[HN Gopher] I made a satellite ion thruster [video]
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       I made a satellite ion thruster [video]
        
       Author : surprisetalk
       Score  : 20 points
       Date   : 2024-12-07 04:20 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
        
       | semessier wrote:
       | no FEEP ion thrusters on Starlink
        
       | btilly wrote:
       | The two basic facts to be aware of.
       | 
       | Momentum is mass times velocity. Energy is m v^2 / 2. Both with
       | adjustments in the relativistic realm, which this barely gets to.
       | 
       | The maximum thrust per atom lost is going to be at insanely high
       | velocity. The maximum thrust per unit energy is going to be at
       | low velocity. Which makes ion thrusters great for slow changes of
       | velocity when powered by unlimited solar power. But terrible for
       | launch with a finite energy budget.
       | 
       | Useless trivia. A traditional rocket becomes more efficient if
       | you mix some mercury into the fuel. The loss of energy is made up
       | for by the extra mass. The collateral damage from the mercury is
       | an environmental disaster though.
       | 
       | For a lot more, including the source of that trivia, I highly
       | recommend reading
       | https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pd....
        
       | kcmastrpc wrote:
       | this dude makes some pretty cool content. he built his own fab.
       | highly recommend checking out his other vids.
        
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       (page generated 2024-12-09 23:00 UTC)