Ion thrusters

Hey people, i usually post on the Aircraft Topics, but there is something that is bothering me, and i thought you people could help, or point me in the right direction.

Ion thrusters,

What are they?, what are they made of, Engineering specs., what are there current uses, how fast can they go, what powers them, could they power things in the air aswell as in space, how big or small, any pictures. please enlighten me!

Ion engines expel small charged particles (ions) at a very high speed causing a forward motion of the vehicle. They are much more efficient than chemical rockets.

Yeah Ion engines are neat! I like them alot, but one has to wonder if we can do better then that. Ever hear of Lifter technology? I wonder if that can be adapted for space craft It seems to have more ooomph then regular Ion engines. Not sure what the effiency of such a system would be as you need to haul Nitrogen to produce thrust(Nitrogen works much better then regular Air for some reason the thrust is increased 3 fold in such an environment)

Use the Google, Luke.

Normal rocket motors use heat released by burning to accelerate propellant while these use electricity as power source for ionizing propellant and then accelerating it, drawback is that normal rocket motor sized thrust would require lot of electricity.
On the other hand ion engines have considerable plusses, they accelerate propellant to much higher velocities giving much better specific impulse and fuel efficiency which allows months long continuous use. (instead of few minutes like with normal rockets)



en.wikipedia.org...

www.esa.int...

Sardion,
I wondered that a while back as well until (NASA I think) built a lifter, and tried to get it running in a vaccuum. No workie . . . Evidently lifters only use ion wind. I came up with an idea for a device a few years ago, only to find out it wasn't original because someone had already patented the same idea. It is a design for a device that converts centrifugal force into linear force. Consider, for a moment the significance of that. Not only does that break (Newton's I think) a law of physics, but it is pretty prime. An engine of that nature would basically negate the need for an actual wing. Here is the link.

www.americanantigravity.com...

-P

Originally posted by sardion2000
Yeah Ion engines are neat! I like them alot, but one has to wonder if we can do better then that. Ever hear of Lifter technology? I wonder if that can be adapted for space craft

It seems to have more ooomph then regular Ion engines.

I have always been interested in how it might be possible to turn centrifugal force into a linear force that could be used for flight if efficient enough.
I read about one which utilises wheels within a wheel that are strategically placed so as when one wheel is moving up (the wheels are weighted at one point on perimeter) the other one is to. Whilst the two wheels are moving up another 2 rotate to the side to stop the whole thing oscilating to pieces, the other to wheels also cancel the downward force generated by the 2 other wheels.
If u understand what i am trying to say, as its not that easy to picture, the overall effect is to produce a continuous series of impulses in one direction, if anyone has heard of this system before please post.

[edit on 25-3-2005 by ufo3]

do you think ion thrusters could power fighters?? like replace the jet engines on say an F-16 and put an ion thruster in its place??

[edit on 26-3-2005 by VoyagerNX23]

Originally posted by VoyagerNX23
do you think ion thrusters could power fighters?? like replace the jet engines on say an F-16 and put an ion thruster in its place??

[edit on 26-3-2005 by VoyagerNX23]

No, not enough thrust. Not nearly enough..