New Plasma Propulsion System Generates A Helluva Lot of Thrust

The next big thing in space propulsion?:

"Our solar system just became a little bit smaller due to a new plasma propulsion
concept developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Principal Research Physicist,
Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi. Her new engine uses plasmoids and magnetic fields to generate
thrust, making crewed missions to distant planets, such as Mars, significantly
more manageable and less costly."


"“The idea for this thruster comes from my simulations of helicity injection in
the [National Spherical Torus Experiment] NSTX fusion experiment in Princeton, a
technique used to create the initial plasma current in a Tokamak [fusion reactor].
My simulations showed these plasma rings called plasmoids are being created and
moving at very high speed,� Dr. Ebrahimi explained.

According to computer simulations run by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, her thruster concept
produced exhaust velocities that are ten times greater than a traditional ion
propulsion system with heart-stopping speeds at hundreds of kilometers per
second."

See:

https://thedebrief.org/fusionpropulsion/

On Feb/2/2021 at 13:30, wrote :
The next big thing in space propulsion?:

"Our solar system just became a little bit smaller due to a new plasma propulsion
concept developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Principal Research Physicist,
Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi. Her new engine uses plasmoids and magnetic fields to generate
thrust, making crewed missions to distant planets, such as Mars, significantly
more manageable and less costly."


"“The idea for this thruster comes from my simulations of helicity injection in
the [National Spherical Torus Experiment] NSTX fusion experiment in Princeton, a
technique used to create the initial plasma current in a Tokamak [fusion reactor].
My simulations showed these plasma rings called plasmoids are being created and
moving at very high speed,� Dr. Ebrahimi explained.

According to computer simulations run by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, her thruster concept
produced exhaust velocities that are ten times greater than a traditional ion
propulsion system with heart-stopping speeds at hundreds of kilometers per
second."

See:

https://thedebrief.org/fusionpropulsion/

Cool!


Alain Fournier

On 2/2/2021 3:46 PM, Alain Fournier wrote:
On Feb/2/2021 at 13:30, wrote :
See:

https://thedebrief.org/fusionpropulsion/

Cool!


I disagree. It's hot, very very hot....

;-)

Dave

On Feb/2/2021 at 15:55, David Spain wrote :
On 2/2/2021 3:46 PM, Alain Fournier wrote:
On Feb/2/2021 at 13:30, wrote :
See:

https://thedebrief.org/fusionpropulsion/

Cool!


I disagree. It's hot, very very hot....

;-)

Dave

Indeed!


Alain Fournier

"Alain Fournier" wrote in message ...

On Feb/2/2021 at 15:55, David Spain wrote :
On 2/2/2021 3:46 PM, Alain Fournier wrote:
On Feb/2/2021 at 13:30, wrote :
See:

https://thedebrief.org/fusionpropulsion/

Cool!


I disagree. It's hot, very very hot....

;-)

Dave

Indeed!


Alain Fournier


Sounds great in the lab... let's see how it scales and all.

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On Tue, 2 Feb 2021, wrote:

How radioactive is the exhaust?

The next big thing in space propulsion?:

"Our solar system just became a little bit smaller due to a new
plasma propulsion concept developed by the U.S. Department of
Energy’s Principal Research Physicist, Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi. Her
new engine uses plasmoids and magnetic fields to generate thrust,
making crewed missions to distant planets, such as Mars,
significantly more manageable and less costly."

"“The idea for this thruster comes from my simulations of helicity
injection in the [National Spherical Torus Experiment] NSTX fusion
experiment in Princeton, a technique used to create the initial
plasma current in a Tokamak [fusion reactor]. My simulations showed
these plasma rings called plasmoids are being created and moving at
very high speed,� Dr. Ebrahimi explained.

According to computer simulations run by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, her thruster concept
produced exhaust velocities that are ten times greater than a traditional ion
propulsion system with heart-stopping speeds at hundreds of kilometers per
second."

See:

https://thedebrief.org/fusionpropulsion/

My understanding is that the exhaust is not radioactive at all. I don't
think it is a nuclear propulsion system. They just accelerate a plasma
the way they do it when they start up a Tokamak. In the Tokamak, the
plasma moves at very high speeds before initiating nuclear reactions.

Think of it as a novel way to make an ion drive.


Alain Fournier

On Feb/3/2021 at 04:25, William Elliot wrote :
On Tue, 2 Feb 2021, wrote:

How radioactive is the exhaust?

The next big thing in space propulsion?:

"Our solar system just became a little bit smaller due to a new
plasma propulsion concept developed by the U.S. Department of
Energy’s Principal Research Physicist, Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi. Her
new engine uses plasmoids and magnetic fields to generate thrust,
making crewed missions to distant planets, such as Mars,
significantly more manageable and less costly."

"“The idea for this thruster comes from my simulations of helicity
injection in the [National Spherical Torus Experiment] NSTX fusion
experiment in Princeton, a technique used to create the initial
plasma current in a Tokamak [fusion reactor]. My simulations showed
these plasma rings called plasmoids are being created and moving at
very high speed,� Dr. Ebrahimi explained.

According to computer simulations run by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, her thruster concept
produced exhaust velocities that are ten times greater than a traditional ion
propulsion system with heart-stopping speeds at hundreds of kilometers per
second."

See:

https://thedebrief.org/fusionpropulsion/

On Wed, 3 Feb 2021, Alain Fournier wrote:

My understanding is that the exhaust is not radioactive at all. I
don't think it is a nuclear propulsion system. They just accelerate a
plasma the way they do it when they start up a Tokamak. In the
Tokamak, the plasma moves at very high speeds before initiating
nuclear reactions.

Think of it as a novel way to make an ion drive.

As Tokamaks do get radioative upon ussage, I doubt that exhaust isn't
radioactive.

On Thursday, William Elliot queried:
On Wed, 3 Feb 2021, Alain Fournier wrote:

My understanding is that the exhaust is not radioactive at all. I
don't think it is a nuclear propulsion system. They just accelerate a
plasma the way they do it when they start up a Tokamak. In the
Tokamak, the plasma moves at very high speeds before initiating
nuclear reactions.

Think of it as a novel way to make an ion drive.

As Tokamaks do get radioative upon ussage, I doubt that exhaust isn't
radioactive.

Tokamaks require the plasma to be contained to reach the pressures for
fusion, and they are still working on getting enough pressure for long
enough to claim sustained fusion. They are still building the
structures (as an international project) for ITER. There have been
recent photos, looking a lot like the stacking photos for SLS.

/dps

--
There's nothing inherently wrong with Big Data. What matters, as it
does for Arnold Lund in California or Richard Rothman in Baltimore, are
the questions -- old and new, good and bad -- this newest tool lets us
ask. (R. Lerhman, CSMonitor.com)

On 2/2/2021 1:30 PM, wrote:
The next big thing in space propulsion?:


This story reminds me of the late Paul M. Koloc's work with plasmoids as
well. In his case, rather than create a thruster, he was hoping to
compress plasmoids to fuse. The resulting EM pulse he wanted to couple
magnetically to directly produce electricity. He called his invention
the PLASKMAK. I never saw any working prototype that was over unity. But
he was able to produce plasmoids on demand. Fascinating just in that
respect.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10...4615-5867-5_31

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/de...?pid=156015933

Dave