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Super-powerful new ion engine revealed
New Scientist Space ^ | 01/18/06 | Emma Young

Posted on 01/18/2006 5:29:02 PM PST by KevinDavis

A new design for an ion engine promises up to 10 times the fuel-efficiency of existing electric propulsion engines, according to tests by the European Space Agency. The new thruster could be used to propel craft into interstellar space, or to power a crewed mission to Mars, ESA says.

Ion engines work by using an electric field to accelerate a beam of positively charged particles – ions – away from the spacecraft, thereby providing propulsion. Existing models, such as the engine used in ESA’s Moon mission, SMART-1, extract the ions from a reservoir and expel them in a single process.

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


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: esa; ion; ionengine; space
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Neat...
1 posted on 01/18/2006 5:29:03 PM PST by KevinDavis
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To: RightWhale; Brett66; xrp; gdc314; anymouse; NonZeroSum; jimkress; discostu; The_Victor; ...

2 posted on 01/18/2006 5:30:04 PM PST by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: KevinDavis

I watched a show about ion engines last night on the Science channel. It worked.


3 posted on 01/18/2006 5:34:37 PM PST by processing please hold (Islam and Christianity do not mix ----9-11 taught us that)
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This news is just charging me up to go and put my finger in a light socket so I can feel the ions propel me to the ceiling!

(lighten up! I'm just joking)

Bob


4 posted on 01/18/2006 5:36:15 PM PST by BobDobbs9911
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To: KevinDavis

I haven't heard that explaination before.

The ion engines I worked on used a strong magnetic field to 'excite' the atoms in the rocket's exhaust. A band of magnet flux was created in the nozzle area. The magnetic flux 'excited' the atom's electrons, causing the electron to jump to the next higher orbital shell; thus making the atoms 'Fatter'. Thus, 'Bigger' atoms were packed tightly against each other created more thrust, while maintaining the same mass.

As the atoms left the influence of the magnetic field, the 'excited' electrons dropped back to their 'normal' orbital shell, and a photon was released; thus the blue light that ion engines create.


5 posted on 01/18/2006 5:36:32 PM PST by Hodar (With Rights, come Responsibilities. Don't assume one, without assuming the other.)
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To: pbrown; All

A lot better than chemical rockets...


6 posted on 01/18/2006 5:36:36 PM PST by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: KevinDavis

Can I get on your Space Ping list? I keep missing the good stuff...


7 posted on 01/18/2006 5:36:57 PM PST by wyattearp (The best weapon to have in a gunfight is a shotgun - preferably from ambush.)
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To: KevinDavis

Much lower thrust than chemical, but runs much longer.


8 posted on 01/18/2006 5:44:17 PM PST by Dawggie
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To: KevinDavis

And what do they do with the compensating negative charges? Positive ions are expelled out, but they cannot keep accumulating the electrons in the craft.


9 posted on 01/18/2006 5:44:34 PM PST by GSlob
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To: KevinDavis
Doing a google search on "Dual-stage Gridded Ion Thruster" revealed the specific performance of these engines. In this article, Advanced Dual-stage Gridded Ion Thruster, they state that a 250kW engine could produce 2.5 Newtons of thrust with a specific impulse of 19,300. Very impressive.
10 posted on 01/18/2006 5:44:49 PM PST by Brett66 (Where government advances – and it advances relentlessly – freedom is imperiled -Janice Rogers Brown)
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To: GSlob; All

You are asking the wrong person. I'm not a rocket science nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express


11 posted on 01/18/2006 5:45:42 PM PST by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: GSlob

The ions are neutralized after acceleration, or both charges are expelled the same direction.


12 posted on 01/18/2006 5:46:43 PM PST by RightWhale (pas de lieu, Rhone que nous)
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To: KevinDavis
According to the scientist, the ion drive goes progressively faster.
13 posted on 01/18/2006 5:53:37 PM PST by processing please hold (Islam and Christianity do not mix ----9-11 taught us that)
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To: KevinDavis
A lot better than chemical rockets...

Chemical rockets can be ion rockets as well. You just have to IONIZE the exhaust. Hydrazine is an example.

You take the exhaust, exite the atoms in the exhaust (thus making ions), the ions have electrons move to a higher orbital level. Now your exhaust pressure goes up, thus increasing the thrust, with the same burn rate, and the same fuel mass.

As the exhaust leaves the magnetic field, the excited electons drop back into their normal orbital shell, releasing a photon (conservation of energy and all that); creating a pretty blue hue. Simple, huh?

14 posted on 01/18/2006 5:54:26 PM PST by Hodar (With Rights, come Responsibilities. Don't assume one, without assuming the other.)
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To: pbrown; All

Ok...


15 posted on 01/18/2006 5:58:21 PM PST by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: pbrown
Some FAQ about ion drives...HERE
16 posted on 01/18/2006 5:58:57 PM PST by processing please hold (Islam and Christianity do not mix ----9-11 taught us that)
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To: Hodar; All

Sounds simple...


17 posted on 01/18/2006 5:59:19 PM PST by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: Hodar

How many more seconds of impulse could you generate doing that?


18 posted on 01/18/2006 5:59:21 PM PST by BobDobbs9911
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To: KevinDavis
I think what makes ion engines so attractive is that when coupled with a small pebble-bed nuclear reactor, a space vehicle could get a constant low thrust for weeks at a time, which could result in tremendous velocities for the spacecraft. This may make it possible to cut the transit time between Earth and Mars from nine months to six weeks! With only six weeks of transit time, a manned spacecraft flying to Mars could actually be smaller, since we don't need to waste so much space for consumables such as oxygen and water.
19 posted on 01/18/2006 6:00:43 PM PST by RayChuang88
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To: KevinDavis

Does it clean the air too?


20 posted on 01/18/2006 6:01:13 PM PST by AmericanDave (More COWBELL....................)
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