I've resigned myself to the fact that we are more likely going to have a The Expanse space future than a Star Trek one but I don't think it's too bad either. Be

I've resigned myself to the fact that we are more likely going to have a The Expanse space future than a Star Trek one but I don't think it's too bad either. Because if I understand it correctly those type (not exactl that one) of thrusters propel "stuff" out of the engine not by combustion but by in this case ionizing it and pushing/pulling it along the thruster. That way you can create higher thrust by increasing the speed you shoot it out without the need to increase propellant and it's not something that needs to be refined but you could gather it along the way. So while it's not a reactionless thruster but it's main concern is still more on the energy side than on the reaction mass side