Physicist invents new fusion rocket that could take first humans to Mars

Dr Fatima Ebrahimi, who works for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) of the US Department of Energy, has invented a new fusion rocket that could one day take humans to Mars.

The device uses magnetic fields to project plasma particles at the rear of the rocket and propel the craft into space.

Using magnetic fields allows scientists to tailor the amount of thrust for a particular mission, and astronauts change the amount of thrust while flying to distant worlds.

Ebrahimi’s innovation would also take space shroud heroes to the Red Planet 10 times faster than current rocket boosters that use electric fields to propel particles.

“I’ve been cooking this concept for a while,” Ebrahimi said.

“ I got the idea in 2017, sitting on a bridge and thinking about the similarities between a car’s exhaust and high-speed exhaust particles. ”

“During its operation, this tokamak produces magnetic bubbles called plasmoids that travel at about 20 kilometers per second, which seemed to me a bit like a push.

Fusion is the power that drives the sun and the stars, and combines light elements in the form of plasma.

Plasma is the hot, charged state of matter made up of free electrons and atomic nuclei that makes up 99% of the visible universe – and is capable of generating massive amounts of energy.

Scientists have been working around the clock to replicate the fusion in a lab in hopes of harnessing its power to generate electricity for rockets traveling into deep space.

Current plasma thrusters that use electric fields to propel the particles can only produce a small specific impulse, or velocity.

But computer simulations performed on PPPL computers and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., Have shown that the new concept of the plasma thruster can generate gas from the plasma. ‘exhaust with speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second, 10 times faster than those of other thrusters.

This faster speed at the start of a spacecraft’s journey could bring the outer planets within reach of astronauts, Ebrahimi said.

“Long-distance trips take months, even years, because the specific impulse of chemical rocket engines is very low, so that the machine takes a while to level,” he said. she declared.

“But if we make thrusters based on magnetic reconnection, then we could perform long range missions in a shorter time frame.

While the use of fusion to propel rockets is not a new concept, Ebrahimi’s booster differs from major devices in three ways.

The first is that changing the strength of the magnetic fields can increase or decrease the amount of thrust, which will allow better maneuvering through the dark chasm that is space.

“By using more electromagnets and more magnetic fields, you can actually turn a knob to fine tune the speed,” Ebrahimi said.

Second, the new propellant produces motion by ejecting both plasma particles and magnetic bubbles called plasmoids.

Plasmoids add power to the propulsion and no other propellant concept integrates them.

However, the final difference between Ebrahimi’s concept and the others is that his uses magnetic fields to project plasma particles at the back of the rocket – devices proven in space using electric fields.

The use of magnetic fields can be a game-changer, as it allows scientists to tailor the amount of thrust for a particular mission.

“While other thrusters require heavy gas, made up of atoms like xenon, in this concept you can use any type of gas you want,” Ebrahimi said. Scientists may prefer light gas in some cases because the smaller atoms can move faster.