Rocket Bodies and Nose Cones

Rocket Bodies

    The body of a rocket is not one of the more influential parts.  The purpose of the body is to house the fuel.  It is often in the form of a hollow cylinder because it reduces the amount surface area that is in contact with the air.  This in turn reduces drag.  However, the length of the rocket does affect how the rocket performs.  As the rocket becomes longer, it creates more surface area.  This increase in surface area causes the rocket to have a straighter path in flight.  For this reason, fins are added to the rear of many rockets to add surface area, and stabilize the rear of the rocket.




This is a picture of a model rocket with stabilizing fins and nose cone attached.
(http://www.hobbytron.net/model-rockets.html?AID=10117481&PID=1376334)

Nose Cones

    The nose cone is on of the most crucial part of a rocket.  The nose cone of a rocket acts as a way to punch a hole in the atmosphere.  Over the course of time, there have been many designs for the nose cone of rockets.  However, most of them have tried to imitate the aerodynamics of bullets.  The velocity and purpose that the rocket is going to be use for is often the biggest consideration that is looked at when choosing a nose cone.  At super sonic speeds, a conical shaped cone is more preferable because it punches through the atmosphere.  But at subsonic speeds, a domed shape is more preferable because it causes less drag.  It causes less drag because it has less surface area.



These nose cones are just some of the shapes that are available for use in model rockets.
(http://www.apogeerockets.com/make_nose_cones.asp)

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