Coolant [Spaceships]

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Yeah, the actual requirements for the rocket equation to work are that a specific quantity of lost mass produces a specific total impulse. The details of how the mass is lost are unimportant, but the rocket equation is just the solution of the integral dV = K*dM/M (where V is velocity and M is mass), so it doesn't work if K is not a constant or the thrust equation doesn't match the above.

The rocket equation does not apply to an electric car travelling along a highway with rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag, and a speed limit.