Science Projects And Inventions

"It has often proved true that the dream of yesterday is the hope of today, and the reality of tomorrow." 

Dr. Robert Goddard, American scientist

Robert Goddard (1882-1945) gave serious thought to how we might get to the Moon. Despite being met with ridicule, what he gave to rocketry is still being used today. Using mathematics, Goddard worked out the energy-to-weight ratios of various fuels. This showed that gunpowder would never be powerful enough to lift a rocket into space. Also, to burn fuel in a vacuum, a rocket would have to carry it^ own oxygen supply to get around these problems, Goddard used gasoline as a fuel and mixed it with liquid oxygen. Oxygen as a gas takes up a lot of space, but as a liquid it gives the rocket a lot of energy with much less weight and volume. In 1914 Goddard patented the first liquid-fueled rocket.

Twelve years later, after many failed experiments, Goddard took "Nell," a 9-foot-tall (3 m) rocket, out to a field. Getting an assistant to light the fuse with a blowtorch on a stick, he saw the rocket rest for a second, then shoot about 30 feet (12 m) into the air before tipping over and crashing into a field. The flight lasted two and half seconds, at an average speed of 60 miles per hour (96 kph). In addition to proving his theory to be sound, Goddard had laid the foundations for every space-going rocket since.