What Do You Care What Other People Think?

Index

Entries correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.

acceleration safety cutoff system, flaws in, 253

Accident Analysis group, 199

accident investigation, technique for, 144–45

Acheson, David C., 142, 146, 199, 218, 224, 225

Acropolis, 103

actuators, computer systems, reliability, 261

adolescent years, 21–35

aesthetics:

and reason, 52

scientific aspects of, 11

and scientific information, 270–72

age of reason, 276

Air and Space Museum, National, 155

Ajzenberg, Fay, 80–81

Aldrich, Arnold D., 141

Alvarez, Luis, 164

American Association of Physics Teachers, 80, 81

Apollo accident, 221

archeology, Greek, 103–4

Armstrong, Neil, 138, 141, 142, 145, 168, 217, 222

assembly crews:

management view of, 189–90

workers’ views of job, 190–95

Atlas, 97

Atoms for Peace Conference, 71, 73

augmented spark igniter (ASI), flaws in, 253

Augsberry, Dr. (high school mathematics teacher), 34

authority:

and form, 19

questioning, 30

and values, 277

Aviation Week and Space Technology, 140

Bacher, Robert (Bob), 71

Baudoin, King of Belgium, 92–93

bearing spalling, 253

Beggs, James F. (administrator of NASA), 239

Bell Telephone Laboratories, 42

Berkeley, 180

Bessel functions, 65

Bethe, Hans, 51, 108

Bethe, Henry, 108, 110n

Blondel, André, 164

blowby, O-ring, 151, 158, 247, 249

Bohr, Niels, 93

Boisjoly, Roger, 182

bottom-up design:

of engines, 250

of shuttle software, 259–60

Bragg, William, 94

Brussels (Belgium), 91–97

bureaucracy, 99–100

personal reactions to, 130–31

report preparation, 163

Burns, Jerry, 182

Cable News Network (CNN), 172

California Institute of Technology, see Caltech

calligraphy, Chinese, 51–54

Caltech, 79, 130, 132, 174, 207, 230, 234, 245

certification, 254

criteria, deteriorating, 244–45

rules for, 257

initial, 254

Challenger accident, 113–277

Chrysler Company, 36

clevis, field joint, 168

Columbia, 35, 36

combustion chamber, flaws in, 253

communication, 275

as a bureaucratic tool, 237–38

of management with engineers, 203–4

within NASA, 236–37

computer systems (avionics), 257–61

concepts, and applications, 273–74

Cook, Richard C., 157, 161, 163, 167

Cornell University, 107, 109, 110, 111

costs:

of modifying procedures, 192

of replacing software, 259

of top-down design, 251

of updating shuttle computers, 213–14

counting:

and measuring time, 61–65

patterns for, 62–63

Covert, Eugene E., 142, 174, 181, 207

Crete, 106

cross talk, 211

culture, 66–68

see also tradition; values

Davies, Richard (Dick), 131

Davis, B. K., 183–84

Deborah Hospital, 45

democracy and doubt, 276

Descartes, René, 30–31

Design, Development and Production panel, 199

discrimination:

religious, 36

sexual, 41, 79–82

and stereotypes, 82

Disturbing the Universe (Dyson), 107n

documentation of shuttle performance, 245

doubt, 274

dreaming, 57, 58

Dyson, Freeman, 107n

letters of, 107–10

Eddington, Arthur, 79

education and culture, 66–68

enabling power of science, 269

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 13, 31

engineering judgment, 204n, 246

estimates of engine failure probability, 254

estimates of shuttle failure probability, 203–4, 208–9

Eratosthenes, 105

erosion, O-ring, 125f, 134, 136f, 152, 158, 247, 248–49

executive order, defining work of presidential commission, 139

external tank (ET), 141

FAA:

certification practices, 254

certification trial success, 255

criteria for success, 256–57

safety rules, 208

Fabriola, Queen of Belgium, 92–93

family:

Carl (son), 96n, 105, 109

Chuck (nephew), 173, 175

father-in-law (Arlene’s father), 54

Frances (cousin), 172, 175, 232

Joan (sister), 12n, 52–54, 80–81, 225–26

Lucille (mother), 12–20

Melville (father), 12–20

Michelle (daughter), 102, 103, 109n

Federal Aviation Administration, see FAA

Fermi, Enrico, 51

ferrite-core computers, 259

Feynman, Arlene, 23–26, 30–32, 35–38

Feynman, Carl, 96n, 105, 109

Feynman, Gweneth, 83–90, 95n, 131, 132, 175–76

Feynman, Joan, 12n, 52–54, 80–81, 225–26

Feynman, Lucille, 12, 20

Feynman, Melville, 12–20

Feynman, Michelle, 102, 103, 109n

Feynman Lectures in Physics, 79

Fichtel (foreman, assembly crew), 192–95

field joint, 128, 129f, 134, 136f, 177

model of, 166f

flight readiness reviews, 257

Fuchs, Klaus, 54

fuel tank, shuttle, 128f

Galileo (Jupiter probe), 200

Gast, Harold, 25, 32–34

Gell-Mann, Murray, 70, 91

Geneva (Switzerland), 69–75

Goldschmidt, Herman, 76–78

Graham, William R., (Bill) (acting administrator, NASA), 130, 133, 138, 141, 146, 147, 155, 156–57, 163, 164, 205n–6n, 216, 239

Grand Hotel (Warsaw), 97–102

gravity conference, 100–101

Greece, 102–6

Hansen, Grant L. (editor), 220

Heisenberg, Werner, 94

Hibbs, Albert R. (Al), 131, 133

high-frequency vibration, 205–6, 253

high-pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP), 142

flaws in, 253

reliability of, 252

high-pressure oxygen turbopump (HPOTP), 142

flaws in, 253

Hollings, Ernest (Senator, SC), 195–96

Hotel Amigo, 91

Hotel City, 73–75

Hotz, Robert B., 140, 142, 188–89, 217, 224, 226

Hughes Aircraft Company, 130

Illiapoulos, Professor, 102–3

Independent Solid Rocket Motor Design Oversight Committee, 222

infinity, 111

intellectual value of science, 270

Iran-Contra hearings, 236

Iseokitsu (Japan), 84–87

Japan, 83–90

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, see JPL

Johnson Space Center, 211, 245

joint rotation, 149, 150f, 151f

JPL, 134, 134n, 143, 197–98, 207, 245

Jupiter probe, 200

Kapp, Jack, 182

Keel, Alton G., Jr. (Al), 180, 185, 220, 227–28, 236, 241–43

recommendations of commission, 224

report distribution, 210, 218

Kennedy, John F. (President), 196n

Kennedy Space Center, 128, 145, 177–96, 208

Kingsbury, James E., 200

Kissinger, Henry, 133

Kiwi, Feynman dog, 96, 97, 101

knowledge:

kinds of, 14

observing multiple mental activities, 64–65

Kutyna, General Donald J., 139, 141, 142, 144–45, 155–56, 167, 168, 173–74, 199, 201, 216, 227, 231–32, 243

Lamberth (manager, rocket assembly), 189–90, 194, 210

Launch Abort Safety Panel (LASP), 245

Lawrence High School (Nassau County), 35

leak test, 154n

port, 157, 161f

learning:

about aesthetics, 52

internal processes, 64–65

patterns in, 13

and teaching, 110–11

Lee, Meemong, 197

Leff, David, 25, 33

Lehrer, James, 234

LeMaître, Abbé George Éduoard, 94

letters:

Dyson’s about Feynman, 107–11

to Gweneth, 175–76

from Athens, 102–6

from Brussels, 91–97

from Warsaw, 97–102

to Gweneth from Henry Bethe, 110–11

Lewis, Sinclair, 33

Lifer, Charles E. (JPL), 135

liquid hydrogen (LH), 141

liquid oxygen (LOX), 141

Lockheed, instructions for shuttle engines, 208

Lorenz, Konrad, 110

Los Alamos, 48

problem solving at, 236–37

Louvain University, 93

Lovingood, Judson A. (manager), 141, 201–4, 204n

Lund, Robert, 181, 182, 197

MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, 229, 232

management:

estimates of shuttle reliability, 262

view of assembly crews, 189–90

Manhattan Project, 44

Marshall Space Center, 208, 245

engineering briefing, 208–9

estimates of engine failure, 199–200, 254

Mason, Gerald D., 181

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, see MIT

McAuliffe, Christa, 187, 262, 262n

McDonald, Allan J., 158–61, 168

memory, of shuttle computers, 212, 259

Metropolis, Nicholas (Nick), 48, 53

Mission Planning and Operations group, 199

MIT, 19, 35, 36, 109

Möbius strip, 31–32

model:

computer, performance analysis of O-ring, 154

of O-ring erosion, 249–50

Moore, Jesse W., 141

Moore Dr. Nicholas (JPL), 245

Morton Thiokol Company, 128, 149, 150–51, 158, 181, 197, 236, 240

Boisjoly, Roger, 182

Burns, Jerry, 182

Kapp, Jack, 182

Lund, Robert, 181, 182, 197

MacDonald, Allan J., 158–61

Mason, Gerald D., 181

Thompson, Arnie, 182

Mountain-forming day (Oberlin), 53

Mulloy, Lawrence B., 158, 167–68, 170, 197, 236, 239

NASA, 127, 148–55, 181, 245

Aldrich, Arnold D., 141

certification rules, initial, 254

Cook, Richard C., 157, 161, 163, 167

Davis, B. K., 183–84

estimates of engine failure, 200, 254

Fichtel (foreman, assembly crew), 192–95

Kingsbury, James E., 200

Lamberth (manager, rocket assembly), 189–90, 194, 210

Lovingood, Judson A. (manager), 141, 201–4, 204n

Moore, Jesse W., 141

Mulloy, Lawrence B., 158, 167–68, 170, 197, 236

Stevenson, Charles G. (Charlie), 179, 183, 198

Weeks, L. Michael, 149–55

National Academy of Sciences, 224, 268n

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, see NASA

New York Times, 156, 157, 216

New Zealand lectures, 106, 106n

Nixon, Richard (President), 133

Nobel Prize, 84n, 95n

Noto Peninsula (Japan), 87–90

N-ray hoax, 164

Oberlin College, 52

Office of Management and Budget, 180

Office of Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance, 222

OMB, Office of Management and Budget, 180

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 48, 93

O-ring, 134, 149–52, 150f

ice-water demonstrations, 169f

origin of speculation about, 243

performance model, 154

Palace of Culture and Science (Warsaw), 101

Parker Seal Company, 150

Parthenon, 103

patterns, and counting, 62–63

peace, 275

Peierls, Rudolph, 108

Perrin, J., 93

Physical Society, 69

plutonium, power supply, 245

political pressure for launch, 176, 187–88, 215, 240

precision and approximation, 31

Pre-launch Activities group, 199

presidential commission, 113–263

connections of members, 172–76

fact finding by, 133–53

investigative process, 177–96

members of, 142

recommendations of, 221–28

report

formal presentation of, 230f

preparation, 216–20

working groups of, 199f

Princeton, 36, 42, 44, 60

probability, subjective, at NASA, 246–47

purge check valve, flaws in, 253

QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Feynman), 106n

radioactive thermal generator (RTG), 245

reaction control systems, reliability of, 261

recommendations:

presidential commission, 221–28

seals report, 153f

redundancy in shuttle computers, 212–13, 258–59

reliability:

of high-pressure fuel turbopump, 252

management estimates of, 262

Office of Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance, 222

of reaction control systems, 261

of sensors in shuttle systems, 261

of shuttle, 244–63

of shuttle computer hardware, 259

religion:

Buddhist proverb, 269

formal training (Feynman’s), 26–30

religious experience in science, 272–73

Ride, Sally K., 139, 139n, 142, 146, 155, 174, 181, 199, 211, 218

Rocketdyne, 207, 245

estimates of engine failure, 254

Rogers, William P., 133, 138–40, 142, 144, 145, 147, 160–61, 168, 170, 173, 175, 180, 181, 183, 195–96, 197, 198, 216, 231, 234, 235, 239

recommendations of commission, 222–25, 226

Royal Olympic Hotel (Athens), 102

Rummel, Robert W., 142

safety boards, 222

safety factor:

deteriorating, 255

for O-ring failure, 248

scheduling:

and pressure to launch, 237–38

and shuttle safety, 262–63

Scientific American, The, 103, 105

Sears Roebuck and Company, 50

sensors, shuttle systems, reliability of, 261

shuttle:

computer operation of, 212–13

description of, 127

engineering briefing, JPL, 133–37

engineering briefing for Feynman, 148–55

engine specifications, 252–54

failure, probability of, 199–200

flame from, 159–60f

launch information, 179–80

reliability of, 244–63

responsibility for engines, 207–8

reworking components for reuse, 185–87

smoke from, 162f, 177–79, 178f

Shuttle Transportation System Safety Advisory Panel, 222

simulator, computer checking on, 211

social responsibility:

and ignorance, 277

and scientific exploration, 268

software:

bottom-up design, 261

for shuttle computers, 213–14, 258

verification of shuttle, 259–60

solid-fuel rocket boosters (SRBs), 128f, 141, 246–50

Solomon, Jerry, 197

Sound and Symbol in Chinese, 51

space shuttle main engines (SSMEs), 141, 250–57

Space Shuttle Program, Air Force, 174

Stapler, Robert, 25

stereotypes, 12n, 82

Stevenson, Charles G. (Charlie), 179, 183, 198

subsynchronous whirl, 205, 253

success, predicting, 247–49

Sutter, Joseph F., 142, 181, 199

Tamm, Igor, 70

tang, field joint, 168

Tartaglia, Niccolo, 104

temperature:

effect on O-rings, 156–57

at launch pad, 179

analysis of, 183–85

and O-ring incidents, 152f

Thinking Machines Company, 109n, 132

Thompson, Arnie, 182

thought processes, in technicolor, 65

Time, 97

time sense, 60–65

titan rocket, investigation of failure, 144–45

Togi (Japan), 87–90

top-down design:

of shuttle main engine, 251–54

of space shuttles, 205