- #1
vanvlizr
- 16
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hello, my name is Zachary. i have little to no experience in astrophysics but i must say it is the most intriguing subject of discussion for me. what i believe i have worked out is the amount of nuclear energy (MeV) in megaelctronvolts, to propel a space shuttle (for a general number for M) at the speed of light. granted we haven't engineered a reactor capable to touch the number i have came up with but if there are any of you smart astrophysicists feel free to critique or correct my work.
J = joules
MeV = megaelectronvolts
KE = kinetic energy
M = mass
C = speed
easiest way to calculate energy in motion is KE= 1/2(m*v^2)
shuttle in mass = 2,030,000 kg
speed of light = C = 299,792,458 m/s
long story short the KE in joules = 9.12236506x10^38 J
nuclear power is measured in MegaElectronVolts (MeV)
1 MeV = 1.60217653x10^-13 J
then you have to convert our KE in joules to MeV's
9.12236506x10^38 J = 7.8018829506x10^14 MeV's
so in theory you would need to build a nuclear propelled rocket/shuttle/ship that could produce 7.8018829506x10^14 MegaElectronVolts at any given time to continuously propel the ship at the speed of light. currently our nuclear power plants cannot even come close to 0.000000001 of that amount as far as I've read. but mathematically it is possible and the next thing to do would be to find a way to increase the amount of MeV's we can produce at any given moment without losing the control of that kind of power. it's because of how powerful this could be that makes it a safety issue, which is a red flag raised by anything with the word nuclear in it. but to me i think this is the future of propulsion along with electromagnetic propulsion (i.e. rail gun) please feel free to leave any thoughts.
- Zachary
J = joules
MeV = megaelectronvolts
KE = kinetic energy
M = mass
C = speed
easiest way to calculate energy in motion is KE= 1/2(m*v^2)
shuttle in mass = 2,030,000 kg
speed of light = C = 299,792,458 m/s
long story short the KE in joules = 9.12236506x10^38 J
nuclear power is measured in MegaElectronVolts (MeV)
1 MeV = 1.60217653x10^-13 J
then you have to convert our KE in joules to MeV's
9.12236506x10^38 J = 7.8018829506x10^14 MeV's
so in theory you would need to build a nuclear propelled rocket/shuttle/ship that could produce 7.8018829506x10^14 MegaElectronVolts at any given time to continuously propel the ship at the speed of light. currently our nuclear power plants cannot even come close to 0.000000001 of that amount as far as I've read. but mathematically it is possible and the next thing to do would be to find a way to increase the amount of MeV's we can produce at any given moment without losing the control of that kind of power. it's because of how powerful this could be that makes it a safety issue, which is a red flag raised by anything with the word nuclear in it. but to me i think this is the future of propulsion along with electromagnetic propulsion (i.e. rail gun) please feel free to leave any thoughts.
- Zachary