Sounds like they ripped off Atari's "Missile Command" game . . . . <br clear="all"><br>Keith Hoard<br>Collierville, TN<br><a href="mailto:khoard@gmail.com">khoard@gmail.com</a><br><br><br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 2:00 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jh102649@speakeasy.net">jh102649@speakeasy.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<br>
Its been a long time so my memory may be wrong but I think the US produced a<br>
missile, called the Sprint, that went 0->mach 10 in a few seconds. It was a short<br>
range, nuclear armed, anti-missile missile. If it was ever deployed it was only<br>
for a short time because the ABM treaty outlawed them. In the movies I've seen of<br>
its launch you cannot see it once it clears the silo. If the information in<br>
Wikipedia is correct the top fuel dragster is much slower. Following is the<br>
Wikipedia article:<br>
<br>
The Sprint was a two-stage, solid-fuel anti-ballistic missile, armed with a W66<br>
enhanced radiation thermonuclear warhead. It was designed as the short-range<br>
high-speed counterpart to the longer-range LIM-49 Spartan as part of the Sentinel<br>
program. Sentinel never became operational, but the technology was deployed<br>
briefly in a downsized version called the Safeguard program. The Sprint, like the<br>
Spartan, was in operational service for only a few months in the Safeguard<br>
program, from October 1975 to early 1976. A combination of high costs,<br>
congressional opposition, and questionable efficacy resulted in a very short<br>
operational period.<br>
<br>
The Sprint accelerated at 100 g, reaching a speed of Mach 10 in 5 seconds. It was<br>
designed for close-in defense against incoming nuclear weapons. As the last line<br>
of defense it was to intercept the reentry vehicles that had not been destroyed<br>
by the Spartan, with which it was deployed.<br>
<br>
The Sprint was stored in and launched from a silo. To make the launch as quick as<br>
possible, the cover was blown off the silo by explosive charges, then the missile<br>
was ejected by an explosive-driven piston. As the missile cleared the silo, the<br>
first stage fired and the missile was tilted toward its target. The first stage<br>
was exhausted after only 1.2 seconds, but produced 2,900 kN (650,000 lbf) of<br>
thrust. The second stage fired within 1 - 2 seconds of launch. Interception at an<br>
altitude of 1,500 m to 30,000 m took at most 15 seconds.<br>
<br>
The Sprint was controlled by ground-based radio command, which tracked the<br>
incoming reentry vehicles with phased-array radar and guided the missile to its<br>
target.<br>
<br>
The Sprint was armed with an enhanced radiation nuclear warhead with a yield<br>
reportedly of a few kilotons, though the exact number has not been declassified.<br>
The warhead was intended to destroy the incoming reentry vehicle primarily by<br>
neutron flux.<br>
<br>
Perhaps we are talking about manned vehicles?<br>
Jeff Hill<br>
<br>
On Mon Oct 24 9:04 , Dennis Bodary <<a href="mailto:d_bodary@yahoo.com">d_bodary@yahoo.com</a>> sent:<br>
<br>
>For someone who has seen a Top Fuel car in Person. Every one should see one at<br>
least once your speakers on television do nothing for you. It can best be<br>
described as violent. Not to mention your whole body hurts from the sound on<br>
Acceleration. The cars are Brutal<br>
><br>
>--- On Mon, 10/24/11, Keith Black <<a href="mailto:tkeithblack@gmail.com">tkeithblack@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
>From: Keith Black <<a href="mailto:tkeithblack@gmail.com">tkeithblack@gmail.com</a>><br>
>Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Fw: ~Defining Acceleration~<br>
>To: "General pattern discussion" <<a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org</a>><br>
>Date: Monday, October 24, 2011, 10:59 AM<br>
><br>
>Awesome Nat, thanks for sharing!<br>
><br>
>On Monday, October 24, 2011, Nat Penton <<a href="mailto:natpenton@centurytel.net">natpenton@centurytel.net</a>> wrote:<br>
>> Â <br>
>> ----- Original Message -----<br>
>> From: Larry Smith<br>
><br>
>> To: Larry Smith<br>
>> Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 9:11 PM<br>
>> Subject: ~Defining Acceleration~<br>
>> For those who love numbers, engineers, speed freaks and those who think they<br>
have gone too fast at one time or another. This puts Corvette performance in<br>
perspective. This article mentions Lingenfelter twin turbo powered Z06. <br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â Read this thru slowly and try to comprehend the amount of force produced in<br>
just under 4 seconds! The last paragraph puts it all into perspective !<br>
>><br>
>> Â There are no rockets or airplanes built by any government in the world that<br>
can accelerate from a standing start as fast as a Top Fuel Dragster or Funny<br>
Car…..and that includes any aircraft launched by a catapult from an aircraft<br>
carrier. Nothing can compare…..<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â Â <br>
>><br>
>> </mail/u/0/s/?view=att&th=13336586af337a16&attid=0.0.1&disp=emb&zw><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> DEFINITION OF ACCELERATION<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â Â Â Â <br>
>> One top fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than<br>
the first 4 rows of stock cars at the Daytona 500.<br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> It takes just 15/100ths (0.15) of a second for all 6,000+ horsepower (some<br>
believe 8,000 HP is more realistic - there are no dynomometers capable of<br>
measuring) of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2 gallons of nitromethane<br>
per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less<br>
energy being produced.<br>
>><br>
><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the<br>
dragster's supercharger.<br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> With 3,000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the<br>
fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.<br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> At the stoichiometric (stoichiometry: methodology and technology by which<br>
quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions are determined) 1.7:1<br>
air/fuel mixture of nitromethane, the flame front temperature measures 7,050 deg<br>
F. (Oxy-acetylene on "cut" is 6,300)<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks<br>
at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the<br>
searing exhaust gases.<br>
>><br>
><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc<br>
welder in each cylinder.<br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during one pass. After halfway,<br>
the engine is dieseling from compression, plus the glow of exhaust valves at<br>
1,400 deg F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the<br>
affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads<br>
off the block in pieces or split the block in half.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate<br>
an average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph well before half-track, the<br>
launch acceleration approaches 8G's.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed reading this<br>
sentence.<br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Top fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light! <br>
Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> The redline is actually quite high at 9,500 rpm.<br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once<br>
NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimate $1,000.00 per second.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> The current top fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.428 seconds for the<br>
quarter mile (11/12/06, Tony Schumacher, at Pomona , CA ). The top speed record<br>
is 336.15 mph as measured over the last 66' of the run (05/25/05 Tony Schumacher,<br>
at Hebron , OH ).<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Putting all of this into perspective:<br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter 'twin-turbo' powered<br>
Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a top fuel dragster is staged and ready<br>
to launch down a quarter mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a<br>
flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the<br>
starting line and pass the dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green<br>
for both of you at that instant.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but<br>
you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 3<br>
seconds, the dragster catches and passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a<br>
quarter mile away from where you just passed him.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> Think about it, from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 mph<br>
and not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you<br>
within a mere 1,320 foot long race course.<br>
><br>
>><br>
>> Â <br>
>><br>
>> ...... and that my friend, is ACCELERATION!<br>
>><br>
>><br>
><br>
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