Just finished Ignition! by John Drury Clark. Early history of liquid rocket propellants. The chemistry is way over my head, but his descriptions of how they found various chemical combinations, and some of the weird stuff that turned out to be dead end roads is a hoot.
Seriously... methyl mercaptan based rocket fuels. ClF3 (an oxidizer that is better than liquid oxygen), but can set sand and asbestos on fire.
Very neat history if you’re into that kind of thing. There’s a free pdf floating around, I bought the paperback so I would have something else to add to the bookshelf.
Whatcha reading redux.
- Rustyv
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
Welcome to the internet: Where men are men, women are men, and children are FBI agents.
Dance like it hurts, Love like you need the money, Work like people are watching - Scott Adams
Dance like it hurts, Love like you need the money, Work like people are watching - Scott Adams
- MiddleAgedKen
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
Sand won't save you this time.
The author mentions Ignition! (that's where I first heard of the book). He had a whole blog category of "things I won't work with" that is the funniest stuff I've ever read about chemistry.
Shop at Traitor Joe's: Just 10% to the Big Guy gets you the whole store and everything in it!
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
Got an ebook bargain on DK Brown's 'Nelson to Vanguard'. I've read it twice already.
Re-read the two Norman Friedman titles I have, his 'U.S. Cruisers' and 'U.S. Destroyers'.
Re-read the two Norman Friedman titles I have, his 'U.S. Cruisers' and 'U.S. Destroyers'.
Maybe we're just jaded, but your villainy is not particularly impressive. -Ennesby
If you know what you're doing, you're not learning anything. -Unknown
Sanity is the process by which you continually adjust your beliefs so they are predictively sound. -esr
If you know what you're doing, you're not learning anything. -Unknown
Sanity is the process by which you continually adjust your beliefs so they are predictively sound. -esr
- MiddleAgedKen
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
Friedman is hard to top for naval historical reference information. I'm reading his Fighting the Great War at Sea.
Shop at Traitor Joe's: Just 10% to the Big Guy gets you the whole store and everything in it!
- HTRN
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
Flourine chemistry in general seems like bad juju in general. Both hyper reactive and energetic. And as bad as CIF3 is theres scarier flourine compounds -see "FOOF", affectionately earning the nickname "Satan's Kimchi" after one particularly florid entry from "things I wont work with". It will cause water ice to explode...at -200f!MiddleAgedKen wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 11:39 pmSand won't save you this time.
The author mentions Ignition! (that's where I first heard of the book). He had a whole blog category of "things I won't work with" that is the funniest stuff I've ever read about chemistry.
HTRN, I would tell you that you are an evil fucker, but you probably get that a lot ~ Netpackrat
Describing what HTRN does as "antics" is like describing the wreck of the Titanic as "a minor boating incident" ~ First Shirt
Describing what HTRN does as "antics" is like describing the wreck of the Titanic as "a minor boating incident" ~ First Shirt
- Weetabix
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
Target Rich Environment. My daughter bought it for me for Christmas, but it's taken a while to get at it.
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
I am re-reading the Ringo zombie Apocalypse series. On the second one now. Reading it out loud to the GF. She is liking it and I figured it was appropriate for the current situation... /snark
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson
My little part of the blogosphere. http://blogletitburn.wordpress.com/
My little part of the blogosphere. http://blogletitburn.wordpress.com/
- randy
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
To add to audio ambiance are you also playing the suggested soundtrack in the background?
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
"insults" every once in a while I'll come across an insult in a book I'm reading the resonates with me. It is not a new one , but I find I really like "Needle dicked bug fucker ." I suppose the would be one way to take care of the Corona Virus ?
- MiddleAgedKen
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.
Currently reading Pinker's The Blank Slate (v. good so far) and re-reading Weber's On Basilisk Station. Just finished re-reading Kratman's A State of Disobedience (rather like Ringo's The Last Centurion, which I also recently re-read, it seemed...a good time to do so).
Shop at Traitor Joe's: Just 10% to the Big Guy gets you the whole store and everything in it!