Stump remover, powdered sugar and a little patience, that couldn’t possibly make a rocket, right? Wrong. A sugar rocket or, as it is sometimes known, a powder fuel rocket motor is a rocket using a fuel made of potassium nitrate, (aka stump remover) and plain old table sugar. The combination of the fuel (powdered sugar) and the oxidizer (potassium nitrate or KNO3) creates a highly flammable mixture, flammable enough to be used as a rocket fuel. There are several methods of preparation including: mixing the sugar and potassium nitrate together in powder form, mixing them in powder form then caramelizing the sugar, as to combine them. When this mixture cools it forms a much more powerful solid fuel compared to the regular powder variety.
On its own the sugar/KNO3 mixture is relatively mundane, if flammable. That all changes when you create some kind of containment to direct the pressure and exhaust from the fuel. This simple container can change a pile of flammable powder and a paper tube into a rocket. This reaction is caused by the sugar being oxidized by the KNO3 then forming a fierce orange flame and shooting bits of flaming fuel from the nozzle. Next, the subject of rocket nozzles, one of the three most complicated thing on the planet, the other two being, fluid dynamics and Star Wars legends. Rocket nozzles have to be manufactured to exact specifications, for example, the rocket nozzles on the lifter stage of the Delta IV Heavy are designed to create higher thrust at the expense of efficiency. Second stage rocket nozzles are designed for efficiency not power, as in the higher altitudes they work in there is much less air resistance and the force of gravity is weakened. Rocket nozzles must be designed down to the molecule for the highly pressurized gas and flame to flow through them in the most efficient way.
The procedure of making a sugar rocket is a simple one. First, measure out 40 grams of powdered sugar or powdered sucrose (I want to get a good grade so I figured I should add in big words). Then, measure 60 grams of KNO3. After that, mix this compound roughly 5 minutes or until it is mixed to the point you can’t pick out individual grains of either powder. Next, create a paper tube by rolling a piece of paper around a piece of PVC pipe ¾ of an inch in diameter, then secure it with tape or a glue stick. Now load the KNO3/sucrose compound into one of the tubes, before you do this cap off one end of a tube with tape. Next add a firework fuse, homemade or otherwise, into the packed compound. Then cap off the fuse end with more tape, wrapping the tape around the fuse and the tube at the same time. Now you have a working powder fuel rocket! The reason this rocket doesn’t need a nozzle is because this rockets fuel is solid, thus the burn directs itself in a way much like real SRBs or solid fuel rocket boosters.
Lighting a sugar rocket off is by far my favorite step in the process of making and using a sugar rocket. If you don’t have a lot of room around your house to light them off you can flip them upside down to stop them from going into your neighbor’s (or the wildlife’s) yard, though it still gives the impressive burst of fire and the experience of making your own sugar rocket. Sugar rockets are relatively safe if you light them off and stay a few feet away. Sugar rockets can, on occasion, explode if the fuel is packed to loosely creating a large fire ball and shooting bits of flaming matter and rocket casing.
Wow! Exploding stuff is fun! I was really impressed with your videos. Chemistry and the incredible reactions it produces never cease to amaze me.
Thanks for the great post!
Thanks Seamus. I totally understand where your coming from in that chemistry and physics never cease to amaze!
Great job! It was a great idea to add a tutorial for how make a sugar rocket! I could tell you knew what you were talking about, nice work!
Thanks! The tutorial for sugar rocket making was really fun to create as I had to figure out how to
time-laps the video.
That’s AWESOME!! I really want to try that out now. Maybe you could tape a bunch of sugar rockets together to create a super-sugar-rocket! Anyways, great blog!
Thanks, though I’m not sure if it would be good for your health if you taped a bunch of them together……..
i had no idea about suger rockets. it sounds really fun and i might try it some day.
Thanks and yes it is very fun and interesting, you should try it!
So cool! Sugar rockets look really fun (though slightly dangerous). Great writing, and awesome videos! (BTW, you should put kryptose puzzles on your most-complex list). Great job!
-Gia
Thanks! And your totally right Kryptos Should be on that list. 🙂
Nice post! I liked the videos, they were really well done. Henry R
Thanks Henry! The time-laps video was really interesting to make!
Very cool! Sugar rockets look fun, but I would be worried if my brother figured out how to make one. Overall, great job!
Thanks Amy! Also your probably right about your brother… remember kids, consult with your nearest professional idiot before using these…
Interesting post! It’s funny to think that powdered sugar can make both frosting and a sugar rocket. The video’s are a great touch- well written and demonstrated!
Great post Ben! You chose your words nicely, and carefully described the procedure as a visual in your video.
Great article, Ben! You obviously have an extensive knowledge of this topic and explained how it connects to STEM really well. The videos were also excellent additions! Well done.
Those snippets of humor throughout make me want to just keep reading it! Great job, and I have to agree with Seamus, explosions are fun!
Cool article, I didn’t know you could make “sugar rockets”. Seems fun, I might try it someday.
Thanks Andy! The videos were really fun to make.
Great post! You connected sugar rockets back to STEM very well, all the while making your article interesting and fun to read. Nice work!
Awesome post! I love the video! I might even try to make a sugar rocket sometime. Good job!
Great post! You did a very good job explaining sugar rockets and how they relate to STEM. It was a good idea to add the tutorial on how to make them.
Super cool, and interesting post. You showed in your post how sugar rockets can be connected back to STEM topics in many different ways. Overall your post was super cool and well done!
Grace Meyer
Great blog post and interesting topic. This was super neat. I also thought that the videos were good. On top of all that you did a nice job explaining everything. All together a really great post!
It was so cool that you can make a rocket with sugar!
I hadn’t heard of suger rockets until today, nice post.