Discovery - Colonel (Dr.) John Paul Stapp

Colonel (Dr.) John Paul Stapp

1950's -- Colonel (Dr.) John Paul Stapp at The New Mexico Museum of Space History. He was a frequent and most welcomed visitor to the Center. Stapp was not only the "fastest human on earth;" he was the quickest to stop. In 1954, America's original Rocketman attained a then-world record land speed of 632 mph, going from a standstill to a speed faster than a .45 bullet in five seconds on an especially-designed rocket sled, and then screeched to a dead stop in 1.4 seconds, sustaining more than 40g's of thrust, all in the interest of safety. Image and Caption Source: U.S. Air Force www.af.mil

Colonel John Paul Stapp’s work (discussed in the last post) is yet another example of discovery which can both mitigate a risk and intuit a reward (Discovery - Part 4 post). His work with rocket sleds was able to determine human physiological limits in sustaining g-forces. This work, conducted at Edwards Air Force Base and later at Holloman Air Force Base used a rocket sled that accelerated to great speeds and was then decelerated using a water brake. While testing on the rocket sled, Colonel Stapp underwent g-forces of greater than 40 g’s.

Source: Wikipedia artice on Colonel Stapp (via U.S. Air Force www.af.mil)

Colonel Stapp’s work subjected him to a multitude of stresses and injuries as a test subject, including retinal damage, fractures and broken limbs and ribs.

Colonel Stapp’s work was instrumental in facilitating use of high speed aircraft and ventures into outer space. It was used to determine that pilots could operate aircraft under high performance conditions and eject at high speeds and survive. Thus this work was ground-breaking in forging the path of future discoveries, both directly, and indirectly as space and aeronautical efforts have fed technological advances in many areas.

Colonel Stapp’s work in deceleration was instrumental in mitigating risk on terra firma, bringing about seat belts which we (we hope) use every day in our motor vehicle trips. The Air Force suffered losses from auto accidents. Colonel Stapp was able to use his work on deceleration to argue for safety restraints for the motor vehicles. His work in this area was done at Holloman Air Force Base, using crash test dummies. This application was an exercise in creativity, taking one application and using it in another area to additional benefit.

Colonel Stapp’s research in auto safety was continued in the context of the Stapp Car Crash Conference which provided a broader context in which to support continued research into auto safety.

Colonel Stapp’s work in the military carries on to this day with Flight Surgeons who are always seeking to use their expertise to extend the boundaries of knowledge and performance for our nation’s pilots as they fly more and more powerful, higher performance aircraft and play deeper forays into Outer Space.

Colonel Stapp and I share a common ancestor going way back to around 1700, which is one element adding to my interest in his work. Genealogy is another interesting topic which I hope to include as a blog topic sometime down the road.

Discovery - Part 5

USAF Thunderbirds F-16, McChord Air Force Base, Tacoma, Washington

Discovery within the mental sphere results from consolidating information, arriving at creative solutions for complex problems. Once a discovery is made, an idea formulated, it may be engineered and put to the test. Discoveries in the complex realm of ideas require well engineered solutions, exquisite execution in construction prototypes and rigorous testing. The experimental phase allows for testing of the construct developed in the conceptual phase and seeking to affirm the success of the initial discovery in the end result.

Thus prototypes allow for ensuring that all aspects of the discovery, the idea, are explored in a range of scenarios in a well conceived test pattern to shake out all the bugs before going into mass production.

This testing process is necessary not only for the physical device being engineered but also for the human beings that will be using them. Human engineering may reflect the psychological bonding with the new technology or physiological constraints and reactions.

Today we seek to defy gravity in powerful machines such as the USAF Thunderbirds Jet (F-16) shown above. The F-16 is in the middle of a maneuver in which the jet becomes inverted. The tensile strength of the jet’s materials must satisfy certain requirements to allow it to perform high-performance maneuvers. On the human side, pilots are subject to considerable g-forces in doing their maneuvers that involve important physiological issues. Colonel John Stapp was a career United States Air Force officer and flight surgeon who did ground breaking work as a researcher and test subject in determining the impact of acceleration and deceleration on the human body, subjecting his body to record-breaking g-forces.

My next blog posting will discuss Colonel Stapp’s work..

Discovery - Part 4

Apples and Apple Tree in the Garden with Bird Houses

In previous postings I discussed discussed discovery, discussing Lewis and Clark’s arduous journey to the Pacific Coast, and seafaring explorers who encountered great hardships and made great discoveries. I discussed how discovery is often shared, representing the entirety of the experience, not just the beginning, end or one individual. I discussed how the small things in life can be discoveries too, so that scale is not necessary to define a discovery. Moreover, I’ll reiterate that many small discoveries together can make as big an impact just as one big one.

Discoveries encompass the mental as well as the physical sphere.

Three Spokane, Washington city convention workers walking down the street discover a knapsack placed on a bench. There is a parade honoring Martin Luther King, Jr shortly. Their situational awareness leads them to recognize that wires sticking out of a backpack has the signature of a potential bomb. They report this discovery to authorities and a potential terrorist act is stopped. This MSNBC video describes the incident. This discovery brings a number of facets of understanding together to recognize one risk.

Discovery dots the stream of time with significant milestones in fields of science as we learn more about everything from the cellular level to the far reaches of outer space, with disciplines ranging from molecular biology to astrophysics.

Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity is case of consolidating information from disparate sources. From Stukeley’s Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton's Life (Wikipedia article) comes the following excerpt:

“....the notion of gravitation came into his mind. It was occasioned by the fall of an apple, as he sat in contemplative mood. Why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground, thought he to himself.”

This is the creative process at work, associating a tree, an apple, and the apple’s actions (falling to the ground) in an inquisitive, thought-directed process that results in a discovery. It is the essence of consolidating disparate information and coming up with that “ah-ha moment”.

Thus discovery can involve using the mind to uncover a risk or to intuit a reward, a breakthrough in knowledge that opens new frontiers or rescues others.