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that's the idea behind Project Orion (nuclear propulsion): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_%28nuclear_propulsion%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proj

by bra-ket 12y ago

that's the idea behind Project Orion (nuclear propulsion): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_%28nuclear_propulsion%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_%28nuclear_propul...

nickpinkston 12y ago
Great reference! A thermonuclear explosion drive - not elegant, but damn would that be a sight to behold! Bonus points for EMPing vast swaths of the launch region.
- arethuza 12y ago
  "but damn would that be a sight to behold" I imagine it would be quite something to experience as well!
  - rtkwe 12y ago
    From inside the ship you wouldn't really know that you were being propelled using nuclear bombs. Between the pusher plate and the ship are extensive shocks that would be designed to smooth out the pulsing power of the bombs into a smooth acceleration. Anything else wouldn't work very well and induce loads of stresses up the ship.
- NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago
  Not all nuclear detonations cause EMP. It requires a particular set of circumstances.
prezjordan 12y ago
Great way to use up all those nukes we have lying around.
- mirkules 12y ago
  My first thought was a space propulsion drive based on machine guns, much like ion propulsion. If humanity decided to get rid of all firearms (ha!), we could probably send them to space and drive a few spacecraft cheaply, easily and for a very long time (there are a lot more bullets than nuclear weapons) Thermonuclear propulsion, as cool as it is, would be very powerful but uncontrolled acceleration, whereas a firearms-based drive could be controlled a lot more. It would be fun if someone did a comparison on how long, fast and far nuclear versus bullet drives would get us in space.
  - kbart 12y ago
    My first reaction was that bullets don't work in space due to the lack of oxygen, but quick ducking proved me wrong. Related interesting article: http://www.livescience.com/18588-shoot-gun-space.html http://www.livescience.com/18588-shoot-gun-space.html
  - TeMPOraL 12y ago
    Or we could just take all the bullets apart, use powder for fuel and casting melted bullet casings into rocket engines :).
    - MrLeap 12y ago
      Most bullet cases are made out of brass. I'm no rocket scientist, but brass cases would make a horrible rocket engine material. The only reason cases don't catastrophically fail when you fire a gun is because of the bolt/chamber providing support. Brass IS pretty good about stretching quite a bit before a catastrophic failure. This property is what allows case fire-forming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_forming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_forming). It's also a pretty awesome safety feature. Cases are so bad by themselves about containing the force of expanding gas, that ammunition fires aren't nearly as dangerous as you might expect them to be. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c) It's a long video, but if I recall correctly, it demonstrates that a rifle cartridge fired without a chamber doesn't have the energy to penetrate cardboard at like an 11 inch range.

by bra-ket 12y ago

that's the idea behind Project Orion (nuclear propulsion): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_%28nuclear_propulsion%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_%28nuclear_propul...

nickpinkston 12y ago

Great reference! A thermonuclear explosion drive - not elegant, but damn would that be a sight to behold! Bonus points for EMPing vast swaths of the launch region.

arethuza 12y ago
"but damn would that be a sight to behold" I imagine it would be quite something to experience as well!
- rtkwe 12y ago
  From inside the ship you wouldn't really know that you were being propelled using nuclear bombs. Between the pusher plate and the ship are extensive shocks that would be designed to smooth out the pulsing power of the bombs into a smooth acceleration. Anything else wouldn't work very well and induce loads of stresses up the ship.
NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago
Not all nuclear detonations cause EMP. It requires a particular set of circumstances.

prezjordan 12y ago

Great way to use up all those nukes we have lying around.

mirkules 12y ago
My first thought was a space propulsion drive based on machine guns, much like ion propulsion. If humanity decided to get rid of all firearms (ha!), we could probably send them to space and drive a few spacecraft cheaply, easily and for a very long time (there are a lot more bullets than nuclear weapons) Thermonuclear propulsion, as cool as it is, would be very powerful but uncontrolled acceleration, whereas a firearms-based drive could be controlled a lot more. It would be fun if someone did a comparison on how long, fast and far nuclear versus bullet drives would get us in space.
- kbart 12y ago
  My first reaction was that bullets don't work in space due to the lack of oxygen, but quick ducking proved me wrong. Related interesting article: http://www.livescience.com/18588-shoot-gun-space.html http://www.livescience.com/18588-shoot-gun-space.html
- TeMPOraL 12y ago
  Or we could just take all the bullets apart, use powder for fuel and casting melted bullet casings into rocket engines :).
  - MrLeap 12y ago
    Most bullet cases are made out of brass. I'm no rocket scientist, but brass cases would make a horrible rocket engine material. The only reason cases don't catastrophically fail when you fire a gun is because of the bolt/chamber providing support. Brass IS pretty good about stretching quite a bit before a catastrophic failure. This property is what allows case fire-forming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_forming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_forming). It's also a pretty awesome safety feature. Cases are so bad by themselves about containing the force of expanding gas, that ammunition fires aren't nearly as dangerous as you might expect them to be. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c) It's a long video, but if I recall correctly, it demonstrates that a rifle cartridge fired without a chamber doesn't have the energy to penetrate cardboard at like an 11 inch range.