Coolant [Spaceships]

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Yes, applying the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation to the reactionless-but-delta-V-limited drive has the effective exhaust velocity you would use in the equation not actually corresponding to the velocity of anything in the system. But the equation still works exactly the same way.

Yes. There is a reason for the tradition of writing the equation and reporting performance in terms of specific impulse and not exhaust velocity. It's perfectly possible to apply slightly modified versions of the "rocket" equation to things like jet engines and helicopter rotors. You can get specific impulses that correspond to "exhaust velocities" greater than the speed of light when you do. Obviously nothing is actually moving anywhere near that fast, you are just using something other than the burned fuel to provide the momentum.

You don't need to consume a coolant to describe a reactionless thruster in terms of the rocket equation. If it consumes power you can compute a specific impulse in terms of consumption of whatever the power plant uses for fuel.