Expert: Ray Wilkinson - 5/14/2007

Question
I am researching star wars N1, and T-65X-Wing jets and I have not been able to find an affordable program that will teach me how military jets work.  I would appreciate any information you might have on this subject,(FACTUAL information) everything I have looked at about these craft until now has given me no answer except for,  SCIENCE FICTION, I would also like to know about ion rockets, how these engines work, and what kind of fuel they run on.

Answer
Hi Joshua

I haven't really the space to explain how jet engines work, and it isn't my area.

However, regarding ion motors, they work by taking a working fluid such as helium (or any of a wide range of other gases such as hydrogen or CO2), ionising the gas by stripping electrons from atoms and accelerating the gas in an electric field (a bit like a cathode-ray tube in principle). The force required to do this is equal to the mass of the gas times the acceleration imposed by the field, and gives the thrust. The mass is very small, but the ions are ejected at very high speed.

To prevent a build-up of charge on the vehicle, the stripped electrons are reintroduced to the ionised gas after ejection, as a stream of electrons, although this doesn't add to the thrust. The motor requires a source of electical power and the working fluid. The thrust produced is quite small, ranging from hundredths of newtons to perhaps a few tens of newtons, but can be sustained for a long time, so is used for slow orbital transfers or for thrust outside of orbit. The ion engine doesn't work inside the atmosphere.

I hope this helps.

Regards
Ray