08-15-2012, 08:56 AM | #31 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
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Almost all reaction engines require you to mix things inside the engine - though one of them may be energy - there are a few exceptions, called monopropellants, but they aren't used much. They tend to have fairly low performances, and they're *dangerous*. You don't want a single/premixed "fuel", because the thing that makes it a good fuel is it easily converts to an extremely hot pressurized gas. Having that happen accidentally somewhere other than in the engine would be really really bad.
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08-15-2012, 02:30 PM | #32 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
All the fun long-chains-of-nitrogen compounds that like spontaneously reverting back to elemental nitrogen gas (and some other less exciting stuff), for example.
Which is why saying "That stuff is like rocket fuel" isn't a complement most of the time.
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08-15-2012, 03:00 PM | #33 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
Most stuff that's described as 'like rocket fuel' is just ferociously flammable. And isn't necessarily all that much like rocket fuel, kerosene is only considered 'moderately flammable' on its MSDS.
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08-15-2012, 04:40 PM | #34 | |
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
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What are you trying to accomplish, by answering that you might receive responses more along the line of what you are seeking. (IE- I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to operate the torch) |
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08-15-2012, 08:33 PM | #35 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
I think the most comon monopropellant is Hydrogen Peroxide at about 95# purity. It's massibly corrosive and induces fores in other substances more than catches fire itself.
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Fred Brackin |
08-15-2012, 08:51 PM | #36 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
These days it's surely some sort of hydrazine derivative - monomethylhydrazine or unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine. Those are merely poisonous, flammable and occasionally spontaneously explosive, much safer than concentrated H2O2....
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08-15-2012, 09:22 PM | #37 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
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It was alos going to be used in the rocket Armadillo Engineering was going to enter in the X-Prise competition. I dom't think that ever got beyond basic tests.
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Fred Brackin |
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08-15-2012, 09:54 PM | #38 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
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08-16-2012, 05:19 AM | #39 |
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Not in your time zone:D
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
Precedent for cheaper antimatter - Vorkosigan Saga pg201.
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08-16-2012, 07:59 AM | #40 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: [Spaceships] Antimatter Plasma Torch fuelled by Water?
Or Spaceships p46, if for some reason you needed a precedent.
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fuel sources, propulsion, spaceships |
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