Digest Number 507

snip

> >
>>Message: 1
>> Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 17:34:28 -0000
>> From: "victoriatangoman"
>>Subject: Looking for information
>>
>>I'm hoping that someone on this list can point me to the info I'm
> >looking for.
>>
>>About a year ago I came came across a website, I think it was NASA
>>affiliated, that described a technology in which energy is poured
>>into, I think it was a plasma, and with very little maintenance
>>energy, this plasma ring? served as a battery. Supposedly it had
>>pretty high theoretical energy density. You could pour immense
>>amounts of energy in, let's say at a re-fueling station in LEO, and
>>then use it as a means of propulsion for a sacecraft.
>>
>>I've been trying to find this web reference again, but my memory is
>>fuzzy and I'm just not able to find the correct search terms.
>>
>>Anybody else come across this same information?
>>
>>
>>
Larry Kellogg

This too is not the one I see but is what is being worked on for
Marshall Space Flight Center and has a number of PDF files that might
be of interest. Will keep looking. - LRK -

http://www.spacetransportation.com/sciresearch/adv_plas_prop.html
Advanced plasma propulsion harnesses high-energy sources and could
revolutionize human exploration and development of the solar system.
NASA Marshall's Propulsion Research Center is investigating fusion
and high-power, high-thrust plasma thrusters that could lead to rapid
interplanetary travel.

For the near term, high-power, high-efficiency plasma rockets are
required to work with solar electric and nuclear electric power
sources to achieve specific impulse (ISP) up to 10,000 seconds. A
high premium is placed on the efficiency of the plasma thruster due
to the practical constraints bounding the power-to-mass ratios of the
power sources.

Plasma thruster efficiencies greater than 50% are required, and
could lead to significant reduction in propellant mass and trip time,
resulting in a dramatic reduction in cost per mile per kg of space
travel.

Fusion reactions result in the production of an extremely hot and
electrically conducting plasma that may be manipulated magnetically
to produce thrust directly, without the intermediate steps of
converting the energy into electricity, which in turn needs to be
converted into thrust.
This would lead to further increase in the specific power of the
plasma rockets as well as specific impulse.
snip
There is a search function on the page and maybe something will come
back. It seemed like Dr. Tony Phillips had something on Science@NASA
but the topics in the archive didn't ring a bell except the one on
flying with a magnetic sail.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast04oct%5F1.htm

This site with a long list of players in the Plasma Field might be of
interest as well.
http://plasma-gate.weizmann.ac.il/PlasmaI.html
http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/sppb/

He also a list of the players in plasma technology.
http://www.plasmas.org/technology.htm

Larry Kellogg
--
Larry R. Kellogg
lkellogg@...
http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov