Floating Train Experiment: Fire, Water, and Slow Motion!

Today, I’m running an experiment at the lake: sinking a floating cardboard train! I built a hybrid of a train and a boat out of cardboard. It consists of three cardboard carriages, and each carriage can float like a small boat. They’re connected to each other with a flexible link. The idea of the experiment is to see what happens if the first carriage sinks: will it drag the others down with it? Here’s a little spoiler: the lead carriage did sink, but it wasn’t heavy enough to pull the rest under. I had to step in and use a long stick to sink the second carriage. To make the experiment more spectacular, I set all three cardboard carriages on fire. I covered the roofs with thick foil so the fire wouldn’t destroy the train too quickly. I filmed the whole process in slow motion and also set up two underwater cameras on the lakebed.