Science and Tom Swift

1. (Jr.) Science and Tom Swift Fleshing out The “Well Bud…..” explanation Charlie Campbell

2. The Flying Lab was a vertical takeoff aircraft that took Tom almost everywhere in the series, and in both ways was like the Red Cloud from Tom Sr. The Sky Queen was an “Atomic Aircraft “ and was powered by a nuclear reactor. How does that work? The text gives no clue. Published 1954

3. Sky Queen Blueprint from Syndicate Archives (cleaned up by Kim Keeline) Tom foresaw the Future (Laboratory Space Filled with Cubicles)

4. Not much help there. Syndicate probably did not understand the physics.

5. The History: • The possibility of a Nuclear Aircraft was proposed by Enrico Fermi in in 1942 • In 1946, The US formed NEPA (Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft) • Supplanted in 1951 by ANP (Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion) • Program was first “canceled” in 1954, (Publication year of Flying Lab) but limped along until 1961 • $1.08 billion 1950’s dollars were spent.

6. How Does that Work? Normal Turbojet Compressor Turbine (Drives Compressor) Burner (Heats Air) (edited from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUxP3PCDRTE)

7. Idea: Use a reactor instead of the burner to heat the air. Air is diverted behind the compressor, passes through the reactor and reintroduced ahead of the turbine. (edited from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYhEETIIMUk)

8. The US built Engines and used them in ground tests HTRE= Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment The X-39, a converted General Electric J53 turbojet

9. HTRE-1/2 and HTRE-3 as seen today on display at the Idaho National Laboratory in Arco Idaho

10. Advantage: • As a nuclear aircraft requires only uranium as fuel, it could fly until the crew ran out of food. • Idea: Load the thing with Atom Bombs and have it cruise around ready to invade the Soviet Union at a moments notice – as SAC did later and much as nuclear subs do today. • Required a huge aircraft for crew, living quarters, not to mention the reactor.

11. First to fly would have been the X-6, a modified Convair B-36. The Nuclear Bit

12. Many other designs (Some serious): Convair NX-2

13. Many other designs (Some serious): Northrop

14. Many other designs (Some serious): Lockheed

15. Many other designs (and not so serious):

16. Many other designs (and not so serious): Mechanix Illustrated, 1955 (Their own design)

17. Problem: How to shield crew from radiation? Cockpit far forward to protect crew from radiation Wings towards the back to support reactor weight

18. Problem: Shielding is too heavy to fly. But for Tom??? Voila: Tomasite "But even with the atomic engines and jet lifters, she'd never be able to stay in flight without your wonderful invention, Dad—the one Mother named after us.“ "Oh, you mean the Tomasite plastic," Mr. Swift said. "Anyway, encasing the nuclear reactors with it is better than the old-type lead and concrete shields, and I believe it will absorb the radiation more effectively."

19. Bigger Problem: • What if the thing should crash spreading radiation everywhere? • Should it ever penetrate Soviet airspace, the • Russians would have to think twice about • shooting it down.

20. Yet, in the early 1950’s Aircraft were considered to be the most likely candidate for nuclear propulsion (over rockets and submarines). Probably because there were no workable missiles and no way to deliver nuclear weapons except by bomber. Missile development ended nuclear aircraft and Kennedy canceled the program in 1961..

21. Ok, if this is the engine Then what are these?

22. You know these things

23. And if this is 3 stories ≈ 30ft. Then the cockpit windows are at least 8 feet high

24. Artist renderings were based on the DeHavilland Comet (operational 1949), the first commercial jetliner Swept Wings Engines in wings Windows are about the same size relative to body size

25. What made Tom’s rocket special was his “Fuel Kicker” Published 1954

26. From the Book: The kicker was a rocket-fuel energizer. It consisted of a yard-long section of ten-inch pipe, tapering at each end into the smaller piping of the fuel lines. The bulge was loosely packed with a metallic oxide catalyst and covered at both ends with platinum gauze niters. Tom's invention, using an alcohol-liquid-oxygen fuel combination, was designed to absorb the hyper-powerful radiation of the sun and shoot this solar energy into the liquid-oxygen supply, converting it into highly explosive, poisonous, blue liquid ozone. With the help of the kicker, Tom's fuel would be much more efficient than any other combination yet known. In addition to the enormous combustion heat of alcohol and liquid oxygen, he would get additional thrust from the decomposition of the ozone and would decrease mass ratio.

27. “…converting it into highly explosive, poisonous, blue liquid ozone.” The Science: • Ozone, O3, with three oxygen atoms (normal Oxygen is O2) is a great Oxidizer because it is eager to dump an Oxygen atom to go back to the more stable O2. • O3 is the most dangerous component in air pollution. It makes one’s eyes sting and throat sore as it literally oxidizes your cell membranes. • Glassman lists Rocket oxidizers in performance order as: • O3 (Ozone), F2 (Fluorine), F2O, NF3, O2 (Oxygen)……. • (Glassman, I, The chemistry of propellants, American Scientist, 53 (1965) 508-524)

28. Why?? Chemistry wants to combine Elements From this side with those From this side Fluorine Hydrogen Oxygen Noble Gases: They don’t play the game So Fluorine, furthest to the right, should be the best oxidizer

29. So why is the Ozone reaction: 3H2+O3→3H2O Preferable to a Fluorine reaction H2+F2→2HF Or for that matter preferable to the Oxygen reaction 2H2+O2→2H2O???

30. The answer is in the text (sort of): “….he would get additional thrust from the decomposition of the ozone…..” The reaction: H2+F2→2HF Is really (at least) three reactions: H2→2H F2→2F H+F→HF } Decomposition Reactions which consume energy } Part that Produces Energy

31. The answer is in the text (sort of): “….he would get additional thrust from the decomposition of the ozone…..” But the first stage of ozone decomposition 2O3→3O2 actually produces energy (Ozone can burn by itself.) So: 3H2+O3→3H2O Produces more energy at the end because it consumes less energy decomposing the Ozone.

32. The Science Part II:“The bulge was loosely packed with a metallic oxide catalyst …designed to absorb the hyper-powerful radiation of the sun and shoot this solar energy into the liquid-oxygen supply, converting it into highly explosive, poisonous, blue liquid ozone.” As all Southern Californians (should) know, Ozone is produced catalytically by an interaction between sunlight and Nitrogen Oxides or Unburned Hydrocarbons. So yup this is true. (except that the rays of the sun are not “hyper-powerful”).

33. Also the kicker was intended to work at high altitude "Well, the short-wave-length radiation we are looking for doesn't reach the ground. It's filtered out by the atmosphere between twelve and twenty miles…” Correct in that only ultraviolet light (with a short wavelength) has enough energy to break the bond between the Oxygens in O2, freeing two O’s to join with other O2 and form O3. Correct in that 97-99% of the ultraviolet is absorbed in the Ozone Layer lying between 20km and 40km (12.5 and 25miles). [Wikipedia numbers]

34. The Energy Problem: The kicker was a rocket-fuel energizer. It consisted of a yard-long section of ten-inch pipe, tapering at each end into the smaller piping of the fuel lines Essentially the kicker used solar energy to convert Oxygen to Ozone. One can get no more extra chemical from the ozone that the solar energy supplied which is roughly 10inx36inx(0.0254in/m)2x1KW/m2= 232W =0.00000001xpower of the Saturn V first stage

35. Conclusion:As written the basic idea of the Kicker is sound. • Ozone is the best Rocket Fuel Oxidizer • Ozone is produced catalytically with sunlight But: There is no where near enough energy in sunlight to make a difference.

36. A vertical takeoff, supersonic aircraft and submarine Notice that it looks like a flying saucer with a large central rotor Published (1956)

37. The Avro Car A vertical takeoff, flying saucer shaped aircraft with a large central rotor, originally proposed to make Mach 2. Sorry, no submarine

38. The turborotor actually directs the flow out through the rim where the air is directed downward by the Coanda effect.

39. The Avrocar was proposed in 1953 and, as a near flying saucer, made a big splash in the popular press. But it did not “fly”until 1958. A good thing because If the syndicate had seen it fly, well…… this is as far as it got off the ground. (Edited from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PIu3rGAA3k&feature=related)

40. One of the two Avrocars built as it is today in the warehouse for the Air and Space Museum The program was canceled in 1961

41. It always bothered me that the rotor must work continuously underwater • just stirs up the bottom reducing visibility • Definitely not Dolphin safe (animation by Fred Kuentz) Bud should have nicknamed it “The Flipper Ripper.” (Blame Fred)

42. The Space Friends Code From Mechanix Illustrated, December 1947 pgs 84-88 Discovered by James Keeline

43. Proposed using Mathematical symbols as a way to speak to aliens

44. Ended with a picture of an oscillograph equipped device used to “pick up interplanetary messages.” Incidentally, Grote Reber was one of the great pioneers of radio astronomy. Diving Seacopter Page 47

45. Published(1956) From the Dust Jacket: "Tom, that strange gas is fantastic-disintegrates everything it touches! What do you think it is?" Fascinated by the amazing report from a pilot who crash-landed in the African jungle…. Tom Swift Jr. …. replies: "Sounds like anti-protons rampaging. Such a phenomenon is unknown on earth. This may be the greatest discovery of the century. It could revolutionize the whole science of atomic energy. Let's investigate that taboo mountain." An anti-proton is a proton with a negative charge. When it comes into contact with a proton both are annihilated producing 4 gamma rays.

46. The Oklo Natural Reactor, Gabon, West Africa Analysis of Uranium from the mine showed a depletion of the fissionable component 235U and a surplus of fission products indicating that, billions of years ago, the mine had gone critical.

47. Apparently 5 different areas in the mine went critical at various times, all when the rock because saturated with water which served as a moderator. Today, natural Uranium has only 0.7% 235U and must be enriched to about 3% before it can be used in a water moderated reactor. But 235U has a half-life of 700 million years and a few billion years ago when the Oklo reactor was operative, was at about 7% concentration.

48. Similarities between the Oklo Reactor and the Caves of Nuclear Fire • Both are located in Caves in Africa • Both are activated by water • In Oklo the water served as a moderator • In Caves of Nuclear Fire: • "At high tide, the water passes over a bed of uranium ore and a nuclear catalyst. The protons produced from the water trigger a nuclear fusion of the uranium with other atoms in the mineral bed to produce Exploron.” [the anti-proton gas.] (That makes no sense.)

49. Differences: The Oklo Reactors were standard Uranium fission reactors The Caves of Nuclear Fire produced some kind of anti-proton gas, Exploron Any similarity is pure coincidence Caves of Nuclear Fire was published in 1956 Oklo reactor discovered in 1972

50. Unless???? The possibility of water moderated natural reactors was first proposed by P.K. Kuroda in two papers in 1956: Journal of Chemical Physics, v. 25,781-2 Journal of Chemical Physics, v. 25,1295-6 • But: • They probably appeared too late in the year for Caves • I have found no indication that these were noted in the popular press that the syndicate would have read. Most likely Caves was inspired by the production of the first proton/anti-proton pair in 1955 (More later)