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The rocket itself needs strong power to push the power generated by fuel combustion backwards, and it gains forward power by itself, so as to break through the gravitational pull of the earth and enter space.
And in space, rockets also need to have propulsion so that they can fly freely in space and complete various tasks.
The Hall thruster used in the Tiangong space station can continuously push the space station to fly freely with the thrust of just a piece of paper, so how does it achieve it?
How much thrust can it have?
What kind of role does it do?
What kind of thruster is Hall thruster?
1. Ionization produces thrust.
Ion thrusters control the movement of electrons in the magnetic field through the ionization process, thereby generating thrust, so that the rocket or spacecraft can obtain a certain kinetic energy and move.
Its working principle is different from that of a rocket, which propels the rocket backwards by the high-temperature gas generated after the internal fuel is burned.
And when the ion thruster is working, its force is pushed outward from the rocket, what is going on?
It turns out that the electrons in the gas are ionized through the ionization process, and then these electrons are controlled by the magnetic field, so that they show a spiral motion in the magnetic field, thus generating a force that pushes the rocket outward.
In an ion thruster, it has a cathode, and the electrons on the cathode are attracted to the electric field on one of the cathodes so that the atoms in the gas gain electrons and thus become negative ions.
In the process of movement, these negative ions will collide with the electrons in the gas molecules, so that the electrons in the gas molecules will be separated, and these detached electrons will move towards the anode, thus forming an electron cloud in the middle.
This electron cloud is pulled by the magnetic field, forming a toroid, where electrons are transferred from the cathode to the anode, and then from the anode to the cathode, and so on, forming a closed loop of current.
And near the cathode, due to the presence of an electric field on the cathode, these oxygen ions will be attracted, and then in the process of attraction, the oxygen ions will trap these electrons, thus forming oxygen molecules, and in the process of attraction, an electron cloud will be formed.
In this way, the electrons move in a spiral under the action of the magnetic field, which creates a propulsive force.
2. What is the function of an ion thruster?
So what is the effect of the force generated in this way?
What are the characteristics of Hall thrusters?
Ion thrusters have the characteristics of high thrust and high speed, and Hall thrusters are no exception.
So how does it work?
In the Tiangong space station, personnel need to have a certain amount of kinetic energy to carry out scientific research experiments and life, while in space, there is no air obstruction, and the friction is very small, which requires it to have enough propulsion.
So how much thrust does an ion thruster have?
According to the formula: F=KIBl.
Where: F is the thrust and the unit is N; K is the electron extrusion coefficient, which is about 1; I is the magnitude of the current and the unit is A; B is the magnetic induction intensity in T; l is the length of the current in m.
In practical application, the size of I is 0.1A, the size of B is 0.1T, and the size of l is 1m.
Then according to Newton's second law, F = ma.
It can be obtained: a=F/m=0.01/500=210^-5m/s^2, where m is the mass of the thruster, and the acceleration of the thruster can be obtained.
Then according to Newton's second law, F = 500210^-5 = 0.01N, it can be seen that the magnitude of this thrust is only 0.01N.
So how much thrust does it have?
It can be based on the formula: F=0.5mv^2, where: F is the magnitude of the air resistance, m is the density of the air, and v is the velocity of the air.
Since the density of air in space is very small and negligible, in the Tiangong space station, its velocity can be estimated to obtain its velocity.
The velocity of the air can be obtained as follows: v=2(0.01/500)=410^-5=410^-51000=0.04m/s.
The calculated velocity is very small, so that it can only push a piece of paper with a speed of 0.04m/s, and only one piece of paper, which is obviously not enough.
So how much thrust does it have?
3. Application of ion thrusters.
Ion thrusters have a very wide range of applications, its thrust is very small, but the thrust it provides is continuous, so that it can provide a certain amount of thrust to spacecraft such as navigation satellites.
It has the characteristics of continuous thrust, fuel saving, and fast speed, so it has a very wide range of applications in various satellites, such as communication satellites, navigation satellites, and scientific research satellites.
This provides a certain amount of continuous thrust to satellites, etc., so that the orbit of the satellite can be adjusted so that it always remains in the predetermined orbit.
Ion thrusters also have a very wide range of applications, such as probes, spacecraft, etc., all of which require a certain amount of thrust, so that they can fly freely in space and complete various tasks.
Ion thrusters also have a very wide range of applications, such as satellites, which can provide them with a certain amount of thrust, so that they can fly freely in space and conduct scientific research experiments.
epilogue
Ion thrusters have continuous thrust, fast speed, and fuel saving, so they have a wide range of applications in the environment of space operations.
However, it also has some problems, such as the high speed ions produced in the ionization process, which can easily damage the equipment, and the need to provide propellants, so it requires continuous innovation and improvement in technology.