Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains How Ion Drives Work

How do Ion Drives work? Find out, as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson answers a fan's Cosmic Query and explains what ion propulsion is, and how ion drives function differently than chemical rockets. Neil discusses the benefits and drawbacks of each, prompting comic co-host Eugene Mirman to wonder if ion drives can be weaponized?

Catch up with StarTalk Radio around the web:

[IceMetalPunk]

I appreciate so much that his first response to "can you make a gun" is "why do you have to take perfectly good science and turn it into a weapon?"

[StarTalk]

New Video: Watch Neil deGrasse Tyson explain how Ion Drives work to Eugene Mirman: Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains How Ion Drives Work

[randomdeadbody]

(is now tempted to build a plasma cannon in my garage just to give BATF the finger)

[TheRhinehart]

Stalin essentially promoted theistic worship of himself, one of the more striking examples was how Soviet propaganda people would go to schools and tell the children to pray to god for candy, nothing happened, they then got the children to pray to Stalin for candy when another agent hiding in the roof would pour candy down through the air ducts. Stalin technically didn't promote christianity or any sort of afterlife, but he certainly exploited the religious aspect of our psychology.

[KraussEMUS]

Here is a patented ion thruster that can lift its power supply onboard the invention! It took a major increase in power to weight ratio to get it to carry the power supply. It could carry a small propellant tank as well! The device is well verified to work and has potential.

You can watch videos of 5 of the prototypes in flight, as well as see the website by clicking on the purple channel icon to the left.

[KraussEMUS]

If you click on the channel icon to the left, you can see five prototype ion thrusters that lift their power supplies against earth's gravity! They accelerate at greater than 1G and could carry a small propellant tank!...

[blackhawk]

a dependent clause that never mattered until the 1930s and not taken seriously by any scholar. Strawman fallacy, You are never free to murder. To assume that is absurd and your grasp of the issue is non-existent. Like most gun prohibitionists, you can't avoid logical fallacies and propaganda techniques, showing a lack of critical thinking.

[GreatMindsGreatquote]

Both were raised Christian but denounced it after they learned everything they needed to from it to carry out their atrocities. To quote Steven Weinberg

"With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil — that takes religion."

[Legend_Hunter_Original]

For people looking for more info, look MHD propulsion system and magnetic sail (mostly theoretical) to understand it better!!!

[hokiturmix]

A properly operational (as future plans) Tokamak Fusion Generator can turn into something like an ion drive in notime;p
I know nothing that prevent us build bigger and bigger ion except financional boundaries ;p
I'm not a Fraud stereotype XĐ

[EmergentBehavior]

A stage combustion hydrlox rockets has a specific impulse of 450 seconds, where as an ion drives has a specific impulse of several thousand seconds. However current ion drives have tiny thrust, therefore have little use for large craft.

[xx]

Didnt Arnie ask for a Phase plasma rifle in the 40 watt range in the first terminator movie at that gun store?
The owner replied only what you see pal !! Maybe Cameron was being prophetic back then....

[Yprin]

I didn't understand what he said @ 2:34, I didn't underand what the problem is! He said ion engine is very efficient, but it is not very large ? what he means by that?

[wyduewanano]

Can't prove a negative, and burden of proof is on you to show that they are, in fact, portraits of Stalin and Hitler rather than literally anything else you could put in a painting.
We done?

[tbro]

That would be because you cannot post complete links in a reply... it should be assumed that you're intelligent enough to add the three w's and the period necessary to complete the address.... : /

[eldruggedmonkey]

isn't an ion engine technically weaker compared to chemical engines within an atmosphere? like the particles get absorbed and thus the thrust wouldn't be as great out in open skies? but launching and in space where the vehicle has either a backdrop for the opposing force to push off of or where there is no atmosphere to oppose the force and cause friction against said craft?

[cjgoth]

And the UK used to be the world leader in ion drives. Both in the mercury days, and xenon which we use nowadays.

[Merllnby]

Shouldn't take me so seriously if it upsets you. Its not worth it. BTW those portraits are actually Pol Pot and Mao Zedong I just found out.

[cpob]

tie fighters! (twin ion engine) chems are the best way to get into space, but then use whatever you want. me, im gonna wait for the Normandy

[Leon]

If ion/plasma tech becomes the norm and a gun can be created using that, then yes, it would be alright to own them under the 2nd amendment.