Here is a link to my TED talk: B
I chose to do a presentation on the history of rockets! I hope you have a blast watching this (pun intended).
Link to Power point: Here
Link to Script and Bibliography: Here
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June 6, 2020 at 6:58 am
Good job Devon! I really enjoyed how you gave us a bit of insight on the history of the rocket before jumping into the science – it was really interesting learning about that! You mentioned a few of the reasons why we have adapted the rocket – talking about how how adding a parabolic nose cone decreases drag and such. You also mentioned how making the rocket lighter will help propel it further. Is this why many rockets today split apart at certain points in their flight, so they could go further by reducing weight?
June 6, 2020 at 5:30 pm
Good Question! And you are correct. Rockets come in stages mainly because all the extra parts of the ship that act as fuel containers are just dead weight once they’re emptied of fuel. By dropping them, you reduce both drag and weight, and therefore use up less fuel to reach the same altitude.
June 6, 2020 at 9:30 pm
Loved the talk. I’ve noticed that many modern rockets lack fins. Are there any advantages to not having fins? I’m assuming that as flight control technology has advanced, fins have lost their purpose as stabilizers and are now more of a dead weight.
William Ha TALONS 10
June 8, 2020 at 4:36 am
Yes! Fins are great in lower altitude flight adjustments, but once the air begins to thin out, they have less and less functionality. Once modern guidance systems and better thrust control came into play, many rocket designs just dropped fins entirely, or if there are fins they are very minimal.
June 8, 2020 at 3:30 am
You did a really good job on your talk! I loved the bit of backstory you gave and the fact you actually filmed yourself. One thing would be you fidgeted a bit, but that’s easily fixed and nothing to worry about. The only question I seem to have is an easy one, what are the latest rockets made of? What material makes up the main body?
June 8, 2020 at 4:36 am
Thank you! And to answer your question, for a long time rockets were made of carbon fiber materials, or expensive but durable metal alloys, but recently with Elon Musk’s rocket launches, they’ve started using stainless steel again, because it’s cheap, light, and has a high melting point.
June 8, 2020 at 4:43 am
Great Ted Talk Devon! You had a really engaging hook at the beginning, and like everyone else I really enjoyed the bit of history. You included a lot of information in a short amount of time. Something I would recommend altering is just including a few more slides relating to what you’re talking about, but other than that it was awesome! What kind of fuel do they use to power rockets?
June 8, 2020 at 5:05 am
Thanks! The short answer to your question is a great variety of chemicals. Some rockets use solid propellants, some use liquid, some use gasses, and some use hybrids. The overall fuel itself can vary greatly from rocket to rocket, and although some, like hydrogen peroxide for example, are harmful for the environment, others, like hydrogen oxygen hybrids are overall harmless because the resulting chemical is just water.
June 8, 2020 at 2:12 pm
Dang, I wasn’t expecting an inspirational ending, that was amazing!
(tHAt’S A lOt oF DamAgE)
Anyways, I don’t really have a wish, but I suppose there could’ve been some more slides. I was wondering though, how do rockets adapt when taking off/landing in different enviroments (ex. earth vs moon)?
June 8, 2020 at 4:47 pm
With the power of fLexTaPe- ehem, thank you! To answer your question, rockets, when taking off from different environments, require different amounts of fuel and such. For example, the moon has essentially no air, so the rocket doesn’t have to deal with drag but there’s no lift either. The gravity on the moon is roughly 1/6th of what it is on earth, so the rocket requires a significantly smaller amount of fuel in order to get off the ground. In total, the forces on the rocket alter depending on it’s environment, and therefore it would make sense to alter the design of the rocket slightly as well, in order to best fit it.
June 8, 2020 at 6:22 pm
Hi Devon! That was a really amazing TALON Talk! I loved how you went into depth about the history of rockets all the way to the present. You did a great job explaining and I understand rocket science a lot more. If I had one piece of advice I would recommend doing multiple takes that are cut together from different angles, but besides that, it looked amazing. I was wondering after all your research do you believe you have the knowledge to create your own model rocket?
June 8, 2020 at 6:53 pm
Thanks Colby! I sadly am not good at editing so I just went for the single take. Also yes, I feel like after doing all this research, I could definitely construct a successful model rocket. There are a few properties I am unsure of, such as fin size in proportion to rocket size, or how weight distribution will affect the course of flight in low atmosphere, but that gives good parameters for an experiment!
June 9, 2020 at 9:40 am
Excellent presentation Devon! Very good explanation with jokes mixed between. Since you did it in one take, you could have practiced it a little more to get it smoother. It was still really well done anyways though. I was curious about how you would find the perfect amount of fuel to weight ratio without doing physical testing (using a formula or other means?)?
June 9, 2020 at 8:00 pm
Thank you, Tyson! Very good question. There is a formula in order to find the correct ratio of fuel to weight, and it’s a bit above grade 9 math and science. I can’t really explain how it works, because I have yet to research it much myself, but it essentially calculates the maximum change in velocity of the vehicle using conservation of momentum and logarithmic functions. If you’re interested and want to learn more, it’s called the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.