Page 70 - 15 Dangerously Mad Projects for the Evil Genius

CHAPTER 5

Balloon-Popping

Laser Gun

pointer. The clever bits are in the “can” or the
PROJECT SIZE: Large “balloon popper.” Both of these have a sensor that

SKILL LEVEL: ★★★★ detects the laser light and an electronic circuit that
turns on a high-power transistor.
In the case of the “can,” this transistor powers
CONTINUING WITH THE GUN THEME, this project will
an electric motor with a weight attached. The
allow the Evil Genius to shoot tin cans off a wall
weight is swung around and hits the inside of the
and burst balloons with a tiny but super-powerful
can causing it to jump.
laser gun, essentially your stock sci-fi “ray gun”
The balloon popper is very similar, but this time
(see Figure 5-1).
the transistor passes a large current through a small
Well, actually, as you might have come to resistor, heating it up until it is hot enough to pop
expect from the Evil Genius, there is a bit of the balloon attached to it. The power flowing
trickery going on here. through the resistor is likely to eventually destroy

The gun itself is just a low-power laser, and if it. Fortunately, the resistors are cheap and for this
you wish, you can simply use a standard laser project can be considered disposable.

Figure 5-1 The ray gun in action

49