Zero to Eighty

In this extraordinary book, originally published in 1937, renowned inventor and physicist E.F. Northrup (writing under the nom de plume of "Akkad Pseudoman") fictionalizes his biography and development of the electromagnetic gun. A seminal work in the history of astronautics, this book was the first to put electromagnetic launching on a solid theoretical and experimental basis. In addition to a fictional account of a trip to the moon in a liquid-fuel rocket boosted into space by means of an electromagnetic gun, Northup included a detailed Technical Supplement in which he outlines the math, physics and experimental data behind the novel. It was 60 years after the publication of this book that NASA and the aerospace industry first began serious experimentation with liner induction for the launching of spacecraft. Includes the original illustrations.