This book is a personal memoir by Ben Rich, the second leader of Lockheed's Skunk Works, detailing the high-stakes quest to dominate the skies through the development of cutting-edge aircraft. It includes stories from the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, and provides insights into the engineering challenges, political and financial struggles, and personal anecdotes of the team. The book also features contributions from other key figures, including test pilots, Air Force personnel, and CIA officials, offering a comprehensive look at one of America's most secret and successful aerospace operations.
What do a Mach-3 aircraft and a hip replacement have in common? They are both made of titanium. In this episode we dive into this incredible material from its name rooted in Greek mythology to the unique variants of commercial titanium. Learn about the interesting challenges facing titanium's use in the SR-71 to the new variants being actively researched to help bring this material up to superalloy standards.
This episode of the Materialism Podcast is sponsored by Cal Nano, leading experts in spark plasma sintering and cryomilling technologies. You can learn more about their work and services by visiting their website.
This Materialism Podcast is sponsored by Materials Today, an Elsevier community dedicated to the creation and sharing of materials science knowledge and experience through their peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, educational webinars, and more
Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show!
If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter.
Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy (co-host, production, marketing, and editing).
Keywords: Titanium Alloy Titan Metallurgy Aerospace Metals SR-71 Submarines Skunkworks
Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast 