"Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordance with Newton's third law."
The study of the design and operation of aerospace engines, including aerodynamics, thermodynamics, and material science.
Thermodynamics: The study of heat transfer, energy conversion, and the properties of gases and fluids.
Fluid mechanics: The study of the behavior of liquids and gases, including aerodynamics.
Combustion: The chemical reaction of a fuel with oxygen, leading to heat and the production of exhaust gases.
Propulsion systems: The components that make up a rocket or jet engine, including the fuel system, exhaust system, and nozzle.
Propellant chemistry: The properties and behavior of rocket fuel and other propellants.
Aerospace materials: The properties of materials used in aerospace vehicles, such as metals, composites, and ceramics.
Flight mechanics: The study of the motion and control of flying vehicles.
Control systems: The hardware and software used to steer aircraft and rockets.
Aerodynamics: The study of how air flows around and interacts with objects in flight.
Orbital mechanics: The study of the movement of objects in orbit, including the use of propulsion to change or maintain orbit.
Rocket stability and control: The principles of designing a rocket that can maintain its trajectory and stay on course.
Rocket performance analysis: The evaluation of a rocket's performance and efficiency, including thrust, velocity, and fuel consumption.
Rocket engine design: The design principles and components of rocket engines, including thrust chambers, combustion chambers, and injectors.
Turbine engine design: The design principles and components of jet engines, including turbines, compressors, and afterburners.
Electric propulsion: The emerging field of using electricity to power aerospace vehicles, including ion thrusters and plasma engines.
Chemical Propulsion: Uses a chemical reaction to produce thrust, such as solid rocket motors, liquid rocket engines, and hybrid rocket engines.
Electric Propulsion: Uses an electric power source to ionize or accelerate ions or other particles, such as Hall effect thrusters, electrothermal thrusters, and pulsed plasma thrusters.
Nuclear Propulsion: Uses nuclear reactions to heat and accelerate propellants, such as nuclear thermal rockets and nuclear pulse propulsion.
Solar Propulsion: Uses the energy from the sun to accelerate propellants, such as solar sails and solar electric propulsion.
Magnetic Propulsion: Uses magnetic fields to accelerate propellants, such as ionocraft and MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) thrusters.
Electrogravitic Propulsion: Uses the interaction between electricity and gravity to produce thrust, such as the Biefeld-Brown effect.
Aero Propulsion: Uses the atmosphere to generate lift and thrust, such as jet engines and turboprop engines.
Propeller Propulsion: Uses a rotating propeller to generate thrust, such as in piston and turboprop aircraft.
Ramjet Propulsion: Uses the forward motion of a vehicle to compress air and generate thrust, such as in supersonic aircraft.
Scramjet Propulsion: Uses supersonic combustion to produce thrust, such as in hypersonic aircraft.
Laser Propulsion: Uses a laser beam to heat and accelerate propellants, such as in laser ablation propulsion.
Microwave Propulsion: Uses microwaves to heat and accelerate propellants, such as in magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters.
Gravitational Propulsion: Proposes using gravitational fields to generate thrust, although this has not yet been demonstrated in practice.
Alcubierre Drive: Proposes using negative energy to create a warp bubble that would propel a spacecraft, although this is still speculation and has not been proven to be physically possible.
"Compared to other types of jet engine, rocket engines are the lightest and have the highest thrust."
"A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas."
"Rocket engines produce thrust by ejecting mass rearward."
"Most rocket engines use the combustion of reactive chemicals to supply the necessary energy."
"Yes, non-combusting forms such as cold gas thrusters and nuclear thermal rockets also exist."
"Vehicles propelled by rocket engines are commonly called rockets."
"Yes, rocket engines can be used in a vacuum to propel spacecraft and ballistic missiles."
"Rocket engines are the least propellant-efficient (they have the lowest specific impulse)."
"The ideal exhaust is hydrogen, the lightest of all elements."
"No, chemical rockets produce a mix of heavier species, reducing the exhaust velocity."
"Rocket engines become more efficient at high speeds due to the Oberth effect."
"The Oberth effect is a phenomenon where rocket engines become more efficient in terms of energy conversion at higher speeds."
"No, rocket vehicles carry their own oxidizer, unlike most combustion engines."
"The oxidizer is used to supply the necessary oxygen for the combustion process in rocket engines."
"No, cold gas thrusters and nuclear thermal rockets provide examples of non-combusting forms of rocket propulsion."
"Rocket engines produce thrust by ejecting mass rearward."
"Rocket engines produce thrust in accordance with Newton's third law."
"Compared to other types of jet engine, rocket engines are the lightest."
"Rocket engines have the highest thrust but are the least propellant-efficient."