[Vision2020] "Acceleration" Defined

Thu Jan 12 08:26:37 PST 2006

 Tom,

Isn't using liquid O2 the best way to start a BBQ. http://www.ambrosiasw.com/Ambrosia_Times/September_95/2.5HowTo.html

Man if you added Liquid H2 to the mix imagine the spead to get that baby going....

lemeno, Doug!

-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com>
To: Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
Cc: Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 00:15:42 -0800
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] "Acceleration" Defined

Tom et. al.

You seemed to miss the joke in my suggestion that the CBD could become a Trinitarian Village like "Chinatown" in some large US cities, but this is no joke:

You want horsepower?  Forget the dragster!  How about engines in one "machine" with the output of 13 Hoover Dams?

Try this:

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/propul/SSMEamaz.html

Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main Engine operates at greater temperature extremes than any mechanical system in common use today. The liquid hydrogen fuel is -423 degrees Fahrenheit, the second coldest liquid on Earth. When the hydrogen is burned with liquid oxygen, the temperature in the engine's combustion chamber reaches +6000 degrees Fahrenheit - that's higher than the boiling point of Iron. 

The maximum equivalent horsepower developed by the three SSMEs is just over 37 million horsepower.

The energy released by three of Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main engines is equivalent to the output of 13 Hoover Dams.

Although not much larger than an automobile engine, the SSME high-pressure fuel turbopump generates 100 horsepower for each pound of its weight, while an automobile engine generates about one-half horsepower for each pound of its weight. 

Even though Rocketdyne's SSME weighs one-seventh as much as a locomotive engine, its high-pressure fuel pump alone delivers as much horsepower as 28 locomotives, while its high-pressure oxidizer pump delivers the equivalent horsepower for 11 more. 

If water, instead of fuel, were pumped by the three Space Shuttle Main Engines, an average family-sized swimming pool could be drained in 25 seconds.

The SSME high-pressure fuel turbopump main shaft rotates at 37,000 rpm compared to about 3,000 rpm for an automobile operating at 60 mph.

The discharge pressure of an SSME high-pressure fuel turbopump could send a column of liquid hydrogen 36 miles in the air 
------------------

Ted Moffett

On 1/10/06, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote: 
"Acceleration" as defined by Keith Black ( http://www.keithblack.com)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One top fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower
than the first 4 rows of stock cars at the Daytona 500.

Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2 gallons of nitro
methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same
rate with 25% less energy being produced.

A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the
dragster's supercharger. With 3,000 CFM of air being rammed in by the
supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a
near-solid form before ignition.

Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.
At 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture of nitro methane, the flame front
temperature measures 7,050 deg F.

Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the
stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric
water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of
an arc welder in each cylinder. Spark plug electrodes are totally
consumed during a pass. After halfway, the engine is dieseling from
compression, plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 deg F. The engine
can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.

If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up
In the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow
cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.

In order to exceed 3 00 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an
average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph (well before
half-track), the launch acceleration approaches 8G's.

Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed
reading this sentence. Top fuel engines turn approximately 540
revolutions from light to light! Including the burnout, the engine must
only survive 900 revolutions under load.

The redline is actually quite high at 9,500 rpm.
Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and
for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimate $1,000.00 per
second.

The current top fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441 seconds for
the quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher). The top speed record is
333.00 mph (533 km/h) as measured over the last 66' of the run
(09/28/03 Doug Kalitta).

Putting all of this into perspective, picture this scenario:
You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter "twin-turbo" powered
Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a top fuel dragster is staged
and ready to launch down a quarter mile strip as you pass. You have the
advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the
gears and blast across the starting line and pass the dragster at an
honest 200 mph. The "tree" goes green for both of you at that moment.

The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot down
hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums
and within 3 seconds, the dragster catches and passes you. He beats you
to the finish line, a quarter mile away from where you just passed him.

Think about it, from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200
mph and not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he
passed you within a mere 1,320 foot long race course.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that, my friend, is ACCELERATION!

Take care, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho 

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, a drink in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO. What a ride!'" 

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