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The X3 Ion Engine Test Break Thrust Records
Universe Today ^ | 10/27/2017 | Matt Williams

Posted on 10/28/2017 1:10:22 PM PDT by BenLurkin

Not only would engines that are capable of achieving a great deal of thrust using less fuel be cost-effective, they will be able to ferry astronauts to destinations like Mars and beyond in less time.

This is where engines like the X3 Hall-effect thruster comes into play. This thruster, which is being developed by NASA’s Glenn Research Center in conjunction with the US Air Force and the University of Michigan, is a scaled-up model of the kinds of thrusters used by the Dawn spacecraft. During a recent test, this thruster shattered the previous record for a Hall-effect thruster, achieving higher power and superior thrust.

Hall-effect thrusters have garnered favor with mission planners in recent years because of their extreme efficiency. They function by turning small amounts of propellant (usually inert gases like xenon) into charged plasma with electrical fields, which is then accelerated very quickly using a magnetic field. Compared to chemical rockets, they can achieve top speeds using a tiny fraction of their fuel.

However, a major challenge so far has been building a Hall-effect thruster that is capable of achieving high levels of thrust as well. While fuel efficient, conventional ion engines typically produce only a fraction of the thrust produced by rockets that rely on solid-chemical propellants.

...

In recent tests, the X3 shattered the previous thrust record set by a Hall thruster, achieving 5.4 newtons of force compared with the old record of 3.3 newtons. The X3 also more than doubled the operating current (250 amperes vs. 112 amperes) and ran at a slightly higher power than the previous record-holder (102 kilowatts vs. 98 kilowatts). This was encouraging news, since it means that the engine can offer faster acceleration, which means shorter travel times.

(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS:
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1 posted on 10/28/2017 1:10:22 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin
achieving 5.4 newtons of force compared with the old record of 3.3 newtons.

And how many HP is Newton?

2 posted on 10/28/2017 1:15:42 PM PDT by RedWing9 (Jesus Rocks Zero Sucks)
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To: RedWing9
And how many HP is Newton?

Newton is not a power measure. It's a force measure - like pounds. 5.4nt of force is about 1.1 pounds.
3 posted on 10/28/2017 1:23:52 PM PDT by Phlyer
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To: RedWing9

5.4 Newtons is about 19.29 ounces of constant thrust. That doesn’t sound like much but if the thrust is constant in a vacuum it can add up to a whole lot of speed over a period of time.


4 posted on 10/28/2017 1:26:08 PM PDT by Sparticus (Primary the Tuesday group!)
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To: RedWing9

I’m older than dirt but it used to be 1 hp = 746 nm/sec.
I think

Caddis the Elder


5 posted on 10/28/2017 1:28:39 PM PDT by palmerizedCaddis (Our friend BHO saved us from Miz Clintoon, best thing I caan say about the guy.)
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To: BenLurkin

The mass of the electrical power source will be a limit factor to the overall vehicle performance. Nuclear or +400 sq. meters of solar collector for Mars operation at rated power?


6 posted on 10/28/2017 1:36:53 PM PDT by Ozark Tom
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To: BenLurkin

Maybe you could add a nuclear reactor to it to power the magnetic field.


7 posted on 10/28/2017 1:52:54 PM PDT by Crucial
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To: RedWing9
Force x distance is energy. Energy per unit time is power. One newton over a distance of one meter every second is one watt. One horsepower is just under 746 watts.

5.4 newtons of force isn't much. Still, in space, where there's no friction loss, 5.4 newtons applied to one ton of mass for a week gives it another 1600 mph of velocity.

8 posted on 10/28/2017 2:01:58 PM PDT by Campion (Halten Sie sich unbedingt an die Lehre!)
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To: BenLurkin

Can it do the quarter mile in sub 13?


9 posted on 10/28/2017 2:15:44 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Campion

NASA first developed nuclear propulsion from 1965-1972 under the NERVA Project.

Scientists were so ecstatic with the results they boasted of sending astronauts to Mars in 1980 and Saturn in 1990.

WIKI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NERVA


10 posted on 10/28/2017 2:19:01 PM PDT by ak267
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To: Campion

How fast is that in Furlongs per Fortnight?


11 posted on 10/28/2017 2:20:29 PM PDT by DarthFuzball ("Life is full of little surprises." - Pandora)
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To: blueunicorn6

‘the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs’


12 posted on 10/28/2017 2:22:47 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: palmerizedCaddis

>I’m older than dirt but it used to be 1 hp = 746 nm/sec.

Correct, 1 hp = 746 N-m/s or 746 W.
We may be old but we be right.

-Frank


13 posted on 10/28/2017 2:24:24 PM PDT by thepoodlebites (and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.)
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To: BenLurkin

‘the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs’

Twelve.
Compressed distance that much? Impressive.

-Frank


14 posted on 10/28/2017 2:37:49 PM PDT by thepoodlebites (and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.)
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To: RedWing9
And how many HP is Newton?

If you're moving at 17,500 mph, and the newton in question is oriented in your direction of motion, that newton is doing almost 10.5 HP worth of work on you.

So 5.4 newtons would be doing 56.6 HP of work on you, which — if sustained over many months — would add up to quite a lot of "delta-V," or acceleration.

5.4 newtons for an ion engine is stupendous. Last time I checked, they were generating forces measured in milli-newtons. I remember them being compared to the force generated by the weight of a piece of paper. This represents very impressive progress IMHO.

There are 4.45 newtons per pound.

15 posted on 10/28/2017 2:37:54 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrat's John Dean])
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To: BenLurkin

Thats going to leave trails of gas all over the system.

How long would it take the solar wind to disperse the smell.

Bad enough our comets smell like cat pee.

That’s gonna affect our extra-solar tourist industry.


16 posted on 10/28/2017 3:14:42 PM PDT by Doctor DNA
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To: BenLurkin; brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; disndat; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; ...
Thanks BenLurkin Ion engines might be great for interstellar probes, provided the craft got a huge initial boost from a multistage direct ascent vehicle. But it's fantasy to think they'll take humans to Mars in 35 days (there's a YT vid about this, or more than one). Bumpin' the APoD listers.

17 posted on 10/28/2017 3:56:22 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: ak267

Remember about those as a teenager. Radioactive as hell, had remote tugs to pull them in and out for testing. No one could get close.


18 posted on 10/28/2017 4:04:14 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: DarthFuzball

1 Furlong per Fortnight would equal...
0.218 ft/hr (or about 0.00006 ft per sec), a measure of velocity not acceleration.

(Also)
5.4 Newtons = 1.2 lbs

The resulting acceleration would be dependent on the time that the force was applied, the mass being accelerated and the friction coefficient (in space approaches zero).

help me out if I got something wrong.

Regards,
HLB


19 posted on 10/28/2017 4:27:09 PM PDT by HippyLoggerBiker (Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.)
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To: BenLurkin

Off topic but this thread makes me wonder if there has been any progress on the EM drive, the Chinese claim to have a working model.


20 posted on 10/28/2017 4:42:55 PM PDT by dangerdoc
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