Design
In a conventional chemical rocket, chemical reactions of the fuel and oxidizer (e.g. Oxygen and Kerosene) heat the by-products of the chemical reaction (e.g. CO2 and H2O) to high temperatures as they are forced through a rocket nozzle. The fast moving molecules in the exhaust focused in one direction create thrust. In a nuclear thermal rocket (or NTR) a nuclear fission reactor would serve as a source of heat which would be transferred to a propellant that is then exhausted through a rocket nozzle. The propellant in this case can be any material with suitable properties, it need not react during the operation of the rocket, it is simply a source of mass to be heated up and exhausted out of the rocket at high speeds. In an NSWR the nuclear salt-water would be made to flow through a reaction chamber and out an exhaust nozzle in such a way and at such speeds that the peak neutron flux in the fission reaction would occur outside of the vehicle.
Read more about this topic: Nuclear Salt-water Rocket
Famous quotes containing the word design:
“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”
—John Adams (1735–1826)
“Teaching is the perpetual end and office of all things. Teaching, instruction is the main design that shines through the sky and earth.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)