futuristic propulsion system for intergalactic travel

1. ROCKET PROPULSIONROCKET PROPULSION
Subtopic : Recent Advances In Rocket Propulsion
(With Special Reference To Interplanetary And
Interstellar Flights)

2. What is Rocket Propulsion???
Propulsion in a broad sense is the act of changing the motion of a body
Jet propulsion is a means of locomotion whereby a reaction force isJet propulsion is a means of locomotion whereby a reaction force is
imparted to a device by the momentum of ejected matter
Rocket propulsion is a class of jet propulsion that produces thrust by
ejecting stored matter called propellant

3. Classification based on energy source
ROCKETS
Chemical
Propulsion
Electric
Propulsion
Nuclear
Propulsion
Solar
Propulsion
Solid Liquid
Pump fed
Pressure
fed
Hybrid Electro-thermal
Electro-static
Electro-magnetic
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Fission
Decay of
Radioactive
Species

4. Some Advances In Rocket Propulsion Field
• Deuterium micro bomb rocket propulsion
• Relativistic Propulsion
• Matter–antimatter gigaelectron volt gamma ray
laser rocket propulsion

5. Deuterium Micro-Bomb Rocket Propulsion
• In a possible bomb configuration shown , the liquid (or solid) D explosive
has the shape of a long cylinder, placed inside a cylindrical “hohlraum” .has the shape of a long cylinder, placed inside a cylindrical “hohlraum” .
• To generate a proton beam which ignites the fuel , a miniature hydrogen
filled rocket chamber R is attached to the target, at the position where
the proton beam hits the fusion explosive.
• A pulsed laser beam from the spacecraft is shot , vaporizing the hydrogen,
which is emitted through the Laval nozzle as a supersonic plasma jet , a
conducting bridge is established, rich in protons between the spacecraft
and the fusion explosive.

6. • A GeV proton beam I coming from the left, in entering the hohlraum
dissipates part of its energy into a burst of X-rays compressing and igniting
the D bomb-cylinder.
• With its gigajoule energy lasting less than 10−7 s, the beam power is
greater than 1016 W, sufficiently large to ignite the D explosive.
• The main portion of the beam energy is focused by the cone onto the• The main portion of the beam energy is focused by the cone onto the
deuterium rod, igniting at its end a detonation wave.
• The beam is stopped over a short distance by the proton–deuterium two
stream instability , enhanced by a collision-less magneto hydrodynamic
shock.

7. Relativistic flights
• The dream of interstellar flights persists since the first pioneers in astronautics
and has never died.
• So far, there are no unambiguous conception for annihilation thruster and no
practical solution for antimatter storage onboard.
• Many concepts of thruster capable to propel a rocket to the stars have been• Many concepts of thruster capable to propel a rocket to the stars have been
proposed and the most suitable among them are thought to be photon
propulsion and propulsion by the products of proton–antiproton annihilation
in magnetic nozzle
• It is worth studying the possibility of storing atomic or molecular antimatter
substances in containers made of conventional matter with magnetic or
electrostatic barriers on the surface between matter and antimatter
substances to prevent their mutual diffusion and quantum tunneling. If
storage of antimatter in matter containers is realizable, it can find many
applications beyond astronautics.

8. Energy scheme omitting the factors of c2
dM
rocket mass lost
(1-Ɛ)dM
Massive exhaust particles
ƐdM
Energy available for utilization
hƐdM
Energy utilized(effective
exhaust energy)
dhƐdM
Effective kinetic energy of
massive exhaust particles
(1-d)hƐdM
Effective energy utilized from
massless exhaust particles
(1-h)ƐdM
Energy wasted

9. Matter–antimatter GeV gamma
ray laser rocket propulsion
• The idea of the photon rocket first proposed by Ṡanger was considered to be utopian.
• Ṡanger showed that if matter could be completely converted into photons, and a mirror
can deflect the photons into one direction, then a rocket driven by the recoil from these
photons could reach relativistic velocities where the relativistic time dilation and length
contraction must be taken into account, making even intergalactic trips possible.contraction must be taken into account, making even intergalactic trips possible.
• The only known way to completely convert mass into radiation is by the annihilation of
matter with antimatter.
• Its feasibility appears to be possible by the radiative collapse of a relativistic high current
pinch discharge in a hydrogen–antihydrogen ambiplasma down to a radius determined
by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
• Through this collapse to ultrahigh densities the proton–antiproton pairs in the center of
the pinch can become the upper Gigaelectron volt laser level for the transition into a
coherent gamma ray beam by proton–antiproton annihilation
• The magnetic field of the collapsed pinch discharge absorbing the recoil momentum of
the beam and transmitting it by the Moessbauer effect to the spacecraft.

10. Features of Matter/Antimatter Annihilation
Every elementary particle has a counterpart that is of opposite charge, but same
mass.
Eg : Electron (-) Positron (+) -and- Proton (+) Antiproton (-)
When two similar mass particles collide, they are completely converted to energy.
Highest energy density process in nature: 1 kg matter + 1 kg AM = 1.8x1017 J!
Antimatter can be sustained indefinitely as long as it does not contact normal
matter.
Must be confined using magnetic fields.Must be confined using magnetic fields.
A few grams of antimatter would contain enough energy to propel a spacecraft to
Mars in one month, but creating it would take millions of years!
Global annual production is 2-20 nanograms/yr at a cost of $300B per milligram!
Very inefficient creation process.
M/AM propulsion systems could reach Isp ~ 10,000,000 sec - Viable for multi-
decade, unmanned interstellar missions, but not for shorter, manned missions.

11. References
• Relativistic rocket : Dream and reality, Oleg G . Semyonov State University of New York
at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794,USA;Acta Astronautica99 (2014)52–70
• Matter–antimatter giga electron volt gamma ray laser rocket propulsion, F.
Winterberg , University ofNevada,1664N.Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557-0220,USA ;
Acta Astronautica 81 (2012) 34–39
• Deuterium micro bomb rocket propulsion , F. Winterberg, University of Nevada, Reno,
USA; Acta Astronautica 66 (2010) 40 -- 44USA; Acta Astronautica 66 (2010) 40 -- 44
• A note on relativistic rocketry , Shawn Westmoreland , Dept. of Mathematics, Kansas
State University , Manhattan , KS 66505, USA; Acta Astronautica 67 (2010) 1248-1251