The Investigation of Heat Transfer Problems Using a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

by Ben R. Rich

Thesis (M.S.)--University of California, Los Angeles - Engineering
OCLC Number: 15451862

96 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1951

Reviews

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skunk Works was created in 1943 and has been one of the most top secret military contractors. Ben R. Rich was their former chief and in this memoir he tells what he can about developing and working on various aircraft including the P-80, the U-2 and the F-117A. The science behind the stealth technology was especially fascinating.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book and I thank him again. It was an excellent read and I definitely recommend if you find the jacket of interest. My favorite passage and one of the key takeaways for me personally follows. Context, the author is planning to attend an exec MBA program and he is seeking his bosses approval...

He backed me even though he insisted it would be a complete waste of my time. "I'll teach you all you need to know about running a company in one afternoon, and we'll both go home early to boot. You don't need Harvard to teach you that it's more important to listen than to talk. You can get straight A's from all your Harvard profs, but you'll never make the grade unless you are decisive: even a timely wrong decision is better than no decision. The final thing you need to know is don't half heartedly wound problems - kill them dead."

Great advice in my experience. And a great read on the creation and thrift of an industry that has bloated to historical proportions.

[Roddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've sort of fallen into this "man-track" of reading non-fiction lately, but I am glad I did on this one. Ben Rich is the former head of Skunkworks - the highly classified arm of Lockheed-Martin that designed such airplanes as the U-2 and the SR-71. They basically invented deflection stealth technology. This book is about his career and all the technical hurdles Skunkworks came up against during the construction of these awesome machines. Some of the stories he tells are hilarious (like when he almost blew up Burbank - great stuff!) Anyway, if you like Aerospace at all, you will not go wrong here.


Weird - when I wrote this review it was for "Skunkworks" (also by Ben Rich). I'm sure that heat transfer problems and their mach-zehnder inferometers are equally amazing.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

top 5

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for engineers of all types. Essentially a collection of short stories about various Skunkworks projects, it's interesting from a technical, tech cultural, and historical perspective.