Just had to tell somebody who'd appreciate it...

[D_Hall]

Yeah, I know, this thread will get closed and such but oh well, I had to brag....

Yesterday I got to tour a nitroglycerine factory. They were even kind enough to put a few drops out and smack it with a hammer. Bang. Bang.

Have I mentioned that I love my job?

[Crna Legija]

ahhh i need a better job

[SpudFarm]

From experience: Nasty stuff, though it is worse things out there don't make it at home

I would love to have a job that includes handling explosives. My passion for spud guns probably make me a machinist though.

[jrrdw]

They were even kind enough to put a few drops out and smack it with a hammer. Bang. Bang.

Did the hammer have enough recoil to hit the swinger in the forehead?

[inonickname]

They were even kind enough to put a few drops out and smack it with a hammer. Bang. Bang.

Did the hammer have enough recoil to hit the swinger in the forehead?

From experience, not at all.

[geardog32]

what exactly is your job title D_HALL and what education do you have in order to get that job?

[SpudFarm]

and what education do you have in order to get that job?

Seems like he is doing some research and developement stuff. A spudders dream. Also seems as he is the person calling the shots to some degree.

For the education, I would say he has a doctor degree in fun!

[Zeus]

This is qualfication enough

[D_Hall]

what exactly is your job title D_HALL and what education do you have in order to get that job?

I have two job titles. Which one applies depends on the task I'm currently trying to accomplish. Both allow me to play with things that go boom but only one allows me to actually MAKE things go boom.

Title 1) Mechanical Engineer. Obviously, this one requires the degree to go along with it.

Title 2) Firing Officer. This is likely the job title you're interested in as it's the one that enables me to run the show and make things go boom. There are no specific educational requirements as the knowledge base required simply isn't taught in school(*). In addition, not just anybody can aspire to be an FO. It takes a certain personality. As such, we NEVER hire somebody to be an FO. FOs are ALWAYS appointed based on personnel already in our employ. Why? Because it means we've had a chance to observe them over a prolonged period of time. We know how good they are with the toys. We know their personality. We've seen how they handle stress. We know how well they do/don't deal with other people. We've seen them in leadership roles. Blah blah blah.

All that said, FOs are almost always prior military (a couple exceptions, but damned few) and more than a few are prior special forces.

Beyond that, there are different FO appointments. Some are pretty straight forward and have no educational requirements beyond what I've already said. Others are a bit different and to be honest, there's no way they'd ever let a non-engineer hold the slot. I'm in one of the "engineer only" slots. Which "type" of FO slot is involved is dependent upon the type and complexity of the testing involved.


(*) With a few exceptions. New Mexico Tech at Socorro being the most obvious.

[geardog32]

Well I think i'm on my way to something of the sort, I just recently switched from EE to ME (In my third year) and I have been working for a large gun dealer for 6 years. I don't have any military experience, but i was just curious about what you would actually call your job. hopefully when I graduate I can get a job that I love too.

[jimmy101]

So, for all the kids reading, the take home lesson is he is an Mechanical Engineer. (Bachelors degree at least.) The FO job came from experience, there is no formal education. But the "ticket in the door" is an engineering degree. No degree and your probably pushing a broom in Dave's lab.

Small possibility that a chemistry of physics degree could get you a similar job, particularly if you are into the research aspects. For those two fields a BS won't cut it. Figure a PhD to get in the door. Th PhD would have to be in an area directly related to the types of research the lab is doing. Perhaps something along the lines of exotic materials or high energy explosives.

The attrition rate in most engineering schools pushes nearly 50%. Physics and chemistry are nearly as high.

Pre-med, for an undergrad, is probably easier academically.

[D_Hall]

And today I got to go do this (see video). OK, the video isn't from today, but same place and activity.

[Technician1002]

Hmm, light arrived at the stoke of 4 seconds and the sound arrived at the stoke of 10 seconds. The 1.4 miles is only an estimate.. or sound traveled a little fast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound

about one mile in five seconds.

[D_Hall]

Well, to be fair, strong shock waves DO travel faster than the speed of sound. The SOS is a lower limit for the speed at which a shock wave will travel. I don't happen to keep that particular piece of math memoried (but could look it up this evening when I've got more time if folks care). Suffice to say that the speed of a shock is related to the strength of the shock. The stronger the shock, the faster it travels.

For an obovious case... Imagine the leading edige a detached bow shock on a supersonic sphere.... That shock is moving at the same speed as the sphere: faster than Mach 1.

But shocks lose strength very quickly and "return" to the speed of sound quickly in normal situations. As such, the SOS makes a good approximation.

However, when you're dealing with very strong shocks, all bets are off.... Yes, they can cover measurable distances at faster than the speed of sound.

[jimmy101]

However, when you're dealing with very strong shocks, all bets are off.... Yes, they can cover measurable distances at faster than the speed of sound.

Just look at videos on atomic blast. You can often see the shock wave traveling a heck of a lot faster than the main blast wave.