🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec23.214002.8965@enterprise.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com>,  writes:
> In article <1992Dec23.081836.4720@adobe.com>, pngai@adobe.com (Phil Ngai) writes:
> > this: suppose I have a torch fueled by 10 gallons of gasoline. Do you
> > believe I could vaporize your "carbon carbon" fly wheel? How would
> > you compare that to the energy required to merely shred the material?
> 
> Nope, I don't believe you could vaporize a carbon carbon fly wheel with 10 
> pounds of gasoline (thats why we need to get heat of vaporization numbers).

He said 10 gallons.  But let's take that 10 pounds - that's 115,000 kCal.
Now let's take the heat of vaporization of carbon at 25 degrees - 14 kCal/g.
Thus, 115,000 kCal will vaporize 8 kg of carbon.  The 10 gallons would
vaporize 64 kg of carbon.  This is complete vaporization in the absence of
oxygen.  How big a flywheel were you considering?

> I do belive that you could burn the flywheel on fire with the torch, but
> that's not going to happen in a vacuum (or was that what you ment by 
> "vaporization").

Given the situation, the vacuum would be breached in short order, and the carbon
oxidized, contributing a small amount of energy to the explosion.

> however for any english majors out there please post!!  This thing
> is more important to you (as you are more numerous) than it is to 
> the technocrats.  

Why?  Why are exploding flywheels more important to english majors?
I would assume that as long as serious and technically competant people
can weed out technical proposals most lacking merit, that english majors
should not be interested in the least.  Afterall, that is why we have
english majors and scientists and engineers.  The english majors need to
be able to rely on the technical people to have knowledge of and solve
the vast majority of technical question before they are ever put before
the general public.  Otherwise, we would need everyone to be an expert
in everything and nothing would ever get done.

If an english major is interested, however, that is fine, and I think
any such questions should be answered.  However, I don't think english
majors are in a position to argue with the technical people any more
than the technical people are competant to argue with the english majors
in the fine details of their specialties.


--
Richard Stead
Center for Seismic Studies
Arlington, VA
stead@seismo.css.gov