Beating swine flu blues

With the government locking down schools,colleges and multiplexes due to the spread of the H1N1 virus...

While most students utilise the sudden break from college to catch up on their studies,read books and watch movies,these three budding engineers are using the unexpected free time in a unique way

With the government locking down schools,colleges and multiplexes due to the spread of the H1N1 virus,most students are at their wits end trying to find things to keep them occupied. However,this trio is making use of the time on their hands in an interesting manner: by building a working-scale model of a rocket.

Salil Bavdekar,Suraj Monga and Ankur Khangaokar,students of Sinhagad College of Engineering,Sinhagad Academy of Engineering (Kondhwa) and Marathwada Mitramandal College of Engineering respectively,started building the rocket a week ago,and after numerous tests and prototypes,hope to be finished with the final model soon.

The rocket is made out of plastic,with a metal nozzle,with cement used to hold its various parts together. The engine is a PVC pipe covered at either end with clay,and it contains the fuel used to power the rocket. The finished model will have dimensions of about 45-50 centimetres in length,with a diameter of 4 centimetres. The rocket,on launching,can travel to an incredible height of 500-600 metres. A mixture of potassium nitrate and sucrose has been used as the fuel to power the rocket to this great height.

The main component,potassium nitrate,is not very easy to find,but fortunately we managed to get it last week,so we could start the ignition and launch tests. The ignition testing is especially important,because we have to get the fuel mixture and burn-time exactly right for the rocket to launch properly, says Salil.

This break from college has helped us a lot,because we normally dont get time to get together and work on the rocket due to our busy schedules, Suraj says.

We plan to continue working on the rocket even after college reopens,on weekends,holidays,or whenever else we get time, adds Ankur. But only minor adjustments and tweaks are left. We managed to get the bulk of our work done during this unexpected swine flu vacation, he smiles.

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