San Beda College - Mendiola, Manila

Super soaker water gun

A Toy Analysis

Presented to:
Dr. Ma. Eliza P. Cruz
Professor

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in

PHYS1 Physics
by:
Bolusa, Elijah Leonardo A.
Basilo, Carlos
3rd Yr., BS Psychology 3BPS

October 3, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Abstract
Chapter I: Introduction
Chapter II: Toy History
Chapter III: Toy Diagram
a. Water Reservoir
b. Check Valve
c. Pressure Relief Valve
d. Trigger
e. Pump
f. Trigger Wire
g. Pressure Chamber: Elastic Bladder
h. Nozzle
i. Firing Valve: Ball Valve

V. Chapter IV: Scientific Framework

a. Pressure
b. Volume
c. Range
d. Output
e. Inertia
f. Friction
g. Speed
h. Hookes Law
i. Gravity
VI. Chapter V: Conclusion and Recommendation
VII. References

ABSTRACT

Playing with toys is one of the greatest childhood memories that we all had. One of the best toys
that we can play in our child hood, even in adulthood, is the water gun.
This research has explored a specific type of water gun, the Super soaker water gun. It has
explored its history, parts and the laws of physics governing it and how the way it works does
relates to how people work. This research has shown that the Super soaker was developed by
nuclear engineer Lonnie Johnson. It first started from the work that his doing with a heat pump
which utilizes water instead of a Freon, in his bathroom sink at home, around 1982. Then around
at 2009, the product line of the Super soaker officially ended. This resulted in the opening of a
new line of Super Soakers, the Nerf-super soaker. The Parts of the Super soaker includes the
following; Firing Valve: Ball Valve, Nozzle, and Pressure Chamber: Elastic Bladder, Trigger
Wire, Pump, and Trigger, which all plays a factor in order for the Super soaker to work
successfully. The water gun or the super soaker uses many laws in physics, and these laws can be
understood by studying the workings of the parts of the toy. Some laws are as follows: Pressure,
Volume, Range, Output, Inertia, Friction, Speed, Hookes Law and Gravity. This research has
shown how this laws work hand in hand to produce the action of the Super soaker. Lastly, this
research has shown a relationship between how a Super soaker water gun works and in how
people work in daily life.

INTRODUCTION

In this complex and ever changing world that we lived in , changes like climate change which
has brought various natural disruption to the environmental balance and harmony, changes that it
has brought to nature, nature which houses one of the most magnificent creations known to man,
the animals. Problems have cause the endangerment and in some cases, extinction of animals.
One of these endangered animals are the northern hairy nose wombats. Northern hairy nose
wombats came from the orgin of bla and bla. It is included in the kingdom animalia, housed at
phylum chordate and to be specific in subphylum Gnathostomata. Its belongs to class
mammalian and to deepen it, it belongs to subclass marsupials. Marsupials are those animals
which has pouches, pouches which use to carry their offspring. It belong to order diprotodontia
and lastly to family vombatidatae. This magnificent creature posses bla, bla bla. OTHER
NOTEWORTHY things about this animals are: bla, bla bla.

HISTORY

Super Soakers beginning started at 1982 when a nuclear engineer named Lonnie Johnson
formulated the thought of creating a powerful toy water gun. Dr. Lonnie Johnson at this time was
a spacecraft systems engineer on the Galileo mission to Jupiter, specifically at Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena California.
Lonnies thought about the Power Drencher was based from the work that his doing with a heat
pump which utilizes water instead of a Freon. In his bathroom sink at home, he hooked the
model of the pump, he then shoots powerful streams of water across the bathroom tub, so
powerful that curtains have swirled from the breeze that came from the shots. He then thought,
This would make a great water gun.
The super soaker which Lonnie developed relied on air pressure and series of arm pumps to
pressurize the firing chamber, which is different from its motorized predecessors.
A water blaster which shoots farther and faster from the rest of the competition was the product
of all Lonnies work.
Lonnie because of his limited means at that time, sought after a licensing agreement with a toy
company in order for his water blaster to be manufactured. Daisy, a company which is known
for its compressed air powered BB guns and pellet guns, was the first to give interest in
licensing the gun. Lonnie worked with daisy from periods 1985 to 1987. In these periods, Daisy
undergone several company reorganization, which led Lonnie repeatedly restart the development
of the water blaster within every new manager of new products. Even though with Daisys great
interest on the gun, it was never manufactured, for it lack the execution of the product.
In 1987, Lonnie contacted Entertech and then set a meeting in their office at California.
In the meeting, Lonnie told the president of the Entertech that he has a water gun better than all
their battery-powered guns. The President then said that he would want to see the water gun
before he would consider a contract. So over the next 2 weeks, Lonnie created the prototype that
he would present to the Entertech staff and president. Upon presenting it, The President and the
Entrertech staff was amazed over the water gun and found it unbelievable, for it was truly better
that all their battery-power guns. The contract was then made between Lonnie and the Entertech.

During this time, the Entertech Company was experiencing financial problems. Then in 1989 it
declared bankruptcy. With this event, Lonnie had again lost its manufacturer.
In this time without a manufacturer, Lonnie made several improvements in his water gun
therefore improving it manufacturability. The standard in water gun making is to utilize
injection molding toy components into two halves and have them glued. Construction of
pressure vessels for water guns in this kind was unreliable because it was costly. So Lonnie then
utilize a blow molded- bottle on his water gun. This was the biggest innovation made in water
guns that made it possible to manufacture in low cost.
During 1989 around March, Lonnie brought his new and improved water gun at his meeting
with the president of Larami. He shot the water gun over the room amazing the president and
making him exclaim WOW! A contract then was hastily made, and the project was given to
Bruce DAndrade. Bruce made modifications to Lonnies original design; he added a pinch
trigger valve instead of the original valve, which was only use for 3 years, before bringing it
back to the original valve that Lonnie used. Bruce also included ornamentals in the design. In
1990 the gun was marketed, immediately sparking a revolution that made Lonnies top mounted
and blow molded bottled water gun an icon, triggering the Super Soaker mania. Utilizing bottles
as water containers for the water gun has then been Laramis trademark, an approach that was
copied by other manufacturers.
To protect the water gun from improvements, Lonnie asked Larami to take responsibility for
filing patents. There were eighteen claims in the patent; the twelve claims are for the features
invented by Lonnie and 6 of them for the pinch trigger mechanism added by Bruce. The names
of both Bruce D'Andrade's and Lonnie Johnson's appeared on the patent. Bruce played an
important role in the production of the Super Soaker, therefore this recognition of his name is
appropriate.
Super Soaker was a massive public success, but Larami realize that it needs to be taken to the
next level, so after several false attempts, they finally sought for Lonnies help. Lonnie in
response developed the working model of Super soaker 100 which features a separate firing
chamber. This enabled the user to refill the primary reservoir at anytime, because the primary

reservoir doesnt need to be pressurized for the blaster to fire, since the blaster needed lesser
pumps for it to have sufficient to fire.
In 1992, the immense popularity of Super Soakers was evident. Even celebrities like Johnny
Carson have begun using. In this year, Larami release various new styles of super soakers based
on pressurized reservoir and separate pressurized firing chamber models.
In 1996 Larami introduced what they claimed to be the most powerful water gun ever. It was the
Constant Pressure System (CPS) line of Super soakers. These models feature a separate
compression chamber that contains a thick- walled rubber balloon. Whenever a user pumped up
the gun, water filled the balloon, which stayed under pressure until it was fired. Unfortunately,
there were various complaints about the model due to its sheer power, causing Larami to
withdraw its production.
Over the year Super Soakers models remained successful, and in 2006, they released a model
known as the Oozinartor. The Oozinator, asides from shooting waters, also shoots a white slimy
substance called the bioooze This model continued the successful tradition of super soaker
models.In 2009; only remakes from the original Super Soaker SS 50 were being made. This
model features the same styling from the original model, a non-removable reservoir with a
screw-cap, and an internal ball valve as the nozzle as opposed to the original's pinch trigger
system. 2009 marked the end for the Super Soaker line and from there it was continued by the
Nerf-super soaker line.
Over 20 years since it was first introduce to the public, 175 estimated super soaker models
released, providing both kids and adults the joy of true water warfare.

SUPER SOAKER PARTS AND FUNCTIONS

Water Reservoir
This is where you put the water that you are going to use, so that it can be pumped into
the pressure chamber.

Check Valve
The heart of a water gun is usually not the pressure chamber but the things that allow the
pressure to build: the check valves. A check valve is a valve that only allows flow in one
direction. Without them, a Super Soaker would not work. One is the inlet to the pump; the other,
the outlet. When pumping begins, water leaves the reservoir and flows through the first check
valve. Once the pump begins to retract, the water instead flows through a second check valve and
into the chamber. Each check valve prevents backflow; no water goes back into the reservoir
once it leaves and no water goes back in the pump once it leaves. As long as the firing valve is
closed, pressure builds, powering the gun.
Pressure Relief Valve
The relief valve is a special kind of check valve. It stops water from entering the chamber
is the pressure is beyond what some people call the "High Pressure Limit." It effectively acts as a
governor for the gun. The pressure relief valve is a safety feature that prevents overpressurization (pumping too much).
Trigger
The trigger is a mechanism that activates the firing of the gun, it needs a spring to help
push the trigger back into place when not held down.

Pump
The pump is the sliding device that sucks water out of the reservoir and forces it into the
pressure chambers. The pump itself uses a plunger on a rod to seal a tube. The tube has an inlet
from the reservoir and an outlet to the pressure chambers.
Trigger Wire
The trigger wire is a rigid metal wire that connects the trigger to any mechanism that
opens the firing valve.
Pressure Chamber: Elastic Bladder
The constant pressure system (CPS), invented by Laramis Bruce DAndrade, uses the
elasticity of rubber bladders to store pressure. Pumped water fills the bladder, which then exerts
force and increases pressure. A bladder stretch in such a way that the pressure is nearly constant,
so range drop-off as the bladder empties is nearly unnoticeable. Other advantages include that the
bladder may be oriented in any manner.
Although bladders can be made in any shape, the most convenient, spherical and cylindrical,
have been patented by Larami. A third shape, the diaphragm, uses a flat sheet of rubber clamped
tightly to a solid surface that contains the inlet/outlet.
Nozzle
The nozzle is a smooth aperture that refines the flow of the water and reduced turbulence
in order to produce a more aerodynamic stream.
Firing Valve: Ball Valve
The cheapest and most available valve is a ball valve. Inside of the valve is a small ball
with a hole through it. A quarter-turn of the handle activates the valve. When closed, the hole
does not align with the ends of the valve. When opened, the hole lines up with the ends and the
fluid flows through. This operation maximizes laminar flow by allowing the straightest path
possible for a fluid. Accordingly, a ball valve is the best firing valve for a water gun.

SCIENTIFIC FRAME WORK

The physical framework of science happens around us and applies to everything. This
explains how and why anything and everything works from the simplicity of a lever to the
complexity of objects like an internal combustion engine. The water gun is an example of which,
we this see this in our everyday lives though most do not know how it works.
This research then aims to give a general understanding of how a few aspects of physics
applies to certain everyday objects. The water gun or the super soaker for one uses many laws in
physics, and these laws can be understood by studying the workings of the parts of the toy.
Some laws are as follows:
Pressure
Pressure is also known as force per unit area. By far, the most common unit for pressure
is pounds per square inch (psi or PSI), though other common units include atmospheres (atm)
and pascals (Pa). Unlike force, pressure is not a vector value because it is applied equally in all
directions. In the case of the water gun, using the action on the hand pump brings water from the
reservoir to the pressure chamber where the pumping motion takes in air from the outside and
pushes the water toward the nozzle. The force pushing the water toward the nozzle is pressure.
Volume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, the
volume used in the water gun is the amount of fluid used to become a projectile. With the
reservoir holding the water, the volume of the liquid can be measured. Calculations involving
pressure often involve the total volume of the pressure chamber. This volume differs from the
volume of water shot out, because some air occupies the chamber at all times.
Range
Range is the maximum distance the water guns projectile can reach. To achieve a greater range,
more pressure is to be added and the angle of the trajectory should be precise.

Output
Output is the rate of change of the water already shot out of a soaker. In fluid mechanics, output
is known as volume rate of flow. The units are in volume per unit of time. Common units for rate
of flow include liters per second (L/s) and gallons per minute (GPM). Output is measured
inconsistently in water gunning. Many describe output as the amount of water emitted during the
first second of the shot. This method does not describe the shot as a whole because output is
greatest at the beginning of a shot. For instance, air pressure guns have severe output dropoff.
Average output is the other common measure of output. The total water emitted is divided by the
time taken. Many times, the shot does not last for an entire second or water shoots out at a
significantly greater rate at the beginning of the shot. Average output depicts the shot as a whole.
Inertia
States that a body in motion tends to remain in motion; a body at rest tends to remain at rest.
Everything around us has inertia and thus the water gun does too, the mechanisms of the gun will
not move unless an outside fore makes it does so and will continue to do so until that force is
gone.
Friction
This is a phenomenon that opposes the relative motion of two surfaces in contact with one
another. Friction holds the pieces of the water gun together, without friction these parts would
just fall apart from each other. The screws, hooks and springs are all holding the guns parts in
place and secures them together.
Speed
The distance you travel in a certain amount of time. The speed of the water projectile from the
water gun can be achieved by getting the distance traveled and dividing that by the time it takes
to reach that distance.

Hookes Law
Hooke's law is a principle of physics that states that the force needed to extend or compress a
spring by some distance is proportional to that distance. The spring in the water gun is
compressed every time the trigger is squeezed to release the water in the pressure chamber, thus
the force needed to compress the spring should be equal to the force applied for the trigger to be
pulled properly.
Gravity
Gravity is a physical phenomenon that produces attractive forces between every pair of objects in
the universe. Gravity is the reason why the water, when fired does not keep going and falls to the
ground. The water then falls to the ground at a constant 9.8 meters per second.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

This research has explored the history, parts and the laws of Physics governing the super soaker
water gun. It has shown the development of the water gun from its initial conception up to its end
in production. It as also has shown the various parts governing the water gun, parts that all plays
a part on how it functions. This research has also shown the various physics laws governing the
water gun, how it all works together in order for the Super soaker to function properly.
Lastly, the researchers want the audience to see a specific relationship between the functionality
of this toy and how individuals function in daily living. The Super soaker gun cannot shoot of
powerful streams of water if it is not given any pressure. Just like the super soaker, Individuals
sometimes cannot have the drive or power to do a particular task without pressure. Such
examples of task are doing research paper, project and home-works. Individuals sometimes
wont have the drive or power to do this type of tasks if there is no pressure involve. The
pressure element in these phenomenons is that the deadlines of the tasks are already close or
even the following day. Next, The Super Soaker may leak of some water or may even break if
you put to much pressure on it. Just like the water gun, Individuals make break down if there is
too much pressure involved. For example; there are too many projects and assignments given by
the professors, where in the deadline are already close. In times like these, individuals may break
down. Creating relationship like these enables the individuals to see the magic that physics plays
in our daily living.

REFERENCES
History of the Super Soaker . (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014.
The Wet and Wild History of the Super Soaker. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014.
Super Soaker Central. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014.
Super Soaker Central. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014.
Haliday and Resnick, 2007, Fundamentals of Physics 10th edition
Louise, 2013, How things work the physics of everyday life
Young and Freedman, 2012, University of physics with modern physics