You may remember the hot rodder down the street or
two blocks over who seemed to know so much about car engines. Who seemed to have
a fan club of urchins like yourself who stood by in wide eyed amazement at the
sound of Glass packs shaking the ground. He did seem to put a lot of engines
into that old Mercury didn't he?
Boys, she was running real strong just before
those pistons turned up in the oil pan.
Best power mixture.
I did not understand the power of an explosion
until the day we were setting off our Carbide rockets in front of Billy Oakley's
house on Waverly street. A Carbide rocket is a big juice can
with about 2” of water in it. Inverted into the
first can is a second can that is just a bit taller than the first so that about
1/2” inch of the can sticks up out of the first can. This second can needs a
touch hole
just even with its rolled lip, so the touch hole
is available above the edge of the bottom can. The touch hole is made with just
the right sized nail and a hammer. All this very scientific stuff for 10 year
old's.
You drop a few crystals of carbide (for carbide
miners lamps) into the bottom can with the water.The carbide water combination
produces acetylene gas. You place the Rocket can into the launch can.You wait
just the right length of time, and this is the key to success, it is a time vice
gas production rate problem. Or too rich or too lean problem.
Looking for best power.
Too long before you light the mixture at the touch
hole with a safety match, and you get a miners lamp.Just a plume of acetylene
burning. The gas has displaced too much of the available oxygenand only burns
outside of the can where there is adequate oxygen available. Too Rich.
Or.
Not long enough, and there is too little gas to
sustain a burn and the touch hole pops and blows out the match, or you get the
inner (rocket) can to hop out with just a fluffy sounding whump. Too Lean.
But if you become an advanced Merlin at NASA style
rocketry, and wait just the correct length of time, then the mixture is
just right, the rocket (inner can) leaves with an impressive (to 10 year old's)
Kaboom and a cloud of water spray. Ideal best power mixture.
There may be competition among your followers to
catch the rocket can when it returns from its mission, but a savvy Merlin just
observes lest the rocket can land on a parked car or in somebody’s flower bed.
One must be ready to recover the launch can and retreat on ones bicycle in a
direction opposite the actual direction to ones home. No need to complicate the
situation with lengthy conversations between the aggrieved home owners and your
parents.
I am forever grateful to Billy Oakley's dad, Frank
Oakley who apparently was some kind of genius, and for showing us how to do this
kind of stuff.
Why yes I was an Ordnance man in the Navy. How did
you know?
Drawings are available.
Lynn E. Hanover