How Do Ion Engines Work? The Most Efficient Propulsion System Out There

People always ask me why we’re stuck with chemical rockets. Seriously, exploding a bunch of hydrogen or kerosene is the best we can do?

Good news, there are other, exotic science fiction-sounding propulsion systems out there which use electromagnetic fields to accelerate atoms, allowing their spacecraft to accelerate for months at a time.

I’m talking about ion engines, of course, and several spacecraft have already used these exotic thrusters to perform some of the most amazing missions in the exploration of the Solar System.

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[rustymustard]

If we have hopes of becoming a space-faring civilization, this is one technology to keep an ion!

[captainmorgan]

I love it when I think of an incredible revolutionary idea and it's already been discovered...

[twirlipofthemists]

Wow, the air breather sounds brilliant. I'd never heard of it.

[wolf]

I remember a time when Ion drives were purely theoretical and solely the province of science fiction. So glad to live to see them become reality.

[tarassu]

Did you really say my fart has more thrust than multi-million dollar spacecraft?

[lewismassie]

Ion engines are insane, in both range and time taken. I thought I knew everything about ion thrusters, but I did not know they'd run one for 5 years, or that they had a new design with whole newtons of trust. That's insane

[blowietube]

Amazing. I just saw a patent for an ion engine that releases ozone as a byproduct. I wonder if such a system could selectively use pollutants (CO2/Methane?) as fuel and serve as a kind of atmospheric scrubber?

[Master_Therion]

What do you call an ion engine which has run out of fuel? An ioff engine.

[dartagnanx]

I'm so pleased to see so many more subscribers over the years. You deserve continued success!

[johnhinckley]

This is awesome! I actually design, analyze and build hall effect thrusters for a living. :D I love seeing videos about them, makes me feel like i am making a difference!

[ImmortalLemon]

I love how nasa was like “we don’t wanna put all these risky ideas on something we’ve got going good and messing them up… soooo like just staple all of them to one thing and huck it into space and see how it goes”

[TheFlipside]

I feel dumb. When you said that the space agencies were looking into ways of fueling ion engines with air siphoned from the atmosphere, I thought "what if you could make one that siphons the air that astronauts onboard exhale." Then I immediately realized the very obvious flaw with that :P

[nickvoelker]

So you're trying to tell me that Star Wars may have exaggerated the capabilities of ion engines? TIE (Twin Ion Engine) Fighter.

[CUXOB]

If the earth was heavier, chemical rockets would not be able to get to any decent height. Are civilizations on massive planets doomed to never have nice things?

[joerahman]

We’l all have to keep an ion this technology

[Tehom]

Glad you mentioned hall effect thrusters. Those are in use! Not as main engines, but as secondary station-keeping microthrusters for satellites. They like them because they can be turned on and off on a dime, giving them extremely precise control.

[zapfanzapfan]

I vote for a nuclear powered ion engine to get an orbiter to Pluto. Get Alan Stern on it! :-)

[To-mos]

Now I want to go play Kerbal Space Program.

[Babayaga]

8:35




rock: hey space station


Space station: No PLZ


rock: that's my job I'm sorry: C


solar panel:

[jerry]

Not surprised a mission involving an onboard nuclear reactor got cancelled.