Plasma Thruster Experiment

[Klugscheisser98]

Fart xD

[ProffesorCrackers]

Is it just me or is this the BTTF flux capacitor ?!

[sparta300epic]

the question is will it blend

[khyron6]

plasma works better in a vacume

[MrZekrot]

Thats how i sound after eating Beans

[spidey1242]

@TheMaster734 have you ever heard of Thomas Townsend Brown.

[MegaRocketLaunch]

doesnt look too strong just looks like a short cuircut

[xxxmaritan]

LOL danger extremely hot fart machine

[Mastermind1126]

sound like a loud ass fart

[TheMaster734]

looks good. but we still need fuel for this kind of thing. i'm hoping that someone can develop a drive that runs solely on electricity, without any fuel. there's one i've seen called the EMDrive, but there hasn't been much more on it.

[Lollocide]

@TheMaster734

Not possible for space travel, you still need to push something out the back to make the engine move forward, and the EMdrive hasn't been peer reviewed since it was announce in 2006, making it more than likely its just some guy having a laugh with a physics book.

[DanFrederiksen]

looks fake. try lower exposure and closer zoom and higher resolution



[DinoKlaw]

:D did anyone notice that this kind of looks like a flux capacitor?

[Miyamotouk]

@DinoKlaw I did

[DinoKlaw]

@Miyamotouk

Then you are very observant ',:{D

[erocablok]

Thats pretty cool,keep up the good work.

[fems2112]

what is coming down the yellowtube to the elecrodes ? Hydogen ?

[Timisso1337]

the only way to travel.

[Crim15]

Is that Graphite?

[rokth]

but would it perform in a vacuum?

[jdrisch]

Yes, the plasma breakdown occurs inside of ionized water, some modification would be needed to handle the vapor pressure though. Water does not have to be the only fuel type, any mass with low breakdown voltage can be used as a fuel, the fuel meaning the medium which is converted to plasma and thrown down the magnetic field to create thrust.

[jdrisch]

also the fact that I am using a liquid is irrelevant as well, a solid consumable third electrode could be used in place of water.

[jdrisch]

I am using a 6kV generator, pulsing DC at some unknown frequency in the kHz range, these voltages are not generating intense fields of potential, because this is a closed circuit, the plasma path, no different from whats inside a fluorescent bulb or neon tube closes the current loop, thus this once the plasma is generated is more of a current based experiment then a voltage one. If it helps to distinguish that H2O is travelling to the paper, the paper is in fact wet after a few moments

[jdrisch]

The Magnetic field source is a 2" x 2" x 1/2 NdFeB N48 grade magnet, flat side up, its field at this distance , while not perfectly parallel is quite uniform when compared to typical smaller round magnets

[zitoran]

oh i see it now its pushing the paper

:D

[DanielTheManiel33]

yay 101st rating 5/5 :DDD

[jdrisch]

yup

[jdrisch]

yes it is. when done using DC in a uniform magnetic field it accelerates and travels in one direction, look up the Lorentz force, its how electric motors work.

[walruscoocoocachu26]

Which gas is this?

[jdrisch]

Not sure what you are asking, but the "fuel" is H2O ionized with sodium cloride (table salt)

[TheWannabe1012]

Fun fact: a new state of matter was recently discovered by researchers in Canada. It is a quasi-three dimensional electron crystal. No, I don't quite understand what that means.

[blahdob]

sell it to turn pages in peoples books

[AKLd95]

what is plasma is that kinda electricity thing or what???? Can some expert tell me please

[jdrisch]

plasma is the forth energy state of mater, from least energy to highest: solid, liquid, gas, plasma. At this energy state the electrons, protons and nuetrons of an atom move fast enough to seperate entirely into a glowing aurora.

[JENSSCHLAU]

Nice.

[pookster000]

what happens if you touch it?

[jdrisch]

it will burn you in a way you have never been burned. This plasma is likely thousands of degrees, it melts right through PTFE, or teflon which melts at 500 degrees C. Interesting note, PTFE becomes transparent when heated to melting point when opaque white at room temperature.

[Shotgunner56]

Ahh, the wonders of plasma

[therealfalcore1]

What ever happened to those kids that convinced president Clinton to build a small space craft using Plasma Thrust. Clinton said they were going to make satellite they was propelled by plasma. It was said to be so much more cost effective than standard full cells. When the kids were asked how they came up with it, they said they learned it by studying Star Trek manuals that they bought at the book store.

[mishaparem]

It's called an ion thruster, and it works. The technology isn't there yet to be able to propel an satellite into orbit yet, but it is highly efficient in maneuvering the satellites once they are already in orbit.

[SKarmytech]

These engines are the future from space travel as they have a very specific impulse meaning on a more fuel efficiency and the ability for travelling longer distances, but they have very low thrust, so that means that these engines need to work for more time to aquire higher velocities.

[Fullperson]

yup already on several satillites

[conrad2468]

Crap i forgot witch satellite it was but its a telescope and it uses hydrogen or helium i believe...a simple example is a negative ion generator....google it!

[MeTaLdUdE02]

the ion thruster does work,but what i heard was that it doesnt have a lot of thrust power.they're getting there though.

[jdrisch]

The ion thruster used by nasa for long range probes is a different concept entirely, It uses an pos/neg ion repulsion technique. but correct neither this nor that technique produce a very large amount a thrust, the thrust is the equivilant of the mass and speed at which the ions are repulsed, though in the vacuum of space it does not require alot of thrust to achieve very high velocities

[tricky778]

Several technologies were being developed to achieve this goal, one of which was being developed by Laurenceville Plasma Physics - who have just achieved funding again for their main goal - a fusion power station.

[bimmermd]

they are thinking about using it to go to Mars. The astronauts are already being trained to go to Mars; I saw it on the discovery channel a couple months ago.

[GamerAlex1337]

I dont think this would work, this is creating steam in a direction, pushing the paper, in space, there is no water vapour to push at anything. If this is in fact making a force not steam, then it would still be useless, as there is nothing that can 'push a vacuum'.

[TheFirstLiquidVideos]

@therealfalcore1 area 51 8D 

[jdrisch]

keeping a current flow will sustain plasma, that is how flourencent bulbs and neon lamp tubes work, a ballast is used to keep the plasma alive

[ewmegoolies]

Can you be sure it was wind/thrust moving the paper as opposed to a static electric charge? Not knocking it, just curious.

[jdrisch]

The post-it is being displaced in one direction, if you watch you should see it moves more in one dirction. The electrodes discharge through the plasma, theroticaly they are are the same potential, or close when the plasma exists. Electrodes are opposite polarity, the attraction/repulsion from each would cancel out. Also I have felt the steam with my hand. ( i know sounds like a bad idea) all in the name of curiousity

[lasserumpa]

Bose einstein condensate is a state of matter, but i whouldn't call it plasma (Plasma is ionized gas) its a state of matter, when the particles temperature sinks to extreme temperatures (low), the energy contained within the particles will sink, as will their kinetic energy, wich leads to an uncertainity in their position, when the uncertainity surpasses the distance between bosons, and they all become cohearant, wich creates diffraction patterns and interference..

[andiretor]

i believe their is actually five known states of matter, Bose-Einstein condensate then solid, liqued gas and plasma it's explained in one of the nova programs i think it was called "Absolut zero"

[manzilla86]

Bose-Einstein is the most recently discovered state of matter. Wolfgang Ketterly, one of the people who won the nobel prize in Physics for helping discover the Bose-Einstein condensate, lectured at my college when I was freshman. I only went because I got an extra credit point, and then it turned out to be very interesting.

-Manzilla86-Go Nuclear Science!

[GoibniuGodOfTheForge]

yeah at absolute zero there is a fifth state of matter called super solid.

[Mekill60]

That is when atoms stop moving. (Aprox. -700 degrees Fahrenheit.)

[pedroamedro]

Absoulute zero was considered unreachable because a item would have to not touch anything including air or light. and the molocules would freeze completly i thinks. coreect me if i am wrong please.

[hamstsorkxxor]

actually there are six states of matter, the sixth one is known as quark-gluon-plasma. dont let the name fool you qg-plasma has very little to do with "ordinary" plasma.

[niwakun444]

correct, Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is were an element reaches 0 kelvin or very close to it, at this point a large amoutn of the atoms fall to there lowest quantum state, you can find more about it on wiki

[LawietStandard]

If I had to hear a plane go by making that sound, I would kill you for giving them a successful experiment =/

[KillOurKing]

Hmmmmm...I am 13 and I am a bit confused with all that things you say. Can you please, please, please(!) explain me how it happens in simple words?

[jdrisch]

The Lorentz force says that a force is created when a current travels perpendicular to a magnetic field. Imagine a magnet placed on a table with the north facing up, this will be th "z" positive axis. There is a wire run along the x-axis and it is hooked up to a battery with the current flowing in the positive x dir A force will exist on the wire to push it in the positive Y-axis direction. These principals are very difficult to be explained without mathmatical terms or at least a picture.

[asdfghbvxxxv]

Is that magnesuium?

[jdrisch]

No magnesium is used in this experiment,

[ganorth937]

that was quite cool :) great

[meisinscotland]

I thought Plasma was just fictional!

[jdrisch]

Plasma is the forth state or matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma in respect of lowest to highest energy level

[andiretor]

wrong their are five states of matter forget how the first one really is but it starts out something like einsteins state, then solid, liquid, gas and then plasma

to achieve einsteins state (or something like that) the matter has to be very VERY cold nearly 0 degrees kelvin

[FreakinAwesomeVideos]

True. That's what kelvin is. It's the point where something gets so cold, the atoms of the substance completely stop all movement. At the college near my house, Colorado University at Boulder, they're trying to reach absolute zero, AKA Kelvin.

[mtheoryrules]

what about supercooled and absolute zero einstein bose condensate, there are lots of different states of matter.

[lintphishx]

Probably phases we don't even know about. If I recall from Bill Nye correctly, gelatin and liquid crystal are two others. I'm curious if you can go beyond theoretical absolute zero and have the normal motion/traits of molecules or quarks run reverse, would certain elements or matter begin to regress? But I digress, that's theoretical quantum physics.

[Mekill60]

Plasma is superheated gas. I would still consider it a fourth element, though.

[VlkClk]

Plasma is ionized gas particules... And it is 4th formation of the matter!

[FreakinAwesomeVideos]

True. I'm pretty sure (based on my 8th grade science teacher) that it is a fourth phase of matter, not element.

[Dirky20100]

Very well done. How long could that have really gone on for?

[jdrisch]

The process is driven by a neon power supply that has been rectified to produce DC pulses, and the feeding mechanism, a "whick" that keeps water solution at the "starting gate" works very well, so thereticly it'll run as long as its power and propellent source are present.

[Pyrodregget]

Hi, i will soon build a CW generator for high voltage experiments, and specifically i would want to try to make a REAL plasma "rifle". Is the salted water needed to produce the adequate magnetic field, or will electrecuted(arcing) air do? I am aware that you will need higher voltages to achieve the same results, but does the salt and water plasma produce a stronger magnetic field?

[jdrisch]

doping water ions increases its cunductivity, and has little to do with the magnetic field strength. The Magnetic field in these experiements in provided by high grade neodymium magnets (NdFeB) otherwise known as rare earth magnets.

[jdrisch]

plasma rifles present no current use beyond a few inches as plasma does not sustain a shape with sent with high velocity into air. The plasma cools and falls back into a state of gas, liquid or solid shortly after leaving its energy source. plsma could theroeticly be trown in a vacuum such as space though. hope this is helpful in your endevours.

[Pyrodregget]

I was planning to try and "curl" the plasma into a torus that would be held together by its own magnetic field an reduce turbulence and thus heatloss greatly(like a smokering traveling upwards). I am still aware that it would have a practical "range" of less than two feet. If my previous comment gets approved youll know the rest. I HATE THE 500-LIMIT!!!

[theguywholikesgreend]

well the thing is to make a actuall plasma rifle you would have to shoot out the plasma while it still being in a jar or something. plasma cannot sustain its self in mid air like that. if tyou shoot out plasma, it will just evaporate

[Mukuhawk]

is there possibly a way to magnetically substain the plasma until it reaches a certain point?

[iskador]

wait was gas were u ionizing?or was it just in the air?

[jdrisch]

The "tube" is feeding ionized water into the electrodes. The deep yellow orange is from the ionizing of table salt or sodium chloride. do not attempt this without proper ventilation, using electrodes in ionized solution can release gases some of which can be poisonous.

[jdrisch]

there is no pressure source in this experiment, the rods are lanthenide doped tungsten welding rods (resist arc wear), and and uses 5kV DC pulses, also not visible are large 2"x2" Neodymium magnets providing a fairly uniform magnetic field, which results in a force on the conducting plasma material.

[PowerTurkish]

Woow awesome!

[jdrisch]

at 5kV you will feel the zing of a lifetime :)

[ibolrecords]

i was about to complain that the 'thruster' itself didn't move, when i realized that was not your point. it moved the paper *behind* it, demonstrating that some 'thrust' was produced. good job!

[sirHOAX]

Very interesting video, thanks for sharing. Be sure to check out some of my plasma videos they might be of interest to you. Especially Water Arc Acceleration.

[jdrisch]

thank you for viewing my video, this is a HV plasma experiment with arcs of DC pulses of 5kV across two electrodes through liquid water. What you see is individual arcs travelling too fast for the camera to pickup, and thus it appears to be solid plasma. The thrust comes from projecting ions in a magnetic field, this thrust creates similar forces to ion thrusters used by nasa as means of propulsion in space. only a little acceleration is needed to achieve high velocities of a mass in space

[keyblader007]

Cool!