(November 17, 2016 at 7:57 pm)Rhondazvous Wrote:(November 17, 2016 at 7:30 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: Ever wonder why the plume coming out of the back end of a rocket gets so big the higher the rocket goes?Then the first few seconds after take off are the most dangerous because of backup. I'm sure NASA has come up with a way to minimize that danger.
Less air pressure up there, so the exhaust fans out more.
The rocket plume is ducted away from the launch pad through a flame trench, at ignition and early ascent.
As far as the "triangular" shape of the flames is concerned, there is convection sweeping in from the sides, plus there is cooler denser air to the sides, as was mentioned by ApeNotKillApe.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
