- How to improve on the hinge-seal-thingy: You want it to be a light as possible. Omit the hinge altogether, you're even better off asking someone to hold it for you until you have a vacuum. Some things that are light and can hold a vacuum: Firstly *the bottom* of a soda/beercan; ok, it's just 2 inches in dia, but still. Secondly the bottom of a coke bottle... Yes, coke bottles implode under vacuum, but here's how you could modify it: _(The bottom of the bottle is obviously more rugged than the sides, that's already good)_ You basically cut off the bottom; then insert in into your barrel, so that the inside of the 'bottle' is facing the outside air, and the outside of the bottle is facing the piston; after that you gently heat up the edges and bend them over so that they hook onto the edge. As a finishing touch you add some rubber or silicone onto the end of the barrel.

I'm going to build this cannon and film it at 40 000 fps. I'm really interested to see how the burst disc works up close and personal.

Let me show you its features!

The Slingshot channel should pick this idea up. I know Joerg could make this more badass. Just imagine a six shot rotary barrel hand held version automated with cordless drills and pulleys.

Great build and video work. The explanation was well done. Thank you for taking the time to put this together! Simple and easy to follow.

Under-barrel mount for valve might be more succesful

Is it possible to scale this cannon differently with the same principle but smaller or larger to fire different projectiles?

Your inventions are always so amazing to see and watching you build them is so Intriguing.

Aha! The coaxial cannon was making my brain hurt but this is sort of the same only using the world as the outer reservoir. Now I get it!

I was actually thinking of making a nerf gun with this principle for some time now

How far can it shoot?

you are an absolute genius, I would have never thought of using a vacuum like this to create a cannon. Thank you!!!!

This taught me so much with such a simple design. Excellent demonstration!

How old is Ben? He has grey hair, but still looks like he could be 25 years old. Must have good genes

Can you try making an Asssasin's Creed grappling hook using this idea?

I think I started following your videos maybe 10 / 12 years ago when I was in high school. I haven't watched your stuff since then. This video recently popped up and seeing you made it so far now with many other explorations is really motivating.

Great job on the project and the way you explained things. Thanks for the fantastic videos.

I love when you talk naturaly, like King Of Random.

under 1 minute club

watching your videos is really refreshing. you don't only learn, but you also become fascinated by how it works. you do a really good job of keeping it interesting too. deserves more views :^)

i like how you have become comfortable in front of the camera now.

hello WHY DID YOU READ THIS

I really love that you made this I wanted to make a vacuum cannon before but didn't want to spend the money on a pump thanks😃

One of my old blowgun designs used a hinged valve that popped open from POSITIVE pressure from within the tube and although it opened fast enough that the dart didn't hit it on the way out, I always worried that it might, given the acceleration of the lightweight darts I was using. So, I cut the bottom of the muzzle off at a 45 degree angle and fitted it with an elliptically-shaped valve to snap over the new opening. By doing this it reduced the number of degrees required to reach the fully opened position by half....hence, "It got outta the way faster", lol. Reducing the weight of your valve and adding a dual-acting spring might help, as well....one that just barely holds the valve shut but after a degree or two of movement jerks the valve open quickly. Well, that's MY two cents worth! really like your cannon as well as your other videos!

beautiful design.simple and functions smoothly.

1st time watcher... video well done. Amazing how much power is in nature without costing a ton of money.

One of your most professional feeling videos to date, well done!

I really like these video formats a lot. even if you aren't showing off something new its interesting and fun to have you explain the concepts behind how the cannon works. plus its nice to have a video thats less clinical than they have been in the past, which isn't to say that they aren't still great!

I love that PVC twang it makes when it fires!

RU-vid randomly recommended this video to me, and I'm glad it did. It's kind of weird because I just built a tennis ball launcher, using PVC pipe, for my dog yesterday. That cannon is awesome! When I'm done with this comment, im going to watch your other videos. Thanks!

I love the style of this video, very informative and more personal

Saving this to my "Project with Kids" playlist. Great way to get them interested in the science involved. Also Budget friendly. Thanx for the great content!

I love watching your videos. Can't wait to try out some of these projects you did with my son when he is old enough.

This actually what my friend and I tried to do because we didn't have a vacuum pump and we didn't feel like making one. We went small scale first and made one that shoots BBs pretty darn far. We were think of making one out of larger PVC next. Anyways, pretty cool video!

I love how simple this is.

I love your vacuum cannons! I'm going to build this one!! Thanks for the video

Love RU-vid.. learn something new everyday!

Loved this video! I totally want to make a vacuum cannon now! Thanks for making this!

I think it would be a cool idea to either use a fog machine or produce smoke at the end of the cannon, to show the rush of air into it. Just a thought! Great videos!

Hello dude! Thanks for the video. I appreciate the calm nature of your video. Looks like a fun project! Keep up the good work!

I love your vacuum cannon with the piston and crank. Elegant. But aluminum foil over the muzzle seems inelegant, although effective. I saw that the flapper seal did not open fast enough. So here's an idea: attach an arm under the barrel so that it ends about 18 inches below the barrel's muzzle. To the arm you attach a piece of surgical elastic, say 3/8 inch. Make a seal for the muzzle that has a a small step, say 1/8 inch, that fits inside the barrel. Attach a simple elastic to either side of the barrel long enough so that it can be stretched to span the front of the barrel. You use this elastic to hold the seal on the front of the barrel before you draw the vacuum. Run the piston to front of the barrel. Place the seal over muzzle and use the rubber band to hold it in place. Crank to make a vacuum. Before you fire by pulling the piston all the way out, release the rubber-band that was holding the seal in place. It will stay just fine with atmospheric pressure. Stretch the surgical elastic and attach it to the seal. Between the atmospheric pressure and the step it should stay in place. Fire the cannon. As the projectile pushes the small amount of air in front of it out of the barrel, that air will push the seal off of the tube. The elastic will pull the seal out of the way before the projectile hits it. You will have to experiment to see how much elastic you need. Given the speed of the projectile, you might need a foot of elastic stretched to 5 feet to move the seal away fast enough. If this works you would have a fully built cannon that does not need tape and foil. Good luck, Phil.

A very smart and cool vacuum canon!!!

Very interesting Ben. I like this more casual video format.

super simple and effective design. I think it's amazing how sometimes projects start out very complicated but as you work with the ideas they become very simple. I also like this different style of production.

I've never seen a vacuum Cannon like this it's really cool

I love all your videos it helps me to keep the kids busy

I love this channel. Thank you for being awesome, mate.

I think this is really well done all around.

Thanks for another awesome video, they have been an amazing source of inspiration for gear projects I've done with my kids. Just finished a ukelele using your cigar box guitar techniques. Just signing up to support your videos on patreon, very well earned thank you very much!

Great design. Love the powerless option.

Hey there, Kiwi fishing fanatic here. Just a thought on this Vacnon :) if you were to use line instead of the inner pipe and attach a winder to the base you could make it winchable :).. which would only really cut down on the distance behind your Vacnon but would make for an interesting change. Would make a great bait launcher.

thats fantastic, im gonna make one later. this is so elegant and simple i love it, just earned yourself another patron

Hey, awsome job :) always makes my day when you upload a new project!

Awesome! It's really cool seeing a manually activated version. I'll re-patronize soon (I have some big expenses right now, moving into my new house.)

Dude! This is ingenious. I have to go build one now. probably gonna make it tennis ball size.

This is a pretty efficient design! Minimal and simple parts. I want to build one too!

This guy is such a happy looking person.

Tilt it upwards - would love to see how far it flies... just watch out for those cars!

brilliant idea! I was playing with the idea of the flap disc for my large bore vacuum cannon as well. I think if you attach the flap only on a thin string it might already be enough of a weight saving over the steel hinge to work.

I've always wanted to make a cannon with my daughters. This is one we can do. Thank you.

This is really awesome! I always told my high school physics teacher I was going to make a vacuum cannon and show him but couldn't do it without a vacuum pump. This design makes me want to try and make my own though!

I love the simple design.

Not to put down your narration videos, but I really enjoyed seeing you explain it in person rather than you narrating. Great video! Awesome cannon!

I love, and watch, all of your videos! ❤

Very nice . Brings many creative things to mind using this concept Show me a " burst disk " that can repeat or reset itself Good job with the video , thanx