4 ms·
To put into proportions: The radio isotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) of the Voyager spacecraft wheighs 37kg. So let's say we can build a spacecraft using t
by sonium 10y ago
To put into proportions:
The radio isotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) of the Voyager spacecraft wheighs 37kg. So let's say we can build a spacecraft using this and the EM drive weighing a total of 50kg. The RTG produces 157W of power. This translates to a change in speed 30cm per day.
Bonus question: The power of the RTG halfes avery 87.7 years. What is the asymptotic speed the spacecraft will reach?
- photogrammetry 10y agoAsking this is like asking how long it should take for a sperm cell to swim across the Atlantic Ocean. The EMD is simply not applicable to scales where RTGs are used, much as a 5MW maritime diesel turbine is not applicable to swimming motions of a biological cell. The power density of Voyager is a hundred times lower than what an EMD ship would need.
- chegra 10y agoI am just going to go ahead and say c.
- keenerd 10y agoThis is simpler to calculate than you might assume - you need only find the velocity after one half life and double it. Doing that gives you 15.4 km/s. Of course this is considering only the decay of the plutonium and none of the active decay products. I've also disregarded the decrease in mass over time.