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Balloon Rocket

What You Need

Piece of string, 10 to 25 feet long
Drinking straw
Balloon
Scotch Tape

What to Do
Tie one end of the string to a tree or post. Thread the straw onto the free end of the string, and then tie that end of the string to a second tree or post, making sure the string is taut. Move the straw to one end of the string.
Inflate the balloon and pinch the neck to prevent the air from escaping. Use two pieces of Scotch Tape to attach the inflated balloon to the straw so the balloon is parallel to the straw and the mouth of the balloon points toward the closest post or tree.
Release the balloon.

What Happens
The balloon and straw jet across the string until the balloon completely deflates.

Why It Works
As Sir Isaac Newton's third law states, "For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction." When you release the neck of the balloon and the compressed air rushes out into space, the reaction to it drives the balloon forward.

Bizarre Facts

The basic principle behind a balloon zooming across a string is exactly the same principle behind a space rocket launching into space. When the fuel burns, gas escapes from the rocket's bottom, pushing the rocket upward.
The cruise liner Queen Elizabeth II moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel fuel it burns.
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.
In 1895, Lord Kelvin, president of the Royal Society, said: "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
In 1921, responding to rocket scientist Robert Goddard's revolutionary work, a New York Times editorial said: "Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools." Five years later, Goddard launched the first liquid fuel rocket.
Felix the Cat was the first cartoon character ever to be made into a balloon for a parade.

In Space No One Can Hear You Scribble
During the space race in the 1960s, NASA spent $1 million to develop a ballpoint pen that would write in zero gravity. The Soviet Union solved the same problem by giving their cosmonauts pencils.

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