The cartesian diver is a classic experiment where an object floats in water inside a closed flask. By applying pressure to the water, the object sinks.
There are many variations of this experiment, using pippetes, droppers, glass tubes and even 3D printed versions.
I decided to make a laser cut version using acrylic sheets. The flat design helps to see what happens inside of the diver.
The diver has 3 pieces. Two of them go on the outside and one goes in the middle. I made those on the outside with a thinner acrylic sheet (1.5 mm) and the middle piece with a thicker (3 mm) sheet.
I used a solvent to glue the pieces. Don't use superglue, it will make the acrylic become all white.
Put the finished diver inside of a soda bottle completely filled with water to the very top (no air) and cap it well. Press the sides of the bottle and see what happens.
You can ask your students to decorate the divers with a permanent marker, like a sharpie pen.
| laser_cut_cartesian_diver.ai |
| laser_cut_cartesian_diver.dxf |
| laser_cut_cartesian_diver.pdf |
