Found Collection

Anyone remember a book of science projects put out by scientific american? It
was about 1000 pages long and had an article on building a high power rocket
that used powdered aluminum as fuel?

I can't seam to find that book. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/~cmckin/
Icona New Media, 405 Maryland Street, Winnipeg. MB Canada R3G 1M1

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The book was called _The Amateur Scientist_, after the monthly (now
usually bi-monthly) column. The propellant was zinc and sulphur, though,
not aluminum. There wasn't a whole lot of information in that article,
though it is an exciting thing to read if you share our mentality 'round
these parts.

It was a *SUPER* neat book all around. There was a way of making an
extremely accurate clock out of an electric clock, and a quartz crystal
oscillator. The assembly took up all the space on a medium-size table.
These days it fits on your wrist :-)

There was a way of measuring atmospheric potential by dropping beads of
mercury over a short distance.

There was a way of testing the aerodynamic characteristics of plastic
airplane models by putting spots of dye on their wings, and letting them
sink to the bottom of a full bathtub.

I used to own this book, but I can't find it anymore. Try your public
library. It's in the Carnegie library here in Pittsburgh.

Regards,

-Larry C.

That would be THE AMATEUR SCIENTIST by C.L. Strong, Simon and
Schuster , 1960.
With those wonderful illustrations by Roger Hayward.
(Gee now that I look at my copy I had forgotten it was published as long
ago as 1960! Too bad C.L. Strong did not collect more of his stuff , I
am sure he had that column for many years more.)

-Anyone remember a book of science projects put out by scientific
american? It
-was about 1000 pages long and had an article on building a high power
rocket
-that used powdered aluminum as fuel?

Sure do - I've looked at it a bunch of times. Most libraries will have a
copy in the general science section. I don't remember the exact title, but
it is a smaller format book (but THICK). The rocketry portion is about
zinc/sulfur rockets and their launch.

Jim Kajpust - Personal Freedoms - California

  I believe the book you are looking for was called "The Amateur Scientist"
  which was published by Scientific American around 1960.  I have a copy
  somewhere.  The articles dealt with rockets constructed of aluminum
  tubing and sheet, and were fueled with powdered zinc and sulfur.  There
  is also a design for a strobe light to be enclosed in a clear plastic
  nose cone for night launches.

  There was also a paper back book put out by Washington Square Press called
  "Projects: Space" by Judith Viorst of Science Service (1962).  It contained
  similar projects.  I have a copy of this also.

  (Email me with a snail mail if you would like photocopies of any sections.)

--
(Dean R. Oberg)

   Also interesting is "Rocket Manual for Amateurs", Bertrand Brinley (US Army
Amateur Rocket Program), Ballantine Books, 1960. I found it for 25 cents at a
used booksale. Mostly zink/sulfur rocketry, but has a good bibliography to go
hunt for period books. It even shows you how to do mercury-switch staging,
make a spring accellerometer, and telemetry data with an encoding wheel. ;-)
--