Re: [Phys-l] rocket car -- detailed story

[Hugh Haskell <hhaskell@mindspring.com>]

At 12:41 -0700 03/11/2009, John Denker wrote:
> Comments, anyone?
Still reads like well-polished fiction. All the loose ends neatly 
tied up and almost everything worked as advertised. Maybe, but I 
doubt it.

It's been many years since I had any experience with JATO, but my 
recollection is that solid propellant rockets needed to be ignited 
near the forward end of the fuel slug and the jet exhausts down a 
channel in the center of the fuel. I also vaguely remember something 
about a star-form shape for the fuel, which keeps the surface area 
burning approximately constant. This serves to keep the thrust 
approximately constant. They may have been able to ignite the unit 
successfully from the tail end, but I have a feeling that doing so 
would have caused the rocket to explode rather than burn. After 
almost 50 years, my memory may be faulty, but ...

Hugh
--
Hugh Haskell
mailto:hugh@ieer.org
mailto:hhaskell@mindspring,.com

So-called "global warming" is just a secret ploy by wacko 
tree-huggers to make America energy independent, clean our air and 
water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 
21st-century industries, and make our cities safer. Don't let them 
get away with it!!

					Chip Giller, Founder, Grist.org