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Home > News > More Efficient Space Engine Uses Carbon Nanotubes

December 8th, 2009

More Efficient Space Engine Uses Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract:
Ion-propulsion systems have propelled a handful of Earth-orbiting and interplanetary spacecraft over the past 50 years. Now researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology are developing more efficient ion thrusters that use carbon nanotubes for a vital component.

The Georgia Tech researchers created a field emission cathode for the thruster using carbon nanotubes. In this type of cathode, electrons are emitted after they tunnel through a potential barrier. The carbon nanotube design is especially efficient because nanotubes are incredibly strong and electrically conductive. "By using carbon nanotubes, we can get all the electrons we need without using any propellant," says Mitchell Walker, principal investigator of the project and an assistant professor in the High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory at Georgia Tech. This means that 10 percent more of the ion thruster's propellant is available for the actual mission, extending a spacecraft's lifetime.

Source:
technologyreview.com

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