posted 09-30-2010 12:29 AM               

Both jet-engine propelled aircraft and long-range rockets were first successfully flown during World War II. This led 10 rapid post-war improvements in both, and within two decades we had supersonic airplanes, communication satellites, and trips to the moon. Unmanned probes to Mars and the outer planets followed, as well as the International Space Station.

The technology behind these advances is described, along with short biographies of key pioneers. Problems at high Mach numbers are reviewed. Possible future developments are discussed. Mora technical details, including mathematics, are in an appendix.

About the Author
Raymond Friedman obtained a doctorate in chemical engineering and physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. His thesis was a study of hydrogen combustion, supported by the Office of Naval Research. He was employed for ten years at Westinghouse Research Laboratories, where he conducted research mainly related to high-altitude flame-out of turbojet engines. He published papers on the mechanism of combustion. Then he worked for 14 years at Atlantic Research Corporation, primarily on projects related to solid-propellant rockets. Atlantic Research pioneered in introducing aluminum powder as a propellant ingredient, and also in using continuous copper wires to accelerate burning rate of sounding rockets. He became vice president in charge of the Research Division of Atlantic Research. Subsequently, he was a consultant to NASA on combustion. He was president of the Combustion Institute (an international organization) for four years. He served on several committees of the National Research Council. He is author of three books: Principles of Fire Protection Chemistry, Problem Solving for Engineers and Scientists, and The Foreseeable Future.

• Paperback: 128 pages
  
• Publisher: Xlibris Corporation (April 15, 2010)
  
• ISBN-10: 1450065899
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1450065894