Title: The Chemistry of Flight

Abstract:
The year 2003 is the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight. In this presentation demonstrations will be done which illustrate the science involved in flight and the development of modern materials needed to move into the space age. The first demo will illustrate the action of gravity, followed by a demo of how this action produces atmospheric pressure. The third demo shows that this pressure acts in all directions and not just down. The next demos illustrate how moving air produces pressure differences and this will be connected to how lift is produced. The second portion of the presentation will focus on the chemistry involved in traditional airplane engines and jet and rocket thrust. The third portion of the talk will use demonstrations and video clips to present some classic cases of improvement of materials for lighter, safer materials for construction and operation of airplanes and space ships. This presentation was developed under an educational outreach contract from the Materials Research Labs at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton OH. Equipement required: Overhead projector and VHS vcr system with video projector or monitors for size of the audience and room. A table for the demos.

Audience Level: Specialists (highly trained), Chemists, Students

Biographical Sketch:
John Fortman is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Wright State University where he retired in 2001 after 36 years of teaching freshman and inorganic chemistry. In 1998 he was appointed the Robert J. Kegerreis Distinguished Professor of Teaching and won seven different teaching awards over the years at Wright State. In 1998 he received the CMA Catalyst Award for Outstanding Teaching of College Chemistry. Dr. Fortman received his B.S. from the University of Dayton in 1961 and his Ph.D. in physical inorganic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1965. He has published over 50 papers in chemical education in addition to his research publications. With Rubin Battino he has produced three sets of videotapes which contain over ten hours of chemical demonstrations for use at middle school through college levels. For over 25 years he has done chem demo outreach shows for middle and high school students in the Dayton area and continues to inspire and fascinate over 7500 students each year with at least 15 shows. He has done workshops on teaching and demonstrations around the country. He has designed alternative courses for general chemistry, elementary chemistry and chemistry for elementary education majors. His course for non-science students was cited as a model in the 1990 AAAS report on "The Liberal Art of Science: Agenda for Action". The alternative general chemistry course was developed while he was a member of the General Chemistry Task Force of the ACS Division of Chemical Education and starts with organic and biochemistry moving through materials and finishing with energy while empathizing applications and bringing in only those principles that are needed as they are necessary. The course has been characterized as being taught inside-out, upside-down, and backwards. His interests in addition to demonstrations andcourse content and organization include the use of analogies and videotaped material. John has been an ACS member since 1962 and is currently Councilor for the Dayton section and member of the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws after serving for five years on the Local Section Activities Committee. As an ACS Tour Speaker he has given over 200 talks over the past ten years, visiting 150 of the 189 different local sections and doing each of the 28 speaking tours at least once. He has presented in 49 of the 50 states.