SCIENCE
112 Pages, 5.75 x 7.75
Trade Paper, $16.95 (US $16.95) (CA $18.95)
Publication Date: October 2009
ISBN 9781556529603
Rights: US & CA
Chicago Review Press (Oct 2009)
Anyone can recycle a plastic bottle by tossing it into a bin, but it takes a bit of skill to propel it into a bin from 500 feet away, and this fun guide features 20 different easy-to-launch rockets that can be built from discarded plastic drink bottles. After learning how to construct and launch a basic model, readers find new ways to modify and improve their designs, including built-on fins, nosecones, and parachutes that enable a rocket to float safely back to earth. More complex designs include two-, three-, and five-bottle rockets, gliding rockets, long-tail rockets, cluster rockets, whistling rockets, ring-finned rockets, and a jumbo version made from a five-gallon water-cooler tank. Clear, step-by-step instructions with full-color illustrations accompany each project, along with photographs of the author firing his creations into the sky.
Paul Jarvis is a full-time engineer and a trained pyrotechnician.