Diving Toy Submarine

The Concept:

This simple diving toy submarine allows children 7 and up to learn about some basic qualitative physics concepts like bouyancy, pressure, volume, and compressibility.
The concept is based on a DIY submarine that can be made out of a pen cap, some clay and a 2 liter bottle filled with water.
The toy is manufactured of three pieces. One, the submarine body is made of plastic, an aluminum or other weighted material makes up a cap on the bottom of the submarine and a thin piece of latex rubber covers an opening in the bottom of the sub in order to allow for compression of the air in the submarine. The mass of the cap on the bottom of the sub will have to be manufactured to be massive enough to make the submarine almost neutrally bouyant. The sub will have to be relatively small in order to fit into a 2 liter bottle or a larger sub can be manufactured if there is a comparable bottle available with a larger cap than the standard soda bottle. As a small toy, it will most likely be unsafe for very small children. The toy will most likely be sealed in a 2 liter bottle for its lifetime so durability is more dependant on the bottle than the sub. If necessary, the sub can be removed from the bottle.

Design by Ian Norman