Whisper
February 27th, 2010, 01:39 AM
Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket isn’t a household word, but it soon could be. It’s an engine 6 times faster than the existing clunkers, and uses a very important principle which Star Trek fans would recognize as “impulse” power.
VASIMR is a concept from no less an institution than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT. This idea has officially been around for a while, since at least 2001, according to a Johnson Space Center techbrief note, and I heard about it earlier than that, and it’s real science, not a storyline. The theory is phased pulses of ionized power generating progressively faster speeds, up to 55 miles a second on current estimates.
Far more importantly, this principle involves the use of magnetic fields as propulsion. This is potentially a far more powerful, far more efficient means of propulsion than chemical power can achieve. This is a prototype concept for an entirely new class of propulsion, and it’s the equivalent of rubbing two sticks together in terms of difficulty.
What’s important about this concept is that magnetic fields and their ability to provide motive power have no real theoretical upper limit. There’s a definite limit to what you can do with rocket fuels, internal combustion engines and pedals, but not with this type of power, except how much of it you can generate.
Article continued HERE (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/288181)
VASIMR is a concept from no less an institution than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT. This idea has officially been around for a while, since at least 2001, according to a Johnson Space Center techbrief note, and I heard about it earlier than that, and it’s real science, not a storyline. The theory is phased pulses of ionized power generating progressively faster speeds, up to 55 miles a second on current estimates.
Far more importantly, this principle involves the use of magnetic fields as propulsion. This is potentially a far more powerful, far more efficient means of propulsion than chemical power can achieve. This is a prototype concept for an entirely new class of propulsion, and it’s the equivalent of rubbing two sticks together in terms of difficulty.
What’s important about this concept is that magnetic fields and their ability to provide motive power have no real theoretical upper limit. There’s a definite limit to what you can do with rocket fuels, internal combustion engines and pedals, but not with this type of power, except how much of it you can generate.
Article continued HERE (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/288181)