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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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bluelake
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
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 Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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Hehehe--I especially love the "what really happened" video  |
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xingyiman
Joined: 12 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:19 pm Post subject: Re: If you had Estes model rockets, you'll like this... |
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Bassexpander, could you please tell me if you know where anyone can buy that chemical stump remover here in Korea. I have been looking for the materials to make rocket fuel for a while. I've got the materials together to make a rocket and launch it at school. Kind of a learning project for my kids. But I need the fuel. |
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bluelake
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: Re: If you had Estes model rockets, you'll like this... |
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| xingyiman wrote: |
Bassexpander, could you please tell me if you know where anyone can buy that chemical stump remover here in Korea. I have been looking for the materials to make rocket fuel for a while. I've got the materials together to make a rocket and launch it at school. Kind of a learning project for my kids. But I need the fuel. |
Good luck, as stump remover is nearly pure potassium nitrate (the main ingredient in black powder) and is probably regulated in Korea (although I don't know that for a fact). It's possible you might find it at a farm store. If you really want it, make your own; all you need is compost, urine and water (and several months of waiting).
My doctoral dissertation is on black powder and firearms in the Joseon dynasty, and I spent a lot of my summer testing different black powder recipes; it was quite interesting. As I was back in the States, there was no problem obtaining KNO3 (I made my own charcoal and sulfur is readily accessible). Be careful, though, as propellants can be lethal if handled incorrectly; your school might raise their collective eyebrows (the ones that aren't singed...).
If you're interested, here is a short clip of some of my bp tests. The first powder is Ming rocket powder, which has the ratios of 59% KNO3, 38% sulfur, and 3% charcoal. It burns very slowly and erratically; if the sulfur and charcoal ratios were switched, I think it would have worked much better. The second powder was the standard recipe used nowadays 75% KNO3, 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur; you can see that it burns evenly and fast (although not as fast as commercial bp). The third one was the recipe the Japanese used in their matchlocks; its ratio was 78:11:11. It was right in the middle between the other two for speed. I did other tests, but I didn't get them to a computer file yet.
http://www.shinmiyangyo.org/bptest.asf |
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Man, there was this one Estes rocket I had that I was going to have go off with a bang..literally. I strapped 4 separate engines on it. The coordination required for the ignition switches was key though. Fourth time is a charm. I also made a rocket car out of pvc piping. Now THAT THING WAS SWEET! |
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