Q: How much water do you put in a water rocket?
A:
The simple answer is something less than half full.
Since the compressed air stores the energy, and the water provides momentum,
both are needed.
Fill perhaps 40-50% of the motor volume with water.
We call this the Load Fraction.
The longer answer is, it depends.
The following factors effect how much water is optimal:
So how do I determine the optimal load fraction?
By conducting experiments, we are rocket scientists after all! Launch your rocket, and measure how high it flies, trying a few different load fractions. Choose the load fraction that gives the best result. This might be a lot of work, and measuring the flight may be hard to do accurately.
Is there another way?
Yes, conduct your experiments using a water-rocket simulator like our water rocket simulation. Here you can "launch" many times at different load fractions and see how high it goes. Better yet, you can vary all the parameter discussed above to optimize for the best rocket performance.
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