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Electric Thruster Test and Evaluation (3721 words) |
 | Electric thrusters have an exhaust velocity normally 2 to 10 times higher than chemical thrusters, which means their efficiency with respect to propellant usage is greater. |
| In a Hall-effect thruster, neutral atoms from a heavy gas such as xenon are ionized by collision with high-energy electrons whose movement is confined by a radial magnetic field. |
| Thruster performance, life-limiting characteristics, and interactions between spacecraft and exhaust plumes are best understood through a combination of measurements and modeling. |
| American Antigravity - Vortex Thruster Aircraft Technology (732 words) |
| Physically, the difference between conventional jet propulsion and the vortex thruster is that in the former, the net force generated and the power requirements are determined by the same axial velocity component. |
| In the vortex thruster, a large net force is generated primarily by the tangential velocity component, but only a relatifvely small axial flow rate, and hence, relatively small power is required. |
| Preliminary experiments using a simple device to model a thruster have verified that thrust is in fact generated in the same direction as the exit flow. |
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