wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (04/27/84)
In the vein of 'spinoffs', I have a question concerning the heat tiles used on the shuttles. From what I understood and read (from the media, so I don't trust the reports 100%), the tiles are designed to absorb heat on reentry and dissipate the heat over a longer period of time. I seem to recall a news report that featured a guy heating a tile with a torch for about a minute, then picking up the tile with his bare hands and not being burned. Now, my question is, if the tiles do indeed have this property, would it be possible to line a gas or oil=fired furnace with these tiles, apply heat for a short period, then turn off the heat and allow the stored heat to slowly dissipate, thus providing a heat source over a long period of time and saving fuel? Could this be a possible use in the area of conservation? If engineered correctly, could a whole new generation of devices be developed to take advantage of the heat retention properties of the tiles? T. C. Wheeler
rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe) (04/27/84)
> I seem to recall a news report that featured a guy heating a tile > with a torch for about a minute, then picking up the tile with his > bare hands and not being burned. > T. C. Wheeler The person probably picked up a tile by its corners, which can indeed be done safely. Handling a face of a tile would seriously burn you. Roger Noe ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
jam@ho95b.UUCP (Joe) (04/27/84)
I also saw something on television once about the shuttle tiles - After showing how they were made and how and why each one is individually shaped, they had a graphic demo of their insulating properties. They took a red-hot tile out of a furnace, and then came back a while later when the core of the tile was still glowing cherry red (you could see it through the sides of the tile). A man simply picked it up, handled it thoroughly, and passed it to a reporter. The outside was obviously cool enough to handle while the inside was still red-hot! They went on to explain some of the history behind the long effort to develop the material that could perform so well, but I forget the details.
cmaz504@ut-ngp.UUCP (04/27/84)
That's funny I thought it was just the opposite:the tiles are suppose to dissipate heat very quickly. One story I heard said that during one of the demonstartions after he had heated the thing up to >1000 degrees the engineer grabbed hold and nearly burned his fingerprints off. Apparnetly the tile only cools quickly on the edge and he grabbed it in the middle (could be the other way around).
bytebug@pertec.UUCP (05/28/84)
> I got the sample at the first launch.
Were they handing them out, or did you get one of the ones that fell off?