3 ms·
Yep, those pumps have to push the propellant into the explosion harder than the explosion pushes back. That takes serious power!
by schmidtleonard 2y ago
Yep, those pumps have to push the propellant into the explosion harder than the explosion pushes back. That takes serious power!
- KennyBlanken 2y agoNot only that - spacex uses the highest chamber pressures, enormously high compared to almost any other engine.
- foobarian 2y agoSo thinking where the leverage is - is it like hydraulics where the input cross-section is a lot smaller than the output cross-section? That's kinda what the nozzle looks like.
- schmidtleonard 2y agoYes, but also the propellant explodes after being pumped in, so you pump in a tiny volume and exhaust an enormous volume.
- aaronblohowiak 2y agoYou pump in a huge volume and exhaust an inconceivable volume
- schmidtleonard 2y agoThat's fair, lol.
- dotancohen 2y agoNo, because the fuel is not a working fluid pushing a piston. All the "leverage" is at the turbopump impeller blade.