Rockets and Rocket-like Reaction Engines
In rockets, the total velocity change can be calculated (using the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation) as follows:
Where:
- v = ship velocity.
- u = exhaust velocity.
- M = ship mass, not including the fuel.
- m = total mass ejected from the ship (working mass).
The term working mass is used primarily in the aerospace field. In more "down to earth" examples the working mass is typically provided by the Earth, which contains so much momentum in comparison to most vehicles that the amount it gains or loses can be ignored. However in the case of an aircraft the working mass is the air, and in the case of a rocket, it is the rocket fuel itself. Most rocket engines use light-weight fuels (liquid hydrogen, oxygen, or kerosene) accelerated to super-sonic speeds. However, ion engines often use heavier elements like Xenon as the reaction mass, accelerated to much higher speeds using electric fields.
In many cases the working mass is separate from the energy used to accelerate it. In a car the engine provides power to the wheels, which then accelerates the Earth backward to make the car move forward. This is not the case for most rockets however, where the rocket propellant is the working mass, as well as the energy source. This means that rockets stop accelerating as soon as they run out of fuel, regardless of other power sources they may have. This can be a problem for satellites that need to be repositioned often, as it limits their useful life. In general, the exhaust velocity should be close to the ship velocity for optimum energy efficiency. This limitation of rocket propulsion is one of the main motivations for the ongoing interest in field propulsion technology.
Read more about this topic: Working Mass
Famous quotes containing the words rockets, reaction and/or engines:
“The Thirties dreamed white marble and slipstream chrome, immortal crystal and burnished bronze, but the rockets on the Gernsback pulps had fallen on London in the dead of night, screaming. After the war, everyone had a car—no wings for it—and the promised superhighway to drive it down, so that the sky itself darkened, and the fumes ate the marble and pitted the miracle crystal.”
—William Gibson (b. 1948)
“In contrast to revenge, which is the natural, automatic reaction to transgression and which, because of the irreversibility of the action process can be expected and even calculated, the act of forgiving can never be predicted; it is the only reaction that acts in an unexpected way and thus retains, though being a reaction, something of the original character of action.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“America is like one of those old-fashioned six-cylinder truck engines that can be missing two sparkplugs and have a broken flywheel and have a crankshaft that’s 5000 millimeters off fitting properly, and two bad ball-bearings, and still runs. We’re in that kind of situation. We can have substantial parts of the population committing suicide, and still run and look fairly good.”
—Thomas McGuane (b. 1939)