By Arthur

The Rockets

1. A brief history of Rockets2.How Rockets work3. Why Rockets are a great invention?

Contents:

For centuries rockets were in the main rather small, and their use was confined

principally to weaponry, the projection of lifelines in sea rescue, signalling, and

fireworks displays.

Rockets have provided ceremonial and warfare uses starting with the ancient

Chinese, the first to create rockets. The rocket apparently made its debut on the

pages of history as a fire arrow used by the Chinese in 1232 for fighting off a

Mongol assault. It is also said that the ancient Chinese had once fastened a

myriad of small rockets to a wooden chair, where they positioned their emperor.

And in their attempt to reach the heavens, the chair (and their emperor)

disappeared in a cloud of fire and smoke!

All through the 13th to the 18th Century there were reports of many rocket

experiments. For example, an Italian designed a surface-running rocket-

powered torpedo for setting enemy ships on fire.

A brief history of Rockets (1/2)

During the 19th century, rocket enthusiasts and inventors began to appear

in almost every country. Some people thought these early rocket pioneers

were geniuses, and others thought they were crazy. Claude Ruggieri sent

up around 1806 a live sheep around 600 feet in the air and

succeeded in bringing it back to earth with a soft landing

using parachutes. He would have sent a young boy up

making him the first “astronaut” but the local police put a

stop to it. Just in time!

By the end of the 19th century, soldiers, sailors, practical and not so

practical inventors had developed a stake in rocketry. Scientifics were

beginning to have a clear understanding of the principles of rockets and

consider the possibility of space travel. Not until the 20th century did the

technology of large rockets begin to evolve.

A brief history of

Rockets (2/2)

A rocket in its simplest form is a chamber enclosing a gas under

pressure. A small opening at one end of the chamber allows the

gas to escape, and in doing so provides a thrust that propels in

the opposite direction. A good example of this is a balloon. Air

inside a balloon is compressed by the balloon's rubber walls.

The air pushes back so that the inward and outward pressing

forces are balanced. When the nozzle is released, air escapes

through it and the balloon is propelled in the opposite direction.

When we think of rockets, we rarely think of balloons. Instead,

our attention is drawn to the giant vehicles that carry satellites

into orbit and spacecraft to the Moon and planets. Nevertheless,

there is a strong similarity between the two. The only significant

difference is the way the pressurized gas is produced. With

space rockets, the gas is produced by burning propellants.

How Rockets work (1/2)

Early rockets had a single engine, on which it rose until it ran

out of fuel. A better way to achieve great speed, however, is to

place a small rocket on top of a big one and fire it after the

first has burned out. The US army, which after the war used

captured German V-2 for experimental flights into the high

atmosphere, replaced the payload with another rocket which

was launched from the top of the orbit. Now the burned-out V-

2, weighing 3 tons, could be dropped, and using the smaller

rocket, the payload reached a much higher altitude.

Today of course almost every space rocket uses several stages,

dropping each empty burned-out stage and continuing with a

smaller and lighter booster. Even the space shuttle uses two

large solid-fuel boosters which are dropped after they burn out.

How Rockets work (2/2)

I think rockets are a great invention because without

rockets we would never see the moon and the Earth

up high and discover our galaxy.

Also, It helps to monitor the evolution of the ozone

depletion around the Earth.

In addition, some researches made by Space

Agencies are now used daily by us (and continue),

such as unbreakable plastic, ear thermometer,

portable smoke detector, cordless electric tools,

water filter…

Finally, Rockets are used to bring satellites in space.

Satellites are used by everyone every minutes: by

planes, for GPS, for TV broadcast, for

communication, by military, to forecast weather….

Why Rockets are a great Invention?

Arthur’s Invention: The Big Bicycle BubbleRiding a bicycle on the road can be

very dangerous, especially in city

where the traffic is dense and can hide

riders!

The Big Bicycle Bubble will create an

invisible secure area around the cyclist.

At little box, size of a small camera, will

be fix on the helmet and emit a

magnetic zone. If another vehicle gets

in contact with the zone it will flash

lights and emit beeps to inform the

vehicle and the cyclist of the danger.

Arthur’s Invention: The Big Bicycle BubbleAdvantages:

- Easy to fix and use

- Increase road safety

Inconvenient:

- With load of traffic, it might beep all the times ! Solution: find a way to adjust the bubble size base on the type of environment

- Needs battery. Solution: get energy with the Sun or speed wind

Beep