9/30/2005
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Each Fall, as part of Engineering 319, Professors Heun and Sykes try to have the Burton Street Station of the Grand Rapids Fire Department provide a demonstration of the reaction forces in a nozzle. In September 2005, Lt. Eric Freeman, Randy Bosch and Cory Kernodle brought Engine 6 to the Prince Conference Center. They described their equipment and procedures and then let the students feel--hands on--the reaction forces that must be opposed by a fireman or their equipment when, say 1250 gallons/minute of water is being poured on a fire to cool, smother and quench it. This is great fun but a real learning experiience for the students to feel what a 2000 Newton reaction force feels like. Each can tell you of the great surprise they experienced of nearly falling on their face when the water flow was stopped but they were still providing the reaction force resistance! |
