The Green Flame: Surviving Government Secrecy

By Andrew Dequasie

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0841218579
• ISBN13: 9780841218574
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Amer Chemical Society
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.8" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A Chemistry-Geek's Thriller

Outlining the US military's post-WWII borane-based fuel production project for an ultra-powerful jet fuel, Mr Dequasie's memoirs are a real treat. Borane compounds are notoriously unstable, and fires and explosions were an everyday hazard. Rarely are the nuts-and-bolts of working in a dangerous government lab described in such casual detail, and the author's simple explanations (usually of the 'if we don't do it right the explosion will send the reactor's lid thru the ceiling and pin to the wall anyone unlucky enough not to be behind a blast wall' variety) will be appreciated by the non-chemist. For several years I worked with the author's brother, Hank Dequasie, and so I derived a special delight from the read. Unfortunately out of print, 'The Green Flame' (boranes burn with an eerie green flame) is still a great read if you can find a copy.