The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 17, 1990
Filed:
Mar. 31, 1988
Derek A Tidman, Falls Church, VA (US);
GT-Devices, Alexandria, VA (US);
Abstract
Atmospheric drag and heating of the forwardmost portions of high speed transatmospheric vehicles and projectiles are reduced by lowering the atmospheric mass density immediately forward of a moving body. A fine high speed stream or jet of a material containing a chemically interactive component is ejected forwardly of such a body moving at high speed with respect to the atmosphere and, in a preferred embodiment of this invention ignites by interaction with the oncoming atmosphere and forms a sustained zone of combustion that, in effect, acts as a maintained 'fireball' that explodes away ambient atmosphere transversely of the moving body so that there is generated a zone of low atmospheric density immediately in front of the forwardmost portion of the body. A supply of ejectable material and equipment for forcibly driving the same through a nozzle are carried with the body. The ejected material is preferably pressurized to render it flowable before ejection. The addition of fine particulate material and/or material forming long chain molecules to the flammable component of ejected material facilitates projection of the fireball ahead of the moving body and, also, to increase the transverse dimension of the zone of reduced atmospheric mass density generated thereby.