[AR] Re: practical electric thruster propellant and power?
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2016 02:34:19 -0500 (EST)
On Sun, 14 Feb 2016, David Weinshenker wrote:
Quite true. For example, anyone who's thinking electric propulsion but
hasn't looked at electrothermal systems is missing what might easily be
the best answer for near-term missions.
So an eletrothermal thruster is basically a rocket (from the
thermodynamic point of view) - requiring a pressurized chamber
(and hence a high-pressure feed system) and an expansion nozzle?
More or less, kind of sort of. The pressures don't have to be high --
some types operate at Pc much less than 1atm -- but yes, most of them need
a chamber and a nozzle.
The hardest problem in the feed system, shared by many other electric
propulsion approaches, is not providing pressure but precisely controlling
very small propellant flows.
Henry
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