Ted Kinsman is a scientific photographer that specializes in creating images for books, magazines, and television. His particular areas of interest are in x-ray radiography, high-speed photography, Scanning electron microscopy, and time-lapse cinematography. His work has appeared in numerous books and magazines ranging from Discover Magazine to Forbes. Recently his work has appeared on Gray's Anatomy and CSI New York. In addition to running 
B.N. (Bobbie) Sullivan has a strong affinity for the sea and everything in it. She first learned to dive in 1970 and has since logged thousands of dives. A wish to document the marine life she encountered prompted her to learn underwater photography more than 20 years ago. More recently, she began to write about the marine life she has photographed. A research psychologist by profession, she approaches her subject matter with the mindset of a scientist, but targets her writing to a general readership in whom she hopes to foster an appreciation for the ocean and its inhabitants.
B Jefferson Bolender is Training Coordinator of the State of Arizona's
program for disability awareness and assistive technology. Through
her travels she always has a camera at hand to photograph everything
from people to technology and nature. As a teacher of elementary
education, special education and art, her interests include a wide
array of subject matter with an emphasis on documentation with an
artist's eye.
Steve Jurvetson enjoys rocketry and photography and especially the pursuit of both in the Black Rock Desert. Some action photos and video links can be found 
Alex Wild is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he works on the molecular phylogenetics of various groups of insects. He is also a part-time photographer whose images appear in such venues as Ranger Rick, Smithsonian, BBC Wildlife, and even ScienceBlogs.
Beyond the thrust curve, there is an art to the color of the propellant (achieved through special metal salt additives).
My 9 ft tall Sledgehammer, lifting off on a M1550 Redline motor from Aerotech, one of my favorite photos:
The shadow of dusk in the foreground really lets the color pop. The smoke and dust is not red, but looks like cotton candy illuminated by the intensely bright red flame.
Here is a picture perfect launch of my V2.0 with an L730 motor imported from Cesaroni, a Canadian aerospace & defense company. Their unique thermoplastic propellant burns cleanly (few additives), showing multiple shock diamonds. In the foreground is a videocam on tripod for scale. Black Rock is in the distance:
This V2 photo is also the current cover of Sport Rocketry magazine.
In the past year, Aerotech introduced Mohave Green, and Erik captured my Thug's final supersonic flight (the motor literally presses up against the nose cone of this stubby rocket:
My night launch is with the Green Gorilla propellant from Animal Motor Works (AMW) in the Black Rock Desert.
Metal ions combine with electrons in the flame, and the metal atoms are raised to excited states because of the high flame temperature. Upon returning to the ground state, they give off light (from their line spectrum) characteristic of that metal. The ions come from metal chlorides: Barium Chloride (BaCl) for green, Copper Chloride (CuCl) for blue, or Strontium Chloride (SrCl) for red. These metal chlorides generally do not exist at room temperature or are too reactive to add as an additive, so precursors are mixed in, and they react during the burn to create the desired molecules. The Chlorine comes from the Ammonium Perchlorate oxidizer for free, and one need only add metal salts such as nitrates or carbonates to provide the metal (unfortunately, they are hygroscopic and have less energy content than the APCP oxidizer, so as with most additives, they tend to be more show and less go). So, for example, Barium Nitrate is the additive that forms BaCl during the burn to emit a laser-like green in the flame.
Titanium sponge gives a sparky motor, like the AMW Skidmark one I launched on Sunday, followed by one by Vern and my buddy Erik at dusk:
The sparks exact a huge penalty on performance though, adding weight, soaking up heat to get them white hot, and adding almost nothing to the thrust.
And in contrast to the plume colors, one can go for all smoke and no fire, as seen in this cluster of three smokey Blackjacks:
Most of the white "smoke" behind a rocket is actually water vapor like a cloud condensed on the hyrdrochloric acid micro-droplets in the exhaust.
White smoke can be enhanced with zinc dust and black smoke from a unbalanced fuel/oxidizer ratio where the fuel does not burn completely and leaves the nozzle as smoke. The smokey motors are some of the least efficient - "all show and no go."
Technology
Physical Science
Comments
Congrats on the cover, Steve! That's a brilliant photo.
Posted by: Alex | May 22, 2009 5:29 PM
Thanks!
As they say, going up the the easy part. Here is the ballistic return of my V2:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/881316427/
P.S. I also added some of the science behind the rocket science in the text above.
Posted by: jurvetson | May 22, 2009 9:13 PM
Here is a picture perfect launch of my V2.0 with an L730 motor imported from Cesaroni, a Canadian aerospace & defense company. Their unique thermoplastic propellant burns cleanly (few additives), showing multiple shock diamonds. In the foreground is a videocam on tripod for scale. Black Rock is in the distance:
thanks..
Posted by: metin2 hilem | May 12, 2010 5:38 AM