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Ion Pulse Engine
(Solar
Electric Propulsion)
Old Rockets:
Since Werner Von Braun, space flight propulsion systems have relied on
somewhat conventional rocket engines. These solid or liquid chemical
rocket motors create their power through a chemical reaction that takes
place between a fuel and an oxidizer.
Considering the challenges of space travel, chemical rockets have
offered the advantage of developing the awesome levels of thrust,
required to break free of planetary orbit.
They also, however,
have a few disappointing disadvantages, for example they are usually
quite large and massively heavy, requiring very large amounts of
chemical fuels and oxidizers. Even more critical, they are not capable
of long continuous operation. To overcome the disadvantages, research is
now being conducted on propulsion systems that use principles of physics
instead of chemistry.
New Ion Systems:
One very cool technology, straight out of the science fiction books, is
Ion pulse propulsion. Also known as, Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Ion
pulse propulsion is a technology that involves ionizing xenon gas to
propel a craft. (xenon is a relatively common gas similar to neon or
helium, but is a bit heavier.)
 As
the xenon gas is fed into the engine, it is ionized (given an electrical
charge) and is then accelerated to a speed of about 68,000 miles per
hour. When these emitted xenon ions are shot out of the back end of a
spacecraft, they will push the craft in the opposite direction at a
constantly increasing higher rate of speed.
While the
acceleration rate from an Ion pulse engine is gentle and cannot be used
in applications requiring rapid acceleration (such as warp speed!) it
can propel a craft to speeds that are at least ten times greater than a
chemical rocket.
In addition to being
much smaller and much lighter then a conventional rocket, the Ion pulse
engine is believed to be dramatically more fuel efficient, especially in
prolonged, deep space missions. The one limitation is in power, Ion
pulse engines are not powerful enough to break the bonds of gravity,
carrying a typically heavy payload, so they will have to rely on
conventional rockets to get them into space. Once in space, however, the
Ion pulse engine can provide thrust for many thousands of hours on
limited amounts of fuel.
Ion Pulse Engines
In Use:
The Ion engine is out of the lab and is now reality. "Deep Space 1," a
deep space probe using an Ion engine, was NASA’s first mission in the
"New Millennium Program," a program designed to test and validate new
technologies.
NASA’s initial
calculations projected that Deep Space 1’s Ion engine could run at 50%
throttle for 20 months on only 81.5 kg of xenon propellant. As of June
2001, the Ion thruster had far exceeded NASA’s expectations, powering
the mission for over 12,000 hours, allowing NASA to extend the mission
to a September 2001 encounter with Comet Borrelly.
By the way, Deep Space 1's Ion pulse engine has it cruising at around
10,000 miles per hour.
by:
Dr. Von Zuko 2007©
Pain-Ray Cannon (Directed-energy Weapon)
 The United States Marine Corps, the Air
Force, and Raytheon, have jointly developed a new large-scale
directed-energy weapon that fires a burst of non-lethal but intensely
painful microwave energy.
How painful you ask? Imagine having the skin, all over your body
(because clothing offers no protection) suddenly scalded to a depth of
1/64 of an inch . . . ouch!! While the ray is said to cause no
permanent harm, the instant pain is severe enough to cause an enemy (or
folks engaged in civil unrest) to drop everything they are doing and run
the other way. Once a person is out of range, the pain stops and
they're pretty much unharmed.
With a range of about a half mile or so, the "Pain Ray" can reach beyond
the "effective" range of shoulder-fired small arms, making the Pain-Ray
Cannon an ideal military weapon for enforcing "area denial" that is,
taking control of an area (denying the enemy use) while avoiding the use
of lethal force.
Interestingly, the "Pain-Ray Cannon" can
also be used to burn up the electronics of the enemy's battlefield
assets such as, the ignition systems of military vehicles, computers and
communications gear. It's likely that the military will mount this
directed-energy weapon in a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) to do this
type of work, because it could fly very close to enemy lines with out
endangering our troops, but wreaking havoc with the enemy's assets.
"Phasers on Stun Scotty."
by:
Dr. Von Zuko 2006©
Electromagnetic Mind-control Weapons
(Acoustic Psycho-correction)
Operating on the principles of electromagnetic flux, "Acoustic
Psycho-correction" weapons have been in development since the early
1970's. Utilizing low frequency transmissions, specific commands can be
sent via static or white noise bands directly into the human
subconscious allegedly, without upsetting other intellectual
functions.
Demonstrations of these evolving technologies have shown positive
results (even with exposures of less than one minute) producing
noticeably altered behaviors in both willing and unwilling subjects.
These Mind-altering weapons can be used to fight terrorists, control
dissidents, suppress riots, and demoralize or disable enemy forces. On
a positive note, the technology could also be used to enhance the
performance or frame of mind of friendly forces.
Other Low-Frequency Weapon Effects:
The effects that can be produced through the use of ultra-low frequency
weapons include: a sense of panic in non-panic situations, temporary
paralysis, nausea, diarrhea, vertigo, palpitations, disorientation,
severe headaches, loss of memory, loss of concentration, retinal
bleeding, burnt face (even at night), faulty speech, loss of
co-ordination, irritability, and even sleep disturbances.
by: Dr. Von Zuko 1998©
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Straight Out of Science Fiction Index:
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