The movie October Sky doesn't tell the audience everything the "Rocket Boys" used to construct their rockets but they did reveal a couple of ingredients.
They switched their fuel from black powder to potassium chlorate. They also experimented with potassium nitrate & sugar; a zinc – sulfur powder mix, and various binders.
Each switch the boys made was in response to a test failure that demanded a modification in their engineering design. The use of scientific method is fabulous. They identified a problem, came up with a probable solution, tested it, then either revised their approach or tossed it for a new one.
After finding that their nozzles could not take the heat inside the rockets, they had to special order a steel called S.A.E. 1018 bar stock. They learned to make new nozzles that could withstand the heat and eventually were completely successful in launching their rocket.
No comments:
Post a Comment