Hey internet/blogoblag/whatever XKCD name for the interweb,

 

Ok folks, a while ago I posted to this forum with an idea I had relating to gravity and magnetism (proven wrong with inverse square and cube law). Now, in high school I have started on a project and I have run into a bit of a dead end.

I am trying to build a rocket engine powered with ethanol (rubbing alcohol) and a cheap oxidizer. My goal is to make this engine as cheap as possible, yet still as functional as possible. Today, I attempted to distill store bought hydrogen peroxide which failed due to the bunsen burner flame causing the hydrogen peroxide to combust once freed of water. Are there other cheap and available liquid oxidizers that I can use with this engine?

 

Another idea I had is coat the inside of the thrust chamber with KNO3 (potassium nitrate) and when the starter KNO3-Sugar motor fires, the KNO3 on the walls vaporizes and mixes with the ethanol?

 

Thank you for your help,

Levi Raskin

Why liquid fuel? Just use sugar and potassium nitrate or potassium perchlorate. Also, you could try potassium permanganate and glycerol.

 

You tried to distil H2O2? Not the way it works and not something to be trifled with...