Ignition!

An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants

John Drury Clark, Isaac Asimov

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English

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
15 May 2018

Biography: science, technology & engineering; Energy industries & utilities; Mathematics & Sciences; History of science; Technology: general issues; History of engineering & technology

A classic work in the history of science, and described as “a good book on rocket stuff…that’s a really fun one” by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, readers will want to get their hands on this influential classic, available for the first time in decades.

This newly reissued debut book in the Rutgers University Press Classics imprint is the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. This search was a hazardous enterprise carried out by rival labs who worked against the known laws of nature, with no guarantee of success or safety.

Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John Drury Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity. The resulting volume is as much a memoir as a work of history, sharing a behind-the-scenes view of an enterprise which eventually took men to the moon, missiles to the planets, and satellites to outer space.

By: John Drury Clark
Foreword by: Isaac Asimov
Imprint: RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 132mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 227g
ISBN: 9780813595832
ISBN 10: 0813595835
Pages: 302
Publication Date: 15 May 2018
Recommended Age: From 15 to 99 years
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents In Re John D. Clark - foreword by Issac Asimov Preface 1 How It Started 2 Peenemunde and JPL 3 The Hunting of the Hypergol . . . 4 . . . and Its Mate 5 Peroxide – Always a Bridesmaid 6 Halogens and Politics and Deep Space 7 Performance 8 Lox and Flox and Cryogenics in General 9 What Ivan Was Doing 10 “Exotics” 11 The Hopeful Monoprops 12 High Density and the Higher Foolishness 13 What Happens Next Glossary Index

John Drury Clark (1907 - 1988) was an American rocket fuel developer, chemist, and science fiction writer. In addition to his work as a scientist, he was instrumental in the broad revival of interest in Robert E. Howard's Conan stories and an influence on the writing of Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, and other sci-fi authors.Issac Asimov (1920 - 1992) was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. A prolific writer, he published more than 500 books, most notably the science fiction novels I, Robot and Foundation, and the popular science works, Guide to Science and Understanding Physics.

Reviews for Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants

A good book on rocket stuff...that's a really fun one. --Elon Musk Read this book. You'll find plenty about John and all the other sky-high crackpots who were in the field with him and you may even get (as I did) a glimpse of the heroic excitement that seemed to make it reasonable to cuddle with death every waking moment--to say nothing of learning a heck of a lot about the way in which the business of science is really conducted. --Issac Asimov from the foreword This insider's account of the early years of rocketry captures the excitement of researching and developing technologies that lie outside the realm of computer science. While we're accustomed to think of technological progress in terms of Moore's law, in a few short years these engineers went from launching metal tubes small enough to hold in your hand to propelling a two ton metal capsule containing three humans all the way to the moon. --Inc. 9 Powerful Books Elon Musk Recommends