Is the Epstein drive real?
Is the Epstein drive real?
The Epstein Drive is a commonly used propulsion system in The Expanse universe, one which makes interplanetary travel for humans both feasible and efficient. However, it seems to defy what I understand as current limitations in material/fuel efficiency capabilities.
What happened to the creator of the Epstein drive?
Solomon Epstein developed the Epstein Drive. Solomon died with his ship while still accelerating into space.
How does an Epstein drive work?
Background. The drive utilizes magnetic coil exhaust acceleration to increase drive efficiency, which enables spaceships to sustain thrust throughout the entire voyage.
How fast are spaceships in the expanse?
5,500 m/s
The spaceship starts with a speed of 5,500 m/s (yes, I’m assuming the mps means meters per second). There is a constant acceleration of 10 g’s (98 m/s2).
Why do the ships fly backwards in the expanse?
There are no brakes in space. If you accelerate and eventually want to slow down, you have to decelerate by accelerating in the opposite direction. Whenever a ship is traveling to a certain destination, it has to cut thrust and flip around halfway through the trip.
Do ships in the expanse fly backwards?
For all the previous episodes, the Navoo did not rotate. They created artificial gravity just like everyone else—they had rockets accelerate the spacecraft. Oh, you should note that often the spaceships are flying backwards because they don’t actually fly in space.
Why do the ships fly backwards in The Expanse?
How Fast Is Epstein drive?
The Epstein drive technology allows for >250 ton spacecraft to accelerate for several hours at 5g with bursts of up to 12g, achieving a deltaV of 4000km/s, while not having any radiators and a tiny propellant fraction.
How fast can Epstein drive go?
Why are the engines on the front in The Expanse?
This is the way most spacecraft create “weight” in The Expanse. They use their thrusters to accelerate so that they are either speeding up or slowing down. This means you can make a rotating spacecraft in which the humans stand on the inside with their heads towards the center of rotation and they can feel “weight.”
How fast is 1g in space?
If a ship is using 1 g constant acceleration, it will appear to get near the speed of light in about a year, and have traveled about half a light year in distance.
Why do they fly backwards in the expanse?
Is the Epstein drive based on a fusion rocket?
An “Epstein Drive” that electromagnetically accelerates fusion rocket exhaust would improve propellant consumption as described, but it would also add terawatts to the electrical power requirements and render the fusion portion largely superfluous.
What kind of physics is the Epstein drive based on that?
From what I’ve managed to gather, the Epstein drive is an inertial confinement fusion drive that uses an afterburner to eject water reaction mass (propellant). There are two major types of fusion power: magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. The former uses gaseous fusion fuel, the latter uses pellet fusion fuel.
What was the Epstein drive in the expanse?
The Epstein Drive (art Gautam Singh) is described in The Expanse as a breakthrough in fusion propulsion technology. A short story provides some details. A small spaceship equipped with this engine could reach 5% of the speed of light in 37 hours, averaging over 11g’s of acceleration.
What kind of fuel does the Epstein drive use?
Using fuels like Deuterium provides over 90 TeraJoules of energy per kilogram consumed. Proton fusion, the sort which powers our Sun, could release 644 TJ/kg if we could ever get it to work. The Epstein Drive (art Gautam Singh) is described in The Expanse as a breakthrough in fusion propulsion technology. A short story provides some details.