18-year-old builds one-man DIY submarine out of a drainpipe

Justin Beckerman wasn't your ordinary high school student. Instead of planning for prom night, Beckerman was taking rides in a one-man submarine he built from the ground up when he was just 18 years old. Referred to as the <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/teenage_thomas_edison_builds_s.html">teenage Thomas Edison</a>, the New Jersey resident spent one month designing and five months building his nine-foot-long <a href="http://inhabitat.com/filmmaker-james-cameron-donates-the-deepsea-challenger-submarine-to-oceanographic-institution/">submarine</a>. The submarine can dive as deep as thirty feet, giving Beckerman plenty of room to explore Lake Hopatcong—in between crew team practice and homework, of course.

Beckerman is inventing and engineering gadgets and gizmos at a time when many of us were just getting our driver’s licenses.

He built a "Cleaning Car" device that mops and vacuums the floor at the age of 12.

"When you go down a few feet, it starts to go darker and darker, and when you get to about ten feet, it can be virtually no light," Justin explained to <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/teenage_thomas_edison_builds_s.html">NJ News</a>.

The submarine was created using a drainpipe, white ballast tanks, regulators and valves from an old soda machine, three battery systems, a horn, a radio and ultra-bright strobe lights. Total spent? Just shy of $1,000.

The teen genius has plans to study engineering in college.

Beckerman has also used his talent to create award-winning art sculptures out of fluorescent glass from computer screens.

Referred to as the teenage Thomas Edison, the New Jersey teen spent one month designing and five months building his nine-foot-long submarine.