Topic: Plasma engines!

[NUMBERZero]

This is blasphemy. This is MADDNESS! THIS! IS!! THE REAL DEAL!!! I saw this on a Nova Science Now and I became uber excited! The predicted time to get to Mars was about 7 months. Now they say that it will only take 39 days!

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/07/plasma-rocket.html

Now I wonder if this will lead to plasma weaponry?

[-<WillyP>-]

They don't have all their facts straight...

The concoction is then herded through nozzles made of magnetic fields, not metals like traditional rocket engines.

Wrong, metal exhaust nozzles would be vaporized, they are made of graphitized carbon fiber. I used to work in a place that made them.

[Planet Orange [phx13]]

We should take into account that the article is almost a year old. I think we would've heard something about it by now.

[NUMBERZero]

I kind of dove in at Discovery to find the article about it and gave it no read.

But isn't that why the "concauction" goes through the magnetic field to avoid the metel?

Oh and BTW, since the article is a year old, you probably haven't heard that they have already tested it in a lab an it works as far as they know.

[PyroJockey]

On a side note, do you recall what concoction was used to fly Space Ship One, the first private reusable manned spacecraft, into sub-orbit?

Answer: Ground up tires and laughing gas

What will they think of next?

[Scyphi]

This plasma engine idea is old news for me. Being a real astronomy nut, I heard of the idea years ago, and knew that they were really close to developing it even then, so I'm not surprised by this announcement.

It would be among one of the most ideal forms of propulsion for a mission to Mars, tho. It's either that, or an antimatter-matter drive, which is also under development (tho I think it's no near as far along).

[NUMBERZero]

Anti-matter sounds.... deadly...

[Scyphi]

It is...it uh, tends to explode violently when even the littlest of antimatter makes contact with matter. Probably why it's not as far along in development. That, and creating antimatter is pricey right now.

It's powerful enough to get man to Mars in about four (not for sure on that) or so months, though, should it be used so.

I remember it, because ficitional things like the USS Enterprise from Star Trek ran on an antimatter-matter reactor.

[-<WillyP>-]

I kind of dove in at Discovery to find the article about it and gave it no read.

But isn't that why the "concauction" goes through the magnetic field to avoid the metel?

Oh and BTW, since the article is a year old, you probably haven't heard that they have already tested it in a lab an it works as far as they know.

No, the article stated that "traditional" rockets used metal, not the plasma rocket. I am saying they do not use metal exhaust nozzles in "traditional" rockets. This would lead me to conclude the authors are non-technical, and any facts they offer are suspect.

[Scyphi]

It's a slip of the tongue, WillyP, I think you'd be among the minority who would've even noticed.

The important thing is that the rest of the article's facts pretty much check out.