Rocket scientists bring expertise to analyzing breath of sick children (Stanford School of Medicine)

(Source: Stanford School of Medicine) In 2013, two of Hanson's students - Christopher Strand and Victor Miller - sat at adjacent desks overlooking a 'Rockets of the World' poster. They were both finishing dissertations on supersonic combustion ramjets, called scramjets for short. Strand was working on better ways to measure engine gas mixtures using lasers. Miller was developing gas-flow visualization techniques using lasers and high-speed cameras. Scramjet technology, conceptualized in the 1950s, still presents researchers with extreme technical challenges. These engines use atmospheric oxygen to burn their fuel rather than having to carry liquid oxygen along for the ride. This allows...