Wall-Less Hall drives poised to unlock space colonization
Oct 30, 2015 19:00:17 GMT -6
Nugget, kdog, and 3 more like this
Post by Rickster on Oct 30, 2015 19:00:17 GMT -6
SOURCE:
While I think something like this is only part and parcel to the overall problem of space travel, the real issue is speed or the old discussion of wormholes or bending time.
It is an interesting article worth the read, but what caught my eye was the overwhelming idea that this looks like a ufo some folks capture on film. Could aliens use this type of device if only to travel locally?
"French scientist working with Hall thrusters — an advanced type of engine that harnesses a stream of plasma to generate forward momentum — have recently figured out a way to optimize these drives, allowing them to run on a staggering (wait for it) 100 million times less fuel than conventional chemical rockets. Their work has been published in Applied Physics Letters."
While I think something like this is only part and parcel to the overall problem of space travel, the real issue is speed or the old discussion of wormholes or bending time.
"They work just like regular ion thrusters, blasting a stream of charged ions from an anode ( + charge) to a cathode ( – charge). They are pulled by magnetism towards the back of the ship and then pushed by magnetic repulsion out of the ship, propelling the craft forwards. The technology isn’t new: such engines have been in operation since 1971, and are now routinely employed on satellites and space probes to adjust their orbit when needed. They are ideal for space use, and scientists plan to use them to get humans to Mars…there’s only one small problem: the lifespan of current Hall thrusters clocks in at a maximum of 10,000 operational hours, way too short for any space exploration mission.
This is because, unlike traditional ion drives, Hall thrusters do not have a physical cathode: they utilize a magnetic field and a trapped electron cloud that serve as a hollow, “virtual” cathode. A charged ion stream is produced by injecting xenon, these heavier atoms capable of passing unimpeded through the magnetic field and are subsequently neutralized. This creates a relatively low-pressure discharge, but in the void of space it’s powerful enough to provide thrust in the opposite direction of the flow of ions."
This is because, unlike traditional ion drives, Hall thrusters do not have a physical cathode: they utilize a magnetic field and a trapped electron cloud that serve as a hollow, “virtual” cathode. A charged ion stream is produced by injecting xenon, these heavier atoms capable of passing unimpeded through the magnetic field and are subsequently neutralized. This creates a relatively low-pressure discharge, but in the void of space it’s powerful enough to provide thrust in the opposite direction of the flow of ions."
It is an interesting article worth the read, but what caught my eye was the overwhelming idea that this looks like a ufo some folks capture on film. Could aliens use this type of device if only to travel locally?
They are just leaking bits and pieces to the public to slowly catch us up to where they have been for decades while "they" advance even further than they already are. They can't have the peons knowing as much as they do, now can they? 
