The electric arc in the jet motors

X-15 Rocket plane (illustration photo)
(https://theaviationist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/X-15.jpg)

https://gamesandtehories.blogspot.com/

Kimmo Huosionmaa

Do you know what is the "electric arc" jet engine? Originally this engine was created for interplanetary flight. Basically, this engine is the rocket, where the electric arc would replace the burning in the combustion chamber. And that rocket would not need the oxygenize the fuel for burning. In many scenarios, this rocket would need the nuclear reactor for creating the electric arc, but that is not true. The electricity, what is needed could be created by putting dynamo in the turbine pump of that system.


The use of an electric arc in the jet engines is the fascinating idea because that motor would not need to form any special way. Even the straight tube would be enough if there is a flap system in both sides. The system might look like the flap motor, what is used in V-1 "Flying bombs" in the 1940's, but the electric arc motors have one big difference.


The rise of the pressure in the tube would be done by using the electric arc, and this motor would not need fuel for creating the pressure in the tube. In some scenarios, I have thought that this motor could work without nuclear power. The system needs only the high power capacitor for creating the electric arc, what would give the thrust for the aircraft.


That engine would work like this. First, the flaps would let the fuel to the tube, and then the electric arc would be created. The electric arc would raise the temperature and volume of the gas inside the tube, and then the backside flaps would open, and the gas would be exhausted with force. And if the power of that system is high enough, the air would be heated enough, that there would be no need for extra fuel.

My estimation of Arthur C. Clarke's book "Earthlight" (1955)

"Earthlight"
Arthur C. Clarke
(1955)

http://kirjabloggaus.blogspot.com/p/my-estimation-of-arthur-c-clarkes-book.html

Kimmo Huosionmaa

"Earthlight" is the novel, what Arthur C. Clarke wrote in 1955, and it is the very futuristic story about the war between the Earth and it's colonies. The book is full of technical things, like the train, what travels on the surface of the moon. This fictional moon train is a quite conventional electric train, what is modified as the space capsule, and it would travel to the station, and then the airlocks would be connected to that system, what allows people to travel on the surface of the Moon. The combat systems that are used in this book, are the probably triangle-shape spacecraft, what have thrust to every side of those vehicles, and that would make those ships, what fictional colony would be used capable to fly like some UFO.


Because the war between colonies, what are known as "Federals" is expected, the Moonbase must be defended, and the defense is the thing, what is prepared almost all of the book. The defense of that base bases the magnetic cannon, what would pump meted iron straight to those targeted spacecraft. The book is actually the story about preparing the war, and how the colonies spies would be searched from the Moonbase. In the last chapter, Clarke wrote that the peace treaty would be made under the control of the Moon, and in this case, I would tell that in the real life, would the Moon be acting in the control of Earth.


There would be many things, what the Moon needs from Earth, and one of them is clothes and the second thing, what Clarke forgot, is that the Moon would be targetted the nuclear weapons from the Earth, or there could be powerful, but an unseen radiological weapon, what could destroy entire Moon in seconds. That fictional weapon could be an actually radiological weapon, and it can be actually misused radio telescope. The thing could be tested in some weapon tests, where are trying to create the protective shield, by using electric arcs.


Those radio telescopes would be synchronized in the same frequency, and then their radiation would be targeted to the heart or center point of the Moon, and this means, that the Moon would be destroyed immediately when the Earth wants. The warming of the center of the Moon with extremely powerful electric arcs could cause the expansion of the nucleus of the Moon, and that would crash entire planet. This is the thing, what this master of science fiction might be thought, when he wrote that novel, that feels so timeless even today.

The "impossible motor" and what is so problematic with it?

"Project Pluto"
(Picture I)

Kimmo Huosionmaa

There would be no motor, what can work without propellant. There is little bit difference between fuel and propellant in rocket technology. Fuel is the thing, what gives power supply for those spacecraft, and propellant is the thing, what gives thrust for the rocket. In the case of electromagnetic or nuclear rockets is very important to separate terms propellant and fuel, because those motors don’t need fire for giving speed for those spacecraft.


The  so-called impossible motor is one part of so-called electric drive motors, what would use electromagnetic radiation for giving speed for spacecraft. I sometimes wonder, why that team uses microwaves because the radio frequency would be safer, and the system could be cooler. Those motors cannot even work in the atmosphere, because the full thrust force of the electromagnetic radiation is so small.  This motor uses electrons or radio-waves as a propellant, and that's why they would not break the laws of physics.



In some scenarios in the rockets, burning camper would create the electric arc, and hydrogen would drive thru it, and it would give very high speed for that rocket. But the pure electromagnetic rockets would use only the radiation, what gives the very high-speed impulse to back but the problem is very low thrust, what means that this rocket must shoot to space, by using conventional rockets, and then that spaceship would accelerate near the speed of light by using some other motor solutions.



So those rockets must launch to empty space that those motors can be work. Those electromagnetic motors are in theory use photons or radio waves to accelerate the spaceship to the speed of light. There are three types of electromagnetic rockets, what are planned. They are pure electromagnetic motors, what uses photons, radio- or microwaves to create the thrust. Another way is to anti-matter to create the thrust or third way is to use the magnetic field to accelerate the atomic particles. When the electromagnetic motor work, it actually needs fuel to create electricity for its transmitters. And when we are looking at that kind of motor, we can say that the thing, what gives thrust to the rocket is called as a propellant. So those motors actually use electrons or photons as a propellant.



There is one problem, and it is very low thrust, what means that the spacecraft must accelerate near the speed of light by using some other rocket systems like antimatter. That would give that rocket the speed, what is near the speed of light, and then the radio-motor would be started, and that would allow the spacecraft to fly to the speed of light. There is one version of those radio-motors what might have the capacity to fly in atmosphere. That motor is called as "electric arc jet motor". In this particular motor, the radio-waves are made for creating the electric arc in the tube, and that would replace burning in some very powerful engines. That motor would look similar, then what is created for "Project Pluto".



In that project , U.S Air Force created an idea of the nuclear jet motor, where in the middle of the ramjet-motor would be installed nuclear reactor, what would warm the air, what would drive backward of that motor. But when political atmosphere turned against that kind of solutions, started NASA think about the possibility, that this nuclear reactor would be replaced by using electric arc. And when this motor would be equipped with flap system, what was planned to be similar, what was used in V-1 "Flying bomb" could be possible to make the motor, that uses air as a propellant. Also, there were plans to make aircraft, what uses electric arcs to hang in the air. In those planes would be the chamber in the middle of them, and if there would make the electric arc, with power what is enough high, would that allow the aircraft to fly in the atmosphere.



That rocket would use fuel cells to make very high voltage, what makes electric arc under that plane. And in this case, the electric arc works like the fire under heat air balloons, what are used for centuries. Many of those robots are at the theoretical level, and the solutions would be waiting many years. But one spacecraft have used ion motors while traveling in the asteroid belt. and that would give change to develop more powerful and sophisticated rockets for the space exploration, and maybe we would travel to another planet by using some of those rockets, what are only pictures in the papers.

Sources:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/nasa-impossible-emdrive-physics-peer-review-space-science/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Timberwind

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto

https://tekniikanmaailma.fi/mullistavalle-mahdottomalle-moottorille-iso-takaisku-uuden-testin-mukaan-maan-magneettikentta-vaaristi-aikaisempia-lupaavia-testituloksia/

Picture I

https://scottlocklin.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/pluto1.jpg

https://crisisofdemocracticstates.blogspot.fi/