How Do Ion Engines Work? The Most Efficient Propulsion System Out There 🎥 Science Technology | Channify

People always ask me why we’re stuck with chemical rockets. Seriously, exploding a bunch of hydrogen or kerosene is the best we can do? Good news, there are other, exotic science fiction-sounding propulsion systems out there which use electromagnetic fields to accelerate atoms, allowing their spacecraft to accelerate for months at a time. I’m talking about ion engines, of course, and several spacecraft have already used these exotic thrusters to perform some of the most amazing missions in the exploration of the Solar System. Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio Video Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/bh/podcast/universe-today-video/id794057165?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/video What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Support us at: http://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at: http://www.universetoday.com/ Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+universetoday/ Instagram - http://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / [email protected] Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - [email protected] Chloe Cain - Instagram: @chloegwen2001 References: http://www.spacex.com/falcon9 https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/Ion_Propulsion1.html https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=272 https://www.space.com/38444-mars-thruster-design-breaks-records.html http://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/World-first_firing_of_air-breathing_electric_thruster