Re: [at-l] aaarrghh Stove Challenge

[CWells4638@aol.com]

I've been seeing similar posts for weeks now, but it wasn't until this 
morning that I was reminded of a similar challenge.  Somewhere out on that 
vast web is a page describing, complete with streaming video, how a group of 
rocket scientists (no joke) went at the challenge of reducing the starting 
time for the charcoal barbecue at their  annual company outing.  Eventually 
they hit on the secret which reduced the time from lighting the match to 
having a bed of glowing red coals to 1.4 seconds. (Again, no joke)  The 
secret was in their use of liquid oxygen.  By starting with about 100 pounds 
of charcoal and a small piece of burning paper, the liquid oxygen was poured 
over the pile by means of a large aluminum ladle with a 20 foot wooden 
handle.  At the end of that 1.4 seconds, the 100 pounds of charcoal had been 
reduced to around 30, all glowing nicely, the aluminum ladle was only 
recognizable as molten droplets around the pile of charcoal and about half of 
the 20 foot handle was gone.

There, I've given you the secret, it's up to you brave adventurers to apply 
it.  See you at the RUCK.  I'll be the guy in the Nomex fire suit.

Snail Male
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