M-D9: Rocket propulsion
 
PIRA: 1F20.32 

Equipment: CO₂ cartridge (K-mart, Target or Wal-mart have the cartridges, although Wal-mart has the lowest price as of 1990), spring driven firing pin, rocket car mounted to roll on wire in lecture Room 5. The location for the CO₂ jet and firing pin is Set 9, Cabinet 3, Shelf 3.

Procedure: See that the rocket car wheels on the suspension wire roll freely on the wire. Place the cartridge in the car with the tip sticking out. Cock the spring of the device that drives the firing pin and push the firing device firmly on the tip of the cartridge while holding firmly to the rocket behind the wings. Release the trigger and the car will take off with surprising speed.

Caution: Hold the hands in such a position that if the cartridge sticks to the firing device, the blast of CO₂ will not strike the fingers. They can be frostbitten this way.

"Comment: Before 1960 students did not seem to grasp the basic nature of rocket propulsion easily. It was difficult for them to understand that rockets functioned best in a vacuum; they felt the jet must have something to ‘push on.’ Since 1960 and the rocketry of the space age students seem to have absorbed considerable correct information about rocket propulsion, and the instructor need only comment on the highlights." ¾Percy Carr (1970)