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"Evolutionary success ... is going to absolutely require mobility on, at a minimum, an interplanetary scale. We either go or we die out."
- Richard Morgan
 |
| Ion Drive | ||
| A space drive that emits a stream of ions as reaction mass; it starts out slow but builds up to interstellar speeds. |
| Lifecraft 18 was a trim steel missile, lying snug in its berth tube amidships of the Great Director. Eighty feet long and slim as a pencil, it had its own ion drive, a regular crew of six, and plenty of additional space for our party...
 ('The Equalizer' by Jack Williamson) In the acceleration lounge, we hung weightless for a few seconds, as we dropped away from the flagship; then the thrust of our own ion drive forced us back into the cushions, with a two-gravity acceleration. |
| Technovelgy from Equalizer,
by Jack Williamson. Published by Astounding S-F in 1947 Additional resources -
|
I believe that the T.I.E. fighters from Star Wars also used a form of ion propulsion, but maybe a bit zippier. Also, compare to the sun-powered ionic motor from The Planet Strappers (1961), by Raymond Z. Gallun. The earliest use of this idea is Positive Ray Propulsion from The Prince of Space (1931) by Jack Williamson. See also the use of finely divided dust as propellant from Earthlight (1955) by Arthur C. Clarke.
One popular recent use of the idea of pushing a spacecraft with a fine stream of ions is as a kind of mini-thruster for tiny satellites. Take a look at these stories:
Compare to these propulsion systems: Light Pressure Propulsion (1867),
apergy (1880),
Beam-Powered Propulsion (1931),
Granton motor (1933),
Vibration-Propelled Cruiser (1928),
geodynes (1936),
ion drive (1947),
Planetary Propulsion-Blasts (1934),
stardrive (1953),
solar sail (light sail) (1962),
Lyle drive (1961),
laser cannon (1966),
Bussard ramjet (1976),
asymptotic drive (1976),
Interstellar Laser Propulsion System (1985).
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Additional
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and Technology from Equalizer
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and Technology by Jack Williamson
Tech news articles related to Equalizer
Tech news articles related to works by Jack Williamson
Ion Drive-related
news articles:
- SMART-1's Ion Drive Not Science Fiction
- UM Hall Thruster Breaks Records
| 'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...' |
| Cloud Of Space Rubbish From China's Long March Rocket |
| ESA's Draco To Study Heat Of Reentry |
| The United States Space Academy Is Official |
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'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
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'And the lifter was being piloted by a large pizza with extra cheese...'
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