Fart Propulsion System

Earlier today I was witness to an extraordinary home school moment. Christopher and I were both lounging in bed in the forward cabin, sipping coffee and reading our respective books. Porter and Jack came in to say good morning and climbed onto the foot of the bed, inviting conversation.

Christopher began by telling them a little about what he had just learned from his book about  adolescent brain development and how one learns. He pointed out that Jack is at the stage where he learns a couple of different concepts and then finds himself curious about how those two disparate ideas may or may not fit together.  Ah! This is why he so often asks detailed but seemingly non-sensical or obtuse questions. 

As if to illustrate the point, Jack asked,  "if an astronaut farted in space, would he be propelled forward?" The question alone is a brilliant representation of where Jack, and to some degree Porter, is these days. In classic 11 year-old boy style, he is endlessly entertained by fart jokes. In addition, he is interested in sorting out the relationships of the concepts that have been introduced to him.

This is where the morning conversation and home school moment really got interesting to me. Christopher launched into a discussion of an astronaut's theoretical Fart Propulsion System. He began by asking the boys if they agreed that an astronaut can not propel himself in space by swimming. When asked why that was true, Jack responded that we know that there is no matter in space, which is a vacuum, for the astronaut swimmer to push against. So then Christopher asked him to explain what would happen if the astronaut threw a 10 pound ball, would that set him in motion in the opposite direction? Once they agreed to that, they agreed that an expulsion of gas in one direction would in fact propel the astronaut forward; however, there is the problem of the space suit itself, which would not allow the release of the gas. Jack concluded that the astronaut would need a one-way valve to allow the fart out so that his bottom did not freeze, which led to a conservation of energy question relating to friction and ideal valve design... and finally the question of energy to supply the system and the need to change over the astronaut's diet to partially cooked beans. As you  might imagine, the conversation ended with much laughter.

There are many things that I have loved about being able to home school the boys as we sail and explore the high latitudes, but I think my favorites have been the many moments when we have been able to draw connections between the silly and the serious. It is all the better when you can see the deeper understanding register on the boys' faces. Today, the Fart Propulsion System provided that moment. -Molly