— I lei .1„ . Qdrnbosti. i CR" 'k 4. 4 4 i - r -- , i, l 1 frocgipol I r -1 Armor Demonstration Weekend Travel back to the Renaissance this vieekend ‘.ihth armor demonstrations by a live-steel fight group featuring period clothing and weaponry. Great Hall, Friday at 7:45 p.m., Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m., Sunday at 2 and 4 p.rn. Friday Night Live! Uncommon Temperament brings a bold, net; approach to performing Baroque music. Known for their daring programming and historically accurate performances, they gill present music from the time of Rembrandt. Rivera Court, 7 and 8:30 p.m. Now On View Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus NOV through February 12 Tickets a iailable at dia.org or 313.833.4005. D A -, Harry Kirsbaum C DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS ; r Got Ice (ream? Why settle for cake and ice cream when you can make your own fun? with Eskimo Jacks"', you choose the flavors, and your guests get to create their own sandwich combos • Bar/Bat Mituah • Birthday/Holiday • Corporate Party 248.3s1.56q$ vAmeskimojacksam • • • ■ SO% • •■ fadooluom/Eslanaladci twittersom/Eskimalat "LIKE" us and get free OM ■ set up fee ■ • on your first party cart order so* y our partr af 2_29-12 • • ■ ■ ■ ■ • Log on to Monline.us giveaways • forums • calendars VISIT JNonline.us 18 January 19 . 2012 Technion professor discusses the latest in rocket propellants. Contributing Writer Find info on these and other events at www.dia.org S 2 r; Defending Israel all Benny Natan a rocket scientist, and he'll probably correct you. The professor and head of the Missile Propulsion Laboratory at Technion: Israel Institute of Technology refers to him- self in simpler terms. "I'm a pyromaniac:' he told a small but rapt group of mostly retired engineers at the American Technion Society in Farmington Hills on Jan 12."I enjoy fires, and the people who deal with propulsion, most of them are pyromaniacs, too." Natan, born in Salonika, Greece, in 1954, made aliyah and entered directly into Technion when he was 18. Now he lords over 26 fellow pyro- maniacs in developing rocket propel- lants that will help defend Israel. Natan was near the end of a six-city swing through the United States when he stopped in Detroit to talk about his studies and give a short lesson on gel propellants, ramjets and rocket sci- ence. "Propellant is actually the material that propels the missile or the air- plane he said. Until recently only solid or liquid propellant existed, and each had advantages and drawbacks. "Solid propellant is low cost, simple and reliable, and is like baking a cake he said. "Take some liquid plastic, add some oxidizer, add something that increases the burning rate and mix it together. Put it in an oven at 350 degrees for a week or so, and it's ready." But once you ignite it, it cannot be extinguished and restarted. And there are safety problems during storage. With liquid propellants, the fuel and oxidizer are kept in separate tanks. The performance is very good, and the thrust can be regulated and stopped in the middle of the burn, but the system is complex and costly. A gel propellant is basically a liquid with a gelling agent. It has the advan- tages of both solid and liquid propel- lant with few of the drawbacks. It stores like a solid, "like Jell-0," he said. Gel propellant also has uses outside of defense. It could be developed to transport other liquids, like oil. "The Exxon Valdez spill could have been cleaned up easier, had it been mixed with gel: he said. The gel propellant he is developing is used in ramjet engines, which can be described as "flying pipes!' Air comes into the engine, the fuel is added, and the thermal energy is transformed into kinetic energy, and then thrust comes out of the nozzle. "We can design a missile that is very efficient, reach a target that is in strategic range with a tactical size,' he said.