Mechanical Mouse Industries

[Thunderbird]

Hello,

im a noobie here and still just only goofing around with rockets trying to figure it out,but i like your Ion Engines 8)

as for the sound,Ion engines dont really have any sound,except for the sound the electronics make (a quiet buzz),and the exhaust is dim light blue (

at around 1:40) and they indeed dont use fuel,just energy, usually used to propel space probes,often with nuclear isotope battery (radioisotope generator) which is quite nearly limitless.

Can i request you also make a Plasma Engine? Its essentially a more powerful version of Ion (still nowhere near a standard rocket engine), google 'VASIMR' if youre interested in it (as said already,theyre going to test it on the ISS soonish). This engine uses gas as fuel (almost any gas),also requires fairly large amounts of electricity,but is very economical and in the long run faster for IP travel because of the vastly longer thrust times possible. If you decide to make one, the exhaust is a bright blue fading out cone with a near-white blue 'blob' at the exhaust pipe,sound is,again,buzz of the electromagnets,but probably also the hiss of the gas exhaust (i dont think anyone ever tested it in atmosphere,i sure wouldnt )

[Sordid]

Ion engines dont use fuel

Yes they do, there is no such thing as a reactionless drive. They use so little of it that their supply lasts them a long time, though.

[Thunderbird]

Yes they do, there is no such thing as a reactionless drive. They use so little of it that their supply lasts them a long time, though.

ok,well,technically they do,but its a electron emitter for example,or the wearing off metal emitter grid... lasts literally for years :-D

[spawnofbill]

ok,well,technically they do,but its a electron emitter for example,or the wearing off metal emitter grid... lasts literally for years :-D

Wrong again. Ion engines use an electric field to accelerate ionized gas, not just electrons. The most commonly used gas is Xenon. Xenon acts as the 'fuel' in that if it runs out you\'re done. Fuel is however an improper term since their is no combustion going on, the proper term is propellent.

[Zeroignite]

I like the term 'reaction mass' best. Reaction mass is whatever you chuck out the back end of the rocket, fuel produces the energy. In a chemical rocket they\'re typically the same. However, in something like a fission rocket, your fuel would be plutonium and your reaction mass would be hydrogen that\'s heated and propelled out the back.

[Thunderbird]

Wrong again. Ion engines use an electric field to accelerate ionized gas, not just electrons. The most commonly used gas is Xenon. Xenon acts as the 'fuel' in that if it runs out you\'re done. Fuel is however an improper term since their is no combustion going on, the proper term is propellent.

my bad i guess... i heard about a ion drive that uses only its own components for a propellant, was some kind of a emitter cathode/anode that was emitting its own mass to be used for the reaction mass and had no external propellant tank... unfortunately i cant find it anywhere so i might have misunderstood whoever was explaining it to me

[Thraxus908]

a ion drive that uses only its own components for a propellant, was some kind of a emitter cathode/anode that was emitting its own mass to be used for the reaction mass and had no external propellant tank

Sounds like an anti-matter engine to me. Uses a stream of anti-matter and a metal plate to make explosions.

[Joshua21B]

Welcome to the KSP forums Thraxus9081

You may want to look at the date on the last post before yours. Posting in topics that have been inactive for some time is frowned upon so in the future watch out for that.