The "jerk" is a proof of concept. The proposed explanation is that if you fill a contained space, such as a paintball tank, with the correct amount of the correct pressurized agent, that it will have enough force to move another heavier mass, such as my ten year old body. We tried two types of pressurized agents, the contents of a fire extinguisher (carbon dioxide, dry chemical and foam water) and air (99% nitrogen, oxygen and argon). The air was provided by the "jerk." Neither moved my mass any, but given the correct circumstance, such as an avalanche, the air bag would keep me afloat and possibly save my life. I realized that I would have to experiment with a lot more gases and containers in order to get something that would move my body some. I would also have to spend more than our budgeted $100, which we went over anyway by $50.

My mom and I started researching online for videos to see how we could build maybe something slower to begin with, like an avalanche backpack. We found one video in Youtube that showed us how to do this under the search "DIY Avalanche Airbag" by Pow Mtn (https://youtu.be/FBCM-3dz_nE?si=hU57eJRny7kcRix2) but since not all the parts the Youtuber used were available to us and we had a limited budget ($100), then we had to seek the help of hardware stores in order to compile different parts to get a similar outcome. During this time, my mom found out she had breast cancer, so going to the stores became more limited while she had treatment and was sick. We also went over our budget of $100 and spent close to $150. We enlisted the help of our school mentor to test out our first experiment with the fire extinguisher (Logbook under attachments). We wanted to see what product would move my body any. Since the contents of the fire extinguisher were not powerful enough to "jerk" my body any, I decided to build a prototype (view video under Attachments). Once we got the mechanics down, eventhough it was slow, we knew that alongside an element like snow, this backpack would lift me above it and hopefully, save my life, in case I found myself in an avalanche situation such as this one https://youtube.com/shorts/hyUFJRoWVaY?si=32KUgiQlElxJF-st. I also ski and snowboard, just in case. So, eventhough our research and experiment didn't accomplish the "jerk" motion we wanted, it is a first step towards achieving this.

There were so many variables we had to deal with! Basing it off the Youtuber's video, first, we found a nylon bag at home that we could use and my mom sewed her little Iphone bag (from when she used to teach Zumba) so as to stuff the nylon bag in it. It worked, but then we needed a stopper so that the tubing wouldn't slip off the Iphone bag, so I thought of using toilet parts tubing. That solved the problem. Then, my mom found a paintball canister in Amazon, but then that's when things got hard. All the connector valves were not the same and we couldn't find a lawnmower throttle cable so as to set it off, so we had to ask and improvise. With the help of the hardware store employees, we got all the valves and came up with the finished product. Unfortunately, the lever that releases the air is kind of hard to turn and not as soft or as quick as a lawnmower throttle cable. So, I thought of adding extra yellow tubing so as to create a "rest" on the shoulder so that the lever could be easily accesible since we didn't find a lawnmower throttle cable. Then, we also ran into the problem that these were all secondary release mechanisms, so we also needed to get the quick release, which was the first release mechanism. This was the part that took us over our budget from $100 to $150.

After the fire extinguisher experiment failed and after completing our prototype, we decided to put it to the test in a controlled environment. The tank had been filled with air and the woodshop teacher and myself proceeded to release the air. The nylon bag filled with air and it  dislodged from the iphone bag (look at attachment below), Hurray, we have an avalanche airbag at least! We decided to stop here as my mom's cancer treatment was getting harder on her and after realizing that in order for the "jerk" to become aggressive, a whole new technology had to be used, such as jet packs!

I observed that what one has in mind and what it actually takes to make it happen requires a lot of time, money and technical know-how. I am only ten, but I dream of a world were my friends and myself don't have to take so many blows to our bodies in order to perfect our sport. I've been doing this extreme sport since I was six and I have suffered many blows. It is the nature of the beast and even this concept of "safety" is made fun of by hardened skaters and scooter riders. I want to break that mentality. I want anyone that wants to become a scooter rider and wants to do crazy tricks to be able to do so without the fear of breaking their necks, that they have something to rely on to keep them safe or at least, safer. I know that even with this technology, accidents still occur and even the safety mechanism itself can cause injury, but it is a small price to pay. My next idea was to use "jet pack" technology, but my mom drew the line there.

Eventhough the Jerk did not fill with air fast or aggressive enough to move my body, I had fun creating this project. I hope that some day the technology becomes available and helps save my friends and I from broken bones and worse.

Youtube video "DIY Avalanche Airbag" by Pow Mtn.

I would like to thank my mom and my school's shop teacher Mr. Lars Nilsson.