and the big star is: The Rocket Lab!

Who hasn't done at least one little joke about building a rocket in Israel?...

I've met some of the people who actually work on it at the Technion. And I've seen them at work!I can tell you that even I would become a pyromaniac if I worked there. It's absolutely amazing and thrilling.

Here's a small record of a static experiment with a solid propellant (a kind of wax). This propellant is very strong but the problem is that a part of it melts instead of burning. They are now trying to figure out ways of reducing the amount of melting propellant and they have to try it over and over again.

A burning rocket produces a deafening noise and a flame of approximately 3000K (equivalent to 2730°C). Remember that at the surface of the Sun the temperature is around 5780K, equivalent to 5510°C.
The burning takes only about 10 seconds, but watching it gives you an adrenaline burst. Please watch the movie, it's worth it.

Movie by Sebastian, all rights reserved ;)
(If you can't see the movie, please leave me a comment and I'll send it to you.)

The Turbo & Jet Engine Lab

Despite what you may think, we work here. I don't work as much as in Portugal - far from it, thank whoever - but I get up at 8 every morning to go to work. Actually, some of the other students are really working hard. For them there's no going to the beach after work and no posting in blogs during it.

Until now, I've only worked at the computer, but there are engines and airplanes (big toy airplanes...).

You can find some of the airplanes in these pictures.

The orange engine is the 10m one. Maybe you can't notice it here, but it's huge.

This engine doesn't work. It's just a model to show students how it is inside.

Here's a control platform for tests. Each big engine has one of these platforms. I've seen two. I never saw any of them working, but I can imagine that everything else must stop when these little boys are running.

And yes, they are old and expensive. Prof Yeshayahou [Eshaiao] told me that they are planning to renew them.

Of course my job has nothing to do with these toys. What I do is only computer simulation: I have to program some precise equations for the thermodynamic cycle of an engine. Kyriaki, the girl who works here too, is handling the general design of the engine with a comercial software.

Apart from our simulation jobs, we may also take part in small practical experiments.

The example of this morning was not the case: today we only watched.

One of the guys who works here is a PhD student called Yladi. At the moment, he and his partner are watching an action movie in the computer.
But during the morning he did an experiment with the engine he's working on. The aim was to measure the combustion gases under various conditions trying to find out what are the best conditions for that specific engine.

Believe me, being in there with the combustion gases at a temperature of 1200 degrees and all the noise is an exciting experience.

There's more to say about the surrounding labs and other experiments, but I guess I already bored you enough for today.
Hope now you believe that I also work.