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:
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“What but design of darkness to appall?—
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—Robert Frost (1874–1963)