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If you've not had the pleasure, take some time this weekend to read John D Clark's amazing book Ignition! https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/igni

If you've not had the pleasure, take some time this weekend to read John D Clark's amazing book Ignition! https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pd... (PDF may not render properly in Chrome)

mjevans 10y ago
It would have been nice if someone had linked me to that while I was still in HS, though I couldn't take both the tech path and the chemistry class; would have been wonderful.
WalterBright 10y ago
I loved the dry humor in it. I generally find chemistry boring, but this book was not at all boring, though it was all about chemistry.
davidgerard 10y ago
It makes it clear that "rocket science" is not actually about Newton's laws, but about incredibly evil chemistry.
- marcosdumay 10y ago
  It's also about creating machines with the minimum possible safety margin added. And huge machines, by the way. It's also about assembling huge teams, and yet keeping all their data in secret. It's also about extremely reliable electronics/software that must survive on the some of the last hospitable environments available, but must not ever get any maintenance. It's about a huge set of incredibly hard problems. Every one fascinating.
type0 10y ago
Chemistry is a fascinating subject, people who don't like it become that way mostly because of terrible teachers, it's also my own experience. If you study chemistry on your own you will find it's much more fun and useful for understanding the world, many aspects of our whole modern society exists thanks to chemistry, i wish more people opened their eyes to it. Here are some fun podcasts to listen: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/ http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/
- sevenless 10y ago
  I have a theory that everyone who studies chemistry is some kind of pyromaniac.
  - saiya-jin 10y ago
    no there are also future 'illegal substances' manufacturers ;)
  - TeMPOraL 10y ago
    I always say that there are only two real specializations in chemistry - pyrotechnics and drug manufacturing.
djaychela 10y ago
It's a fantastic read, and the term "Hard Start" is one I've used a couple of times when engines have lunched themselves, usually leading to an explanation of where the term came from a and a difficult sell on trying to get someone to read the book - no-one else I've spoken to has, and they've really missed out!
alexbock 10y ago
If you enjoy "Things I Won't Work With" and "Ignition!", I would also recommend the book "Excuse Me Sir, Would You Like to Buy a Kilo of Isopropyl Bromide?". It can be found online rather easily but I'm unsure of the copyright situation.
sriram_malhar 10y ago
Wow. What a gem. Loved the humor and the science. Thanks for the pointer!
qbi_ 10y ago
I've been reading it for some time, but it's taking me forever because I often find that I want a deeper understanding of what he's talking about: what's this molecule composition again? What are its bounds? Why is it more fragile anyway? How does redox works again? I think it needs to be read with a BSc chemistry class cheat-sheet of some sort, which I haven't found yet. Anyone knows any dense, crystal-clear chemistry 101 ressource on the web? Edit: grammar.

mjevans 10y ago

It would have been nice if someone had linked me to that while I was still in HS, though I couldn't take both the tech path and the chemistry class; would have been wonderful.

WalterBright 10y ago

I loved the dry humor in it. I generally find chemistry boring, but this book was not at all boring, though it was all about chemistry.

davidgerard 10y ago

It makes it clear that "rocket science" is not actually about Newton's laws, but about incredibly evil chemistry.

marcosdumay 10y ago
It's also about creating machines with the minimum possible safety margin added. And huge machines, by the way. It's also about assembling huge teams, and yet keeping all their data in secret. It's also about extremely reliable electronics/software that must survive on the some of the last hospitable environments available, but must not ever get any maintenance. It's about a huge set of incredibly hard problems. Every one fascinating.

type0 10y ago

Chemistry is a fascinating subject, people who don't like it become that way mostly because of terrible teachers, it's also my own experience. If you study chemistry on your own you will find it's much more fun and useful for understanding the world, many aspects of our whole modern society exists thanks to chemistry, i wish more people opened their eyes to it. Here are some fun podcasts to listen: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/ http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/

sevenless 10y ago
I have a theory that everyone who studies chemistry is some kind of pyromaniac.
- saiya-jin 10y ago
  no there are also future 'illegal substances' manufacturers ;)
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  I always say that there are only two real specializations in chemistry - pyrotechnics and drug manufacturing.

djaychela 10y ago

It's a fantastic read, and the term "Hard Start" is one I've used a couple of times when engines have lunched themselves, usually leading to an explanation of where the term came from a and a difficult sell on trying to get someone to read the book - no-one else I've spoken to has, and they've really missed out!

alexbock 10y ago

If you enjoy "Things I Won't Work With" and "Ignition!", I would also recommend the book "Excuse Me Sir, Would You Like to Buy a Kilo of Isopropyl Bromide?". It can be found online rather easily but I'm unsure of the copyright situation.

sriram_malhar 10y ago

Wow. What a gem. Loved the humor and the science. Thanks for the pointer!

qbi_ 10y ago

I've been reading it for some time, but it's taking me forever because I often find that I want a deeper understanding of what he's talking about: what's this molecule composition again? What are its bounds? Why is it more fragile anyway? How does redox works again? I think it needs to be read with a BSc chemistry class cheat-sheet of some sort, which I haven't found yet. Anyone knows any dense, crystal-clear chemistry 101 ressource on the web? Edit: grammar.