Post by fenrin49 on Dec 26, 2016 20:37:37 GMT
using a coilgun accelerate a loaded magnetic bucket full of non magnetic mass - lead, selenium and tin seem like good options -and then decelerate and return the bucket to be refilled.
with 5-10 x greater fuel density and practical exhaust velocitys of 2-5km/s (possibly more) it seems like this could be a good option for creating ships with low cost high density fuel with good D/v but poor acceleration - power requirements seem like they might also be lower than current mpd designs as mpd thrusters dont scale very well with low velocity exhaust and high flow rates. resisto jets sort of fill this area but mercury is a tad expensive and only gets about 1 km/s with them.
they might not be that practical having low thrust and prohibitively high power requirements.
but the possibility of cheap super dense fuel at decent velocity is tempting.
with 5-10 x greater fuel density and practical exhaust velocitys of 2-5km/s (possibly more) it seems like this could be a good option for creating ships with low cost high density fuel with good D/v but poor acceleration - power requirements seem like they might also be lower than current mpd designs as mpd thrusters dont scale very well with low velocity exhaust and high flow rates. resisto jets sort of fill this area but mercury is a tad expensive and only gets about 1 km/s with them.
they might not be that practical having low thrust and prohibitively high power requirements.
but the possibility of cheap super dense fuel at decent velocity is tempting.
