Re: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites'
I really really doubt the enzyme responsible for catalysis would survive ten seconds of high grade peroxide. Peroxide I think is a dead end, its a low energy fuel, w/ two products, water and oxygen. The oxygen is high energy, perfect for oxidizing another fuel, but you would have to worry about the water suppressing that reaction. alpha From: Ken Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites' Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 09:51:50 + David Honig wrote: At 07:11 PM 3/11/01 -0500, Jim Windle wrote: According to Friday's Wall Street Journal spot platinum last closed at $588 per ounce and is up from $473 per ounce one year ago. Fer chrissakes you can use a number of cheaper chemicals. For those annoying satellite launches that you have to field-improvise, blood can be used to decompose peroxide :-) Oh, all you want is enzymes then? I bet we can rig something up with bacteria. When it comes to making chemicals - well, chemicals without annoying heavy metals in them anyway - microbiology is your friend. Things that want nothing more than to reproduce themselves 3 times an hour tend to be quite easy to get hold of in bulk :-) Kinder to the neighbours as well, unless you are in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Sudan in which case those nice men from the Pentagon will be sending a cruise missile your way as soon as they hear that you are getting into production scale. On the other hand I had this vague idea that peroxide sort of decomposed itself. And I bet burnt protoplasm buggers up the exhaust nozzles no end. Ken Brown _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
Re: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites'
At 05:25 PM 3/11/01 -0600, you wrote: nah bill, platinum is 600 dollars an ounce, its price has shot up over the past five years. Brent From: Bill Stewart [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Jim Choate [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites' Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 12:33:25 -0800 At 06:16 PM 03/01/2001 -0600, Jim Choate wrote: Technology wise, I'm real keen on the Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyst engines, especially Platinum catalyst. Platinum is problematic, rare expensive. Say 1 out of 1,000 potential hobbyist can afford it. Hydrogen Peroxide can at least theoretically be done in a garage lab, so we'll leave this 1-1 for now. No need for Pt Ag does just fine and has been used for many/most H2O2-based engines. steve
Re: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites'
At 06:16 PM 03/01/2001 -0600, Jim Choate wrote: Technology wise, I'm real keen on the Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyst engines, especially Platinum catalyst. Platinum is problematic, rare expensive. Say 1 out of 1,000 potential hobbyist can afford it. Hydrogen Peroxide can at least theoretically be done in a garage lab, so we'll leave this 1-1 for now. Platinum costs vary, but I've never seen it above $500/oz, and I think it's more often about $300, e.g. about the price of good marijuana, which far more than 1 in 1000 hobbyists can afford :-) How much of it do you need for a can-sat engine's catalyst? That's separate from questions of whether it's easy to work with, or whether you can get the catalyst into the form you need, e.g. wire mesh or particles spread on fiberglass or whatever.
Re: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites'
On Sat, 10 Mar 2001, Bill Stewart wrote: Platinum costs vary, but I've never seen it above $500/oz, and I think it's more often about $300, e.g. about the price of good marijuana, which far more than 1 in 1000 hobbyists can afford :-) How much of it do you need for a can-sat engine's catalyst? Um, as far as I know I don't need any Marijuana in any of my rockets. Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. Locke The Armadillo Group ,::;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'/ ``::/|/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ssz.com.', `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -~~mm-'`-```-mm --'-
Re: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites'
At 12:33 PM 3/10/01 -0800, Bill Stewart wrote: At 06:16 PM 03/01/2001 -0600, Jim Choate wrote: Technology wise, I'm real keen on the Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyst engines, especially Platinum catalyst. Platinum is problematic, rare expensive. Say 1 out of 1,000 potential hobbyist can afford it. Hydrogen Peroxide can at least theoretically be done in a garage lab, so we'll leave this 1-1 for now. Platinum costs vary, but I've never seen it above $500/oz, Yeah, the problem is the fire marshall/BATF when they learn you're storing 70% H202 in your garage :-) And the neighbors when they ask why their cat is a bleached blonde now.. ...
Re: CDR: Re: Shooting down 'Bandit Satellites'
On Sun, 11 Mar 2001, David Honig wrote: Yeah, the problem is the fire marshall/BATF when they learn you're storing 70% H202 in your garage :-) And the neighbors when they ask why their cat is a bleached blonde now.. Um, there's a problem with 70%. Actually a couple problems. First, if there are impurities, they can eat your catalyst. Specifically, if you have that much water, you'll run into problems with the platinum oxidizing/eroding at high temperature. Second, impurities add weight and don't add to your "bounce per ounce" of fuel. With a thousand kilos of fuel at takeoff (and actual orbital rockets are lots bigger than that) your casually-included 30% water winds up being 300 kilos of dead weight holding you back at liftoff. That's the place where it hurts most in terms of reaching high velocities. And as to bleached cats... Well, if some rocket-fuel grade peroxide spills on a cat, bleaching fur will be the least of its worries. Bear
