Muon Catalyzed Fusion Engine - 8% Speed of Light - Mars in 5 days?

[@Tordogor]

Did anybody solve the problem of Muon stickiness to the He4 resulting nucleus? Because in the 1990s, when I was doing my Ph.D. in (Laser) Inertial Confinement Fusion, this was an unsolved issue. The lifetime of Muon was too short to catalyze the number of D-D or D-He3 reactions to produce enough energy to produce more new Muons (and keep all the ancillary systems powered up). In this case, the mechanism for Muon formation via Kaon decay, is even less efficient - especially considering how bad lasers are in converting their external excitation energy into optical energy at the properly tuned frequencies. AFAIK, Muon catalyzed Fusion was a neat SCIENTIFIC effect from the 1950s, but later demonstrated to be an unworkable TECHNICAL Fusion scheme. I always had hope than someday, through some discoveries in Quark Plasma Physics, some mechanism may be found to achieve Catalytic Nuclear Fusion, but Muon Catalysis never worked. Being educated as a High Energy Density physicist, not a Nuclear one, I cannot say more. Full references, please!

[@asteronx]

Actually, it was found that when the thermal energy of the muons themselves was factored in, the process proved to already have a net output, though 3 to 5 times the released energy would have to circulate internally. The remaining problem was an efficient muon source, now solved.

[@Tordogor]

@@asteronx References? You are saying the same that the Wikipedia article. Even if the numbers for the alpha-sticking factor are better (0.3-0.5% instead of the earlier 1%), the muon short lifetime and the energy of formation make the net energy production via fusion at least 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lesser than that needed for technical breakeven. Using lasers or e-beams to produce Rydberg matter is going to be a VERY inefficient way to do it. Really powerful Nd:Glass lasers are 0.4% plug efficient. Excimers are not better. Both emit in very specific frequencies that are not neccesarily tuned to those for Rydberg phase changing on Deuterium. Any frecuency conversion is not better than 50% efficient, and being a 4-wave quantum optical non-linear process. It is a high-power, low energy process very difficult to model in theory and humoungously expensive to implement technically. Muons made this way are not going to be cheaper than those made with high beam current specifically designed particle accelerators. When I was a grad student (early 1990s) the designer of Shiva (the LLNL first ICF machine that appeared in the first 'Tron' movie) told me that Laser ICF would be technically workable when Solid State ('diode' type) Lasers - that can be up to 90+ % efficient in their current low-power/low-energy state-of-the-art. Nice for Blue-Ray SF movies - to the Terawatt/Gigajoule required. That was expected for today times. Have you seen one of them yet? Even for this scheme you may need MW/KJ at best. With lasers and fusion it has been always the worst ... for 7 decades. From your video, it is not clear how muons - NUCLEAR particles associated to the Weak force - result from EM processes. As I am an ignoramus on Electro-Weak HE Physics, cannot say anything until I see some refereed references. Then my best friend - a former HEP grad and a Kerbalist fan - may educate me. Sorry, but after 40 years on the Plasma/Fusion/HEDP racket, I am very jaded about extraordinary paper (or Video) claims on Propulsion and Power devices. You must be as young as I was in my 1982 YT thumbnail photo! I was very excitable about these things at that tender age. Again, publish references for credibility. The Angry Astronaut does that very well, even when it is clear he has not a solid formal STEM education.

[@Peoples_Republic_of_Cotati]

@@JeffMcDuffie72MeridianGate Surely Bistromathics can solve this problem.

[@antaresmc4407]

@@Tordogor the muons are formed from the UDD fusion reaction, which is pretty iffy, given that only 1 team has worked with UDD and its not very clear how to reproduce accurately, explain or how it behaves well, according to the reviews Ive seen and my rather very limited knowledge. I cant say anything, but itd iffy in my view...

[@antaresmc4407]

@@asteronx continuing with the comment above, because that part is both a criticism to the video and some discussion. Textwall warning :P Id like to first touch on the engine design. I cant get away with what its specs are, because there are several different points made, and a bit vague, with only numbers in the Isp that I am skeptic of btw... Its mentioned that is very scalable, which goes heavily against my understanding on fusion tech, but I have very little idea of cold fusion, so fair, Im not gonna gef there. It claims aneutronicity on D-D reactions, which is absolute bust, and I dont buy that a powerful magnetic trap will deflect neutrons, like wtf @AsteronX does that mean, did I miss something? That doesnt work this way... So I am gonna use regular D-D figures to estimate its specs and neglect bremstrahlung (butchered) loses because its cold fusion and shouldnt be too important: The models and explainations imply an internal reaction engine, so all neutral particle energy is absorbed. That and a Ve of .08c, which is over the theoretical max of D-D lol, but I guess thats accounting for lack of b-word loses I guess? Idk, benefit of doubt as Im too lazy rn to calculate. That means that we have a thrust power of very roughly 1/3MW/N, plus whatever the hugely inefficient muon mechanism uses. Im gonna assume 1/2MW/N as an estimate of all the heat of the engine, power systems and stuff to run it, as its an easy number. For a 1 ton engine you need to produce 50GW to reach a TWR of 1, and Im telling you a fusion engine and much less the radiators required are gonna be included in that weight. So there is no way its both high thrust and Isp. @AsteronX, bruh, dont do such claims b4 calculating it, the formulas are super simple in that case :/ And again, Id like to know where tf comes the aneutronicity... Id also like to add a critic of small details that really bother me because they look poorly researched. First, lets make a point about the nozzle, being completely flat like this you get little advantage of the magnets you use and you create an inefficient nozzle, but thats aminor detail. Id also like to touch on when you mentioned radioactivity spreading to the crew quarters like if it was a virus. I hope you realized this is completely wrong, its true that nuclear reactions generate lots of neutrons that can cause activation, but those activated parts (generally) make no more neutrons, so the reactor just trashes itself over time without the radiation escaping assuming its properly shielded, and in a century or so you have to replace the walls as are damaged and slightly radioactive. The worst part of this thing is that thats not what you meant, because you are using deuterium fusion, that is multiple times more neutronic than fission, and with nastier high energy neutrons! WHY? That was unnecesary and makes me think you might need more research if this is a serious publication, sorry if Im not being thd most polite, but I took this as serious, or shouldnt I? (This is not sarcasm, Im legit asking, sorry, Im not great with English c:) I have seen a bunch of stuff that goes differently to what I think I know, could you provide some references and extra reading, please? Thank you in advance :D Specially in the rocket design part as my kowledge of QM is rather limited, so I cant really talk about the fusion/annihilation part, that is what the listed articles talk about. Im reading them though Also, there are probably typos I missed, that was written in a phone late in the night :P

[@masonman_2113]

I think this drive would be far to slow for interstellar travel but it would be great for trips even all the way out to the Kuiper belt

[@nil981]

Tbf even light speed is slow for interstellar travel.

[@masonman_2113]

@@nil981 Light Speed or near light speed is still fast enough for travel to nearby stars. Alpha Centauri, Barnards Star, and Sirius.

[@nicosmind3]

8% seems fast and ok to me. As an individual 100 years is a long time, but as spieces its nothing. We could build a huge ship to take humans to our closest stars and it would be able to get to Alpha Centuri in 50 years. Thats a 1 way journey for sure, but once the tech has been well tested and is safe then its not out of the question that people would want to make it

[@fraznofire2508]

@@nicosmind3 imagine getting on that ship at 16, getting to the planet at 66 and find humans are already there because they built faster ships and just passed you 😂

[@icecold9511]

@@masonman_2113 only the closest ones, for exploration purposes. For practical regular use, a trip can only last weeks or months.

[@carl160269]

Never thought I'd hear the sentence 'As cold as 10 million degrees'

[@mdlahey3874]

So exciting to think that people are actually working on products like this... Thank you!

[@coreyfuggins2945]

At least someone trying!

[@anthonychristofferson1535]

True

[@joeboxter3635]

Still who knows. When we voyage into space, we may run into someone who has far more advanced technology. To paraphrase a visionary: We do these things not because they are easy. We do them because they are hard.

[@gameresearch9535]

Hi, a new theoretical warp drive. - Be sure to read the "video description" above the comments, under the video, when watching the video for some very important information. The guy behind this theoretical warp drive is going to be talking about it live on March 18th, 2021. On youtube "As the time of this message." 1. Go to my channel and find the "About" tab, read the info there and click the link, you might have to click on the words "created playlists". 2. Find a playlist there about STL slower than light and faster than light propulsion, watch the video in that playlist about a new theoretical warp drive and read the *video description*. Be sure to let the asteronx know about this. The video goes live today March 18th, 2021. "As the time of this message". I would give a link, but his videos don't allow it, so the steps are all I can do for now.

[@Jycatgc6282]

Yep, someone is trying to put words into action. If successful, Starfleet Academy is a must have.

[@shadekerensky3691]

No need to waste this thing for interstellar travel, considering we'll need to focus on baby steps first from our cradle. This'd be perfect though for getting further into the Sol System.

[@Swindle1984]

I'd be satisfied with using NERVA, to be honest, or the Orion Drive, to start mining asteroids, building O'Neill Island 3 space colonies, and exploring the outer solar system. An engine that can get 8% of lightspeed would be great for sending probes to nearby star systems though, much less exploring and colonizing the solar system.

[@Gunni1972]

3 stage rocket, Solid/solid/ Ion drive first stage in high orbit, 2nd directional thrust for speed.,3rd stage ion drive for slingshot via jupiter or sun. might take a year or two to get out of solar system.

[@carlousmagus5387]

Congratulations, you just invented the Impulse Engine. Now all we need is a functional Warp Core.

[@asteronx]

We're working on both. When we are able to, we post a video about the new warp coil as well.

[@A..T..M..]

@@asteronx perdon por no saber hablar ingles no se podria recojer toda la enerjia liberada en rayos gamma resultado de la reaccion nuclear para combertirla en electrisidad y luego llebarla a una boquilla secundaria para acelerar aun mas el plasma?

[@brycewade4033]

@@asteronx Translation from ​@Nelson Maldonado Couldn't all the energy released in gamma rays resulting from the nuclear reaction be collected to convert it into electricity and then take it to a secondary nozzle to further accelerate the plasma?

[@pauldunlop1660]

@@asteronx Bless you, Scotty!

[@carlousmagus5387]

@@brycewade4033 I don't see why not.

[@therealdarklizzy]

At 8% lightspeed, it would take 45 years to reach Proxima Centauri. That is how long some NASA missions like Voyager have lasted. A long time, but not inconcievable.

[@FablestoneSeries]

Richard Dinan plans to do the trip in 11 years. What this video doesn't explain is through constant acceleration of G1 forces you can not only simulate gravity, but you can constantly accelerate until you reach the midpoint, then turn around and begin decelerating. The trip is reduced to just 11 years. His hope is to eventually reach top speeds closer to 35-40% the speed of light or higher. There are other problems however. The Korean Space agency did some theoretical tests back in 2016 that suggested micro meteors aren't as great concern as we once thought, and that a 1 inch shield would be sufficient in protecting the ship, however the shield would gradually vaporize and the radiation created from that is equal to that of the core of a nuclear reaction chamber. In other words the crew would be killed. Therefore you would need meters of shielding, (water is preferred), and that kind of weight will slow you down, and if it slows you down it means you are exposed to the already existing ambient cosmic radiation for longer periods. There seems to be no way to win here.

[@solutionsforabrightfuture3579]

It would take about 3.6 days at around 400 times the speed of light.

[@FablestoneSeries]

@@solutionsforabrightfuture3579 in order to create a warp bubble the size of the Enterprize it would require more energy than the entire Earth produces in 10 million years.

[@anekdoche7055]

wait, what about relativistic effects?

[@FablestoneSeries]

@@anekdoche7055 for the crew it feels a fraction less. Richard Dinan plans to travel at 35%-40% the speed of light. The trip can be made in 11 years. But there are other problems. recent projections say that the radiation they would receive would be higher than standing inside a nuclear reaction chamber. We won't be sending humans there ever, and just need to accept that, because no matter the technology it would be a one way death sentence. Even if they managed to get there alive, unless the destination is 100% habitable when they arrive the trip is a death sentence. And alpha centauri has no atmosphere and is tidally locked and its year is 11 days long. we can't live there. this constant conversation about going there is absurd. All our attention should be focused solely on Scorpii18, the nearest twin star to Sol.

[@derekhurd7426]

So this engine could get to Voyager 1 at top speed in 11 days, that's crazy.

[@danielhalip]

I would love a trip to the mars

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

The fact that its anuetronic is pretty big. That means you wont need kilometers of distance or heavy shielding to protect crew from being cooked alive by nuetron radiation. If possible, it vastly reduces cost and complexity of the vessel as well as making the logistics of getting it to orbit less strenuous. Pretty exciting stuff!

[@rigen97]

Can't it just be fired and launched from normal launchpad? if it has minimal or even zero neutron emission, it could potentially be safe enough to use in atmosphere.

[@charlesblithfield6182]

EXCELLENT explanation of this highly technical concept. I look forward to future vids on this. Just subbed.

[@ScottAdair]

It's a great advancement for the generation ship. 50 years to Alpha Centauri vs. 100 or more. If only someone would solve the tachyon puzzle so we can do this in multiples of lightspeed someday.

[@readhistory2023]

It all depends on how fast it goes from 0 mph to it's max speed. At light speed it take 4 years to get there if the engine goes from 0 mph to light speed instantly, and not stopping once you get there. According to their math the engine can do 8%C plus so I'm going to use 10% to make it simple. At 10% C it will take the ship 40 years to get there and it still won't be stopping. If it can get it up to 10% and cruise at that speed faster than the halfway point then the 40 year trip is possible since that would allow you to slow with less than half the distance to Alpha. If it can't do that then we're still looking at least 80 years. There's one other thing that wasn't brought up is the time dialation effects on the crew going 10% C. There would be a slowing of time for the crew so they wouldn't experience the 80 year trip lasting 80 years. How much less time I have no idea. If they only experience 8 years for every 80 years for us then the ship wouldn't even have to be a generational ship. Again it depends how fast the engine gets up to 10% of light speed. Anyone know the math?

[@Cam-ho7zs]

Time dilation is minimal until you reach over 50% the speed of light and even then until you reach over 80% it isnt all that big. At 10% you would experience most of the 80years.

[@TheDrakanMaster124]

I remember hearing something similar I think it's a antimatter catalyzed Fusion drive or whatever but the company hasn't done anything in like I think seven something years so I'm really glad that you guys are trying to revive this concept

[@AngelHernandez-yj8tj]

Can't wait to hear your theory video. Love your channel! Btw what areas of Physics you recommend we go into in University to study and develop technology like what you have shown in your videos? Your videos have inspired me and I wish to help in the development of such Tech. Your podcast on safe-science completely opened my mind.

[@asteronx]

Thank you. We would recommend particle physics and electromagnetism for starters, but it also hinges on your interest and natural talents, not to forget intuition which plays a large role. Within the description of each video we provide links to the relevant papers, we would suggest that you read them, familiarize yourself with the works of these scientists such as Dr. David H. Froning, Dr. Takaaki Musha, Mario J. Pinheiro, et cetera.

[@AngelHernandez-yj8tj]

@@asteronx Thank you so much!

[@ericwilliams7374]

Wow!!!...is all I can really say. I didn't understand any of this, but still watched every second of the video in complete, and utter AWE!!!!

[@r.p.4683]

The amount of electrical power to sustain this engine is so great that at our technical level you would need a very powerful fission reactor so best wishes

[@asteronx]

Research papers about the process have been added to the video description, thanks. ((Let's make one thing clear, this is a design concept, and, we will not be giving away trade secrets.)) www.nist.gov - Neutron Trapping Demonstrated for First Time at NIST: www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2000/01/neutron-trapping-demonstrated-first-time-nist#:~:text=The%20magnetic%20fields%20hold%20the,beamline%20to%20the%20neutron%20trap. Cold Fusion: atom-ecology.russgeorge.net/2016/04/03/cold-fusion-real-revolutionary-ready/

[@n.g.s1mple29]

Thanks

[@giorgosz]

You should talk adout the supercooled electromagnet propulsion

[@robertcole7874]

Imagine running into space dust at that speed. That ship better have a strong shield

[@robertcole7874]

I wonder what a light pointed towards a solar style sail could eventually get up to.

[@oberonpanopticon]

Yes you’re definitely going to actually make this thing 😂 Is “trade secrets” code for “we don’t actually have any details” these days?

[@JOSH-ss7mv]

Thank you for your dedication to us as a species. I hope my daughters will someday be aboard a ship powered by an engine like this.

[@Gunni1972]

And i hope, she doesn't Have to be.

[@ayushpratapsingh3843]

Thanks for pioneering the engine and propulsion technology

[@tonmoysharma5758]

Thankyou for providing such an inspirational video. I always hated chemical engines due to its low efficiency and huge amount of fuel that is required. The Fusion is the future and its great to see that you have taken it to another level!

[@asteronx]

And we're constantly perfecting the design.

[@professorx2607]

Good news for interplanetary, travel who knows what we might discover out there on the future. 😎

[@KamuiPan]

A good idea for a sub-light engine! I hope it come to fruition, at least it would make more feasible for local interestelar travel. Who knows, maybe this engine will conquer the Solar System one day. Good luck with your guys project!

[@philiplang9218]

congrats to professor Holmlid, he cracked it!

[@alex197]

Nice vid! Hey, I was wondering, what do you guys think of Isaac Arthur? You think you'll ever do a collab?

[@PlayGamesFreak]

Would be epic

[@huntercameron930]

Gotta start an Isaac army lmao.

[@alantomazin56]

Put that thing on my Ford Raptor

[@1000yoeyoe]

nahhh gotta do a Ford fucking Ranger lol

[@garyk1334]

It's certainly beginning to look like we will one day crack fast interstellar travel , a tougher nut to crack is going to be negating the debilitating effects of prolonged space travel on the human body , hopefully we can solve this issue too

[@asteronx]

It's critical, and yet, from our perspective, few seems to think this is not a critical an issue. Sending a crewed mission to Mars without the proper protective technology will be detrimental to their potentially near to long-term health. Thankfully, we are beginning to see connections between certain near-term 'needed' technologies and protecting the crew.

[@oznerriznick2474]

Great idea! One thing though.. Time dilation is another factor. We fly out there and approach light speeds on the return to earth everything and everybody you ever knew will be gone into the past. Newer, more advanced spacecraft will fly past your now antiquated rig. We need some kind of time dilation compensation technology. Warp drive maybe..

[@Barabel22]

8% is not fast enough for time dilation to have any meaningful issues for either the crew or outside observers. Even up to 90-95%...it’s when you get to 99% and beyond, where issues creep up.

[@SerBallister]

@@Barabel22 Yikes, it would take 56 years (~4.5ly / 0.08) to reach Alpha Centauri (*if you accelerate/deaccelerate instantly).

[@Lindalkidd]

See Heinlein's "Time for the Stars" for a graphic example of technology literally catching up to early starships

[@jeromebarry1741]

I like your sense of humor. "At least, that's the plan".

[@vilmospalik1480]

How come I haven’t heard about this anywhere else in the news recently, it feels like it should be everywhere

[@MidnightSt]

because it's nothing than a concept, using some tech that doesn't actually exist yet.

[@danielhalip]

concept is smth its like making a draw so it is possible

[@pottierkurt1702]

This might be the best factual space lullabie I've ever watched/heard. The factually correct script, the excellent narration, the music choise. The general pacing and visuals. I'm quite infamous for rarely (if ever) giving praise.. But dear space Jesus. Imma go do something I've never done before and contribute. #SpaceSimp.. Jokes aside.. I'm babeling, but without words to say how much much I loved this.

[@florin604]

That story with a dangerous radioactive fission reactor I've hear too many times to count... It doesn't have to be in the same closed space of the ship where the crew lives... It can be installed further away at the tail of the ship, and separated by vacuum... and since space is being already highly radioactive ... the reactor won't have any influence on the crew since they are shielded anyway.

[@dazuk1969]

This sounds like it could be the quantum leap we need in engine development for space exploration. Combustion engines will never get us out of the inner solar system. You should produce one asap, put it on a small probe and sent it to Alpha Centauri. At 8% speed of light, it should get there in a lifetime..but not ours. As long as you can slow it down when it gets there, and it can send data back..future folk will truly get to see another star system and planets. Wonderful stuff...i wish you well.

[@bobbyrice]

Well, they look like they would be pretty comfortable attached to a Y-Wing fighter.

[@alexdevisscher6784]

If muon catalyzed fusion was that easy, we would see power plants based on it all over the world.

[@Iazuz]

GREAT video.. thank you so much for sharing

[@becausereasons3168]

Fusion is the only viable near term solution for a leap in energy production. Keep moving forward, any breakthrough will benefit humanity.

[@boycefenn]

"near term" is not something I would attribute to fusion. we've been at it for the better part of a century and the progress has been marginal. among the solutions that we have currently available fission is by far the best option to achieve the leap in energy production that we need. that said fusion would be ideal so I support continued research but we cant really count on it being achieved anytime soon

[@becausereasons3168]

@@boycefenn near term (compared to more exotic forms of energy) as in a viable option for a leap of energy production. Anything else such as anti matter are far far far in the future.

[@boycefenn]

@@becausereasons3168 ok i see what your thought process is. what you mean by long term is what i would mean by scifi.

[@becausereasons3168]

@@boycefenn indeed, near term as in the only path forward even if it's still decades or a century away. A Manhattan style project might hurry the process but that would make too much sense for any government to try.

[@seandees3028]

I would love to see it on a gardener ship. I'd love to be on that ship as well.

[@altha-rf1et]

or a O'Neal cylinder 5 miles long with the interior a garden to supply food for the people

[@SethEden]

Wow this is really way better than even the ECR space propulsion system that Al Reize was working on before he passed away a few years ago. The ECR video I made for Al before he passed is still on my channel. I wish you guys all the best on this project!! :-D

[@d0u6la5m]

I sure hope that the Muon Catalyzed Aneutronic Fusion Drive comes with Muon Catalyzed Aneutronic Fusion BRAKES...

[@ast0nv8]

The VanBraun Engine. Is a nuclear plasma engine that uses magnetic mirror coils to eject plasma at near speed of light.

[@quecheese7631]

This is really and I mean REALLY cool! Do you have specs like TTW ration, ISP, energy requirements ect?

[@Purple.mind...Honored.one.]

Ryberg matter sounds kind of like a semi plasma, I'd be very intrested to hear more specifics about it, I'd be hapy to be sent to somewhere I can look further into it

[@willemvandebeek]

The problem with putting energy into going very fast is, that the deceleration will need a lot of energy too then... :-/

[@clarke762]

About the same amount right? If you flip and burn to slow down at some point in the middle of the journey.

[@danielhalip]

so you need 2 engines 1 in the back and 1 in the front :D

[@danielhalip]

after you finish with the back one you start the front one

[@danielhalip]

its like hyper drive exiting

[@cole2839]

@@danielhalip you just flip the ship around. It is easy to do in zero G.

[@thegamecrasherthemastergam8485]

Nice music at the end guys. you have good taste.

[@ItsCoreyLynxxYall]

I love that my favorite ship design was featured in this. The spherical ones.

[@tomroberts9684]

Moo-ons are produced by cow physicists. Mew-ons are produced by cat physicists.

[@timholmes8395]

Fusion drive engines will be useful for sublight travel and hyperdriver engines for faster than light travel

[@venpirethevampire]

This drive is going to look nice near Ion Drives and VASIMR Drives. I like it. It is not that fast of course but considering this technology is new i am pretty sure you can advance it even further. A drive also being able to power the ship is hitting two birds with a single stone. It is an invaluable ability. Good job!

[@RossComputerGuy]

Would be amazing to see a prototype within a decade. I wonder if SpaceX's Starship could be adapted to use this engine or at least a module which docks with a ship.

[@Zachomara]

Depends on the thrust of the vehicle. The Starship's structural integrity may not survive the tortion strain.

[@michaeltyler4034]

While traveling at 8% c would certainly be convenient for inter-solar travel and it would be a significant step in the right direction for interstellar travel, have you considered the potentially catastrophic effects of running into a micro meteorite, or an ice cube or even a flake of paint from our tons of self-generated space debris, at 8% c? Going fast is great, but going fast safely is a very different matter. You’ll need a pretty sturdy “bumper.” 😉

[@northernskies86]

Interesting concept to say the least, though I have one question. How are the mesons being produced if baryon number is to be conserved?

[@treasurehunter3744]

If I understand this correctly... Proton decays --> Positron, neutrino and energy. Neutron decays --> Muon, positron, neutrino, much less energy. The positive and negative signs would cancel out for the neutron and preserve the baryon number. The positron carries the positive charge of the proton.

[@asteronx]

It is an annihilation-like process, the exact mechanism is still being studied, but new discoveries by others are pointed to a possible answer.

[@antaresmc4407]

@@treasurehunter3744 do protons decay? I think not in the standard model at least...

[@antaresmc4407]

@@asteronx that energy has to come from fusion, so whats going on? Also, be careful with UDD because its scientific validity is very doubted. Its not well understood or defined and there are no independent confirmations to my knowledge...

[@Knossos22]

@@antaresmc4407 "In particle physics, proton decay is a hypothetical form of particle decay in which the proton decays into lighter subatomic particles, such as a neutral pion and a positron.[1] The proton decay hypothesis was first formulated by Andrei Sakharov in 1967. Despite significant experimental effort, proton decay has never been observed. If it does decay via a positron, the proton's half-life is constrained to be at least 1.67×1034 years.[2]" - Don't wait for it! See Wikipedia.

[@lnchgj]

is there a way to express this as specific impulse? What sort of thrust would you imagine could be attained?

[@gaius_enceladus]

Sounds great! So, I'd imagine that a spacecraft with one of these engines could get to Mars in a few hours! That would be **awesome** if it can be made to work! This would open up **asteroid-mining** too!

[@miikkakangas6750]

The thrust is low, just like ion engines. The 8 percent light speed is terminal velocity after using up all fuel.

[@thetimelords911]

Could we not stack multiples of these on the same space craft to achieve much higher velocities? How many of these would be required to approach 80% light speed? I know the math cant be as simple as adding single engine velocities together right?

[@jodycornelius8258]

Now if you just use that to energize dylithium crystals to power up the warp drive engines we can warp space and time to do some FTL travel.

[@peterpalumbo1963]

I wonder how many G' 08 the speed of light will pull and would a living crew be able to withstand the acceleration?

[@PhilosopherRex]

Not following how this is aneutronic when using deuterium ... any link to a paper here? Or something explaining the reactions?

[@justsomeguywithoutacleveru4060]

video description

[@DigDougDig]

Hello, great video. Question? What minimum thrust output would you like a new engine prototype to produce before you will have the engine tested at an independent testing facility?

[@marlonlacert8133]

Wait, would this not make a fusion power plant possible?

[@asteronx]

You are correct. So far you are the first and only one to see this. Our fusion reactor is based on this process as well.

[@seditt5146]

@@asteronx How do you propose we generate Muons cheep enough to make it worth it?

[@TCBYEAHCUZ]

@@asteronx Would love to know how you solve the alpha sticking problem, based on your video it implies to me you somehow can make muons more cheaper and thus brute force the sticking problem?

[@danielt.3152]

Here are my thoughts on extended space travel: I envision an engine like this to be used to essentially achieve the speeds needed to start a secondary engine which scoops up the particles in space, which are then used to fire the secondary engine, let’s all that the scoop drive engine. Particles entering the scoop are then excited to cause an additional burn capability e.g. H,He,dust,muons,bosons,neutrinos, photons,electrons, etc essentially any particles scooped up, compacted,condensed immediately and forced to give up energetically as a propulsive force. The articles may require some separation on entry to the scoop, but the faster you go the more particles you collect to eject. On board computers would use interstellar navigation to direct travel toward areas of spaced deemed more particle rich or knows areas with more condensed particles availability. Electro-Magnetic induction near the front of the spacecraft would repel particles too large away from the ship, collision avoidance with real-time detection and power generation would supply electricity generation. That’s a high-level idea. The faster you go, the more power you can generate in a particle rich environment. Next using time as a resource let’s say that you achieve 20% speed of light, but it still is taking 1000 years to get there. You have a huge new resource called Time. The computers would have analysis and AI programs they would continue to solve the propulsion requirements, and an on board automated physics lab would allow for construction of new engine components based on analysis results, which would be sent back to earth over the course of the journey and maybe approved for construction or new components could be requested form earth and shipped for rendezvous at some future agreed location and time to be applied to craft. A quantum entanglement cellphone would call back to earth to communicate craft telemetry and arrive instantly regardless of distance from earth, any new program updates would be sent instantly to craft via the quantum entanglement communications system. Space is not empty and my intuition tells me we may be able to ram those particles into a collector and ejected back out at high speeds. I have concerns of crafts going at very high speeds colliding with space particles rending the craft inoperable. My other concern is the potential for running into anti matter deposits which may be left over from the Big Bang and un accounted for.

[@Lindalkidd]

Ramscoops are a neat idea that won't work. The drag of the scoop field quickly counteracts the thrust of the engine.

[@louhodo5761]

This engines could cut the transit time from Earth to Mars to 36-45min. That is amazing if it works. Problem I see is acceleration. How much thrust would this generate hypothetical and how would it be controlled? What is the chances of a runaway reaction? And waste product?

[@asteronx]

No possibility of runaway, and only helium as a waste product.

[@panpiper]

Two fundamental questions. First is, can this actually be built to work and when? The other is, what is the thrust to mass ratio? Just how much mass of a spacecraft needs to be devoted to this propulsion system (and associated supportive gear, such as heat radiators), how much thrust can it generate and how much fuel is consumed over time (how much is needed for say a round trip between Mars and Earth say)?

[@jdmiller82]

Would this kind of drive provide continuous thrust for a starship? If so, that would really be great! I'd love to see a fusion drive of some sort eventually end up on a SpaceX Starship, that would be the dream!

[@prestonb.f.]

That’s kinda unimaginative. A chemical big dumb booster shouldn’t have to have a fusion drive welded on.

[@jdmiller82]

@@prestonb.f. not the booster, that could remain a chemical rocket... but the second stage, the actual Starship, would benefit tremendously from a fusion drive, especially if it can provide continuous thrust.

[@prestonb.f.]

@@jdmiller82, but you’re tacking something onto a very different system. It’s like putting a gas-powered motor onto a horse and buggy, by putting it into the horse.

[@adelestevens]

Where do you produce the power for the lasers and magnetic bottle confinement? All you are showing here is the method of producing reaction thrust particles. Is there a low mass nuclear reactor with no shielding for electricity generation ?

[@netshaman9918]

Thank you !

[@SpectorOfDoomYT]

This may be a stupid question, but here goes anyway: It seems by the description in the video, that the engine would be throwing out ionized or easily-ionizeable particles. If that is the case, would it be possible to use a similar system to a standard Ion propulsion drive in order to accelerate the exhaust particles even further, or would that be too inefficient?

[@antonellodigioia]

Actual ion engine have low thrust but, using nuclear fusion energy will be possible to use helium prodused from reaction to obtain more thrust. Importart is necessary neutralize the ions out of the ship by emission of electrons.

[@herescomesthenotoriousmichael]

Aye! Thanks mate

[@herescomesthenotoriousmichael]

@AsteronX can you do explanations about antimatter propulsion system?

[@asteronx]

@@herescomesthenotoriousmichael When we have the time, yes.

[@herescomesthenotoriousmichael]

@@asteronx sweet, no rush there tho big man! Keep it up your content are sick af.

[@ShaggyUltraLounge]

Neat idea - in theory. It's been 3 years, any success in prototyping?

[@ARGHouse504]

Nice, good luck.

[@dafien530]

what is going to power the lasers and the high energy magnetic field? and 8% light speed is a lofty goal, however without a way to divert anything away from the ship.. even a heavy atom could cause damage to the ship as it hits it and releases energy, which unless I am wrong would be ionizing radiation.

[@harikrishnanks9366]

Asteronx is back on track

[@asteronx]

We were never off track, behind the scenes we're working our _________ off with, pretty much 12 hour days, 7 days a week, except for when we fall down instantly asleep from exhaustion :) LOL

[@harikrishnanks9366]

@@asteronx you guys are underrated...Love your videos

[@jailizzy75]

@@asteronx Who are the owners of AsteronX?

[@MichaelLloydMobile]

Great video and exciting new technology! The background music is distracting, and I think profoundly detracts from the quality of the presentation.

[@asteronx]

If you don't mind us asking, in what way? We're always open for proper-respectful feedback, hence why we're genuinely asking you. Thank you.

[@spencer1980]

Oh yeah, I like this

[@michaelc7276]

I have a gravity drive engine design that projects a nuclear blast ive researched and gone over it over and over i don't have the funds to build it is there a program or company that will help with this

[@michaelc7276]

I'd give it to a company just to see it built

[@michaelc7276]

It's more two stages the regular function gravity drive and when needed a burst of power not so much nuclear projected blast them more atomic projected blast can be upgraded and through the different gravity designs it can make shields and atmosphere 0g gravity not sure what do do with it

[@ConcealedCourier]

Slap it on a Starship!

[@danielhalip]

we wanna see that then crash it in voyager 1

[@anodominate]

Muon-g2 experiment is one of the most greatest experiment in mankind,it is a breakthrough for human civilisation. Hope Muon can help us in interstellar and galactic travel & one more thing If this would be partnership with SpaceX's Starship than it would be a great plan.

[@Chris-cv1ll]

Project orion - “am I a joke to you?” Capable of 3.3% speed of light with enough bombs and that was only stopped due to test ban treaty.

[@lucifercrow7050]

inbound deceleration equals flying into nuclear bombs

[@Chris-cv1ll]

@@lucifercrow7050 or gravity assist....could use gravity deceleration from any planet or star. Turning would be a bitch though

[@lucifercrow7050]

@@Chris-cv1ll idk 3.3 % the speed of light we might need a couple solar systems worth of planets or stars to slow down enough

[@Chris-cv1ll]

@@lucifercrow7050 giant solar sail coming in would help a bit then stow for some gravitational atmospheric drag around a gas giant (as we would have to find one in the outer system for any real chance of long term viability) and then use the sun to slow down some more. Oh and we could still fly into the cloud of radiation as we would need to over build for interstellar radiation of which we only know what voyager one and two have sent back

[@lucifercrow7050]

​​ 9,893,151.11 miles per second. That's 3.3 % the speed of light. 25,000 miles per hour is the orbital speed of Earth. there's just no way any gravity is going to slow that down enough, maybe a supermassive black hole. 'Oumuamua that interstellar asteroid or comet was only traveling 60,000 miles per hour and our Sun couldn't hold onto it.

[@Globovoyeur]

These things -- muon-catalyzed fusion, the nuclear salt-water rocket, the fission-fragment rocket, and the antimatter rocket -- are best built and tested in space where the damage from faults is limited. The same is true of bulk antimatter production. Thus I expect they will have to wait until we achieve routine travel around the inner solar system.

[@WolfeSaber]

How would an Epstein Drive work, to be powerful and efficient? In one year, we can go near the speed of light by accelerating at one g. On truly faster, but one of the greatest ideas.

[@asteronx]

This drive will eventually have a performance similar to the 'Epstein drive' ;)

[@WolfeSaber]

@@asteronx One g of acceleration?

[@WolfeSaber]

@@asteronx I did the math, and to get up to 0.08c at one g takes one month to get up to speed at a start of 0 velocity.

[@icecold9511]

@@WolfeSaber One of the problems for crewed vehicles. In the Expanse, gravity is usually created with acceleration. Ships are designed floor to the engine and are always under acceleration. But a boost style long journey requires centrifugal force gravity like a spinning cylinder. That means floor to the side of the ship. It also means you can't spend a month boosting at 1 g. The floor plan won't work well for both methods of gravity. Hell, the most sustained gravity practical is 3 g, still requiring a long time to get to speed. and you can't do that forever.

[@WolfeSaber]

@@icecold9511 Unless the floor can turn from down to the side. The US Navy has a ship with this type of design in mind, when doing research.

[@Ozkar7avo164]

Wich propulsion system is better or faster the vasimir or the muon and wich are the differences between both systems and if the vasimir is being tested already why we can't build a muon yet ?. Thanks for you answer and for you channel 🚀👍

[@C.Sharpe]

So what you're telling me is you've basically invented the Epstein drive... Awesome!

[@Lindalkidd]

No. The Epstein drive is (or would be, if it actually worked, which it doesn't) a reactionless drive. The device shown here obeys Newton's laws and expels reaction mass to provide thrust.

[@C.Sharpe]

@@Lindalkidd I thought I read in the books that they use water for reaction mass, just the drives are so efficient they don't need to use very much

[@kiefermattern917]

@@Lindalkidd Uh no? The Epstein drive uses propellant. Did you see the thrusters in the show?

[@patrickday4206]

It runs on the souls of sad children!

[@BigBadBoy-ib6yx]

If you solve this drive you have a fusion reactor for power production. Keep up the work..

[@infinitumneo840]

The MCAF Drive is a great advancement over chemical rockets. This idea will make short distance space travel feeble.

[@antaresmc4407]

I mean it has its issues, and its not a near future tech given the amount of stuff to develop. And its way too optimistic in my view...

[@trojanthedog]

Excellent staged probe proposition for stellar exploration. 15 to 20% sol maybe with 2 or 3 stages.

[@jerryplayz101]

Whew... even 8% the speed of light is enough to get to mars within a week... Don’t forget (for those who don’t know) that Mars is 44-1 light hour away. So, say hello mars! We’re coming over!

[@Zachomara]

8% of light is enough to get to Mars within an hour. A week would be only for the acceleration and deceleration of the ship you'd be on.

[@sharkawy70]

Thanks for your videos, I deeply appreciate you. Best wishes. Ad astra.🌟🌟✨✨

[@wp2746]

Just don’t exceed 0.2c speed, you might get into trouble with a relativity time ticket :p

[@kosovoisserbia8937]

Actually you won't mess it up alot untill 0.9C

[@n.g.s1mple29]

Seems interesting but where are the links to these breakthroughs, as far as i know muon catalysed fusion is not viable for now since muons die so fast and tend to stick to the rezulting atoms. So we were unable to use them properly,

[@KevinHudsonL]

I beliebe that is where the catalyst of unobtainium comes in. The video never idenitifies just what the catalyst is. So I assume it is unobtainium. Otherwise, NASA's Advances Propulsion Lad would have already latched on to this.

[@n.g.s1mple29]

@@KevinHudsonL well the links are in the description now, the stuff on the article seems legit

[@KevinHudsonL]

Also, granted, I am only an arm chair quantum physysist, with no formal tranining. But I find the formation of Bose-Einstien condensates in a highly energetic plasma/fusion environment quiite dubious. How are quantum flucutations totally eliminated in such a high energy (read hot) environment? As far as I have read, Bose-Einstein condesate have only been achieved at temperatures do damn close to absolute 0, that they are, for all intents and purposes absolute 0. Hence the formation of Boese-Einstine condensates. A condition where all quantum fluctuation in a limited isolated area have been eliminated. Also, an immensly dense source of indepletium is going to required to power all of this to provied the requisite high energy plasma to not only create the muons, but to maintain them long enough at a density to not only initiate but maintain a fusion reaction. This is the issue to which others in thread have already alluded. So, just obtain enough unobtianium and indepletium (itself an energy dense type of unobtainium) and solve the issue of actually maintaining a Bose-Einstien condensate in a highly ener getic plasma/fusion environment, and we're golden. I personally believe that one of the later Alcubierre Warp Drive varients is more plausible. At least there, only the issue of unobainium, in thi case negative matter, needs to be overcome.

[@thequarkduck5223]

I think that we need to understand the algorithm of the expanding of the dark matter to travel faster than light But still a good try 👍

[@RayHorn5128088056]

Very nice imaginary design.

[@ZenSpider40]

That look like something you’d bolt on to a Y wing. Life imitating art?

[@vilmospalik1480]

how long do you believe it will take for this technology to become viable if ever

[@asteronx]

Within the next 5 years.

[@vilmospalik1480]

@@asteronx thank you for answering my question I appreciate it

[@SuperNovaJinckUFO]

This has my bullshit alarms going off. Muon catalyzed fusion is hardly a novel idea, and where it practical, it would have garnered a lot of attention for its potential uses in the energy sector (unless of course your engine is operating at a negative energy trade off, to which I would respond there are plenty of more efficient ways to use the energy your craft would have to carry or have beamed onto it). So either you just solved the world's energy crisis forever, or this is nothing

[@brianfhunter]

Thinking something similar here. Lots of coils, lasers and magnectic fields.... from where all this energy is coming from? another fusion reactor? Also, my bullshit alarms already turned on the very beginning by the way of speaking and chosen words.

[@SteveSiegelin]

The acronym even sounds good, the IPS! I like it! Let's just hope it doesn't go the way of the Alcuvier drive.... Good luck.

[@atheistmando4976]

24 million miles a second. Imagine if we went that fast. We'd reach mars in 7 hours. Weeks to get to pluto. And we can get to centauri in about 40 or so years. Thats phenomenal

[@rickelleman6613]

Ummm... 24 million miles per second is about 128 times the speed of light. Thats more than 3 magnitudes of order faster than thus drive. And if we could go that fast, we'd get to Alpha Centauri in less than 3 weeks...

[@atheistmando4976]

@@rickelleman6613 oh? Might of mistaken it for meters.

[@Dragongod5890]

Beautiful mechanics

[@cornelgherasim5684]

You've lost me at "nucular"!

[@cedrichunter9759]

Impressive. Most Impressive.

[@kodeman7195]

space is so crazy im taking an astronomy class now and it jus makes everything feel so small on earth i wish one day something takes off an we are all able to leave if we want like damn star wars lol

[@protean15]

I assume the fusion exhaust is "channeled" out the end of this engine magnetically. So, what powers the magnets? Seems like you would need a lot of energy to provide the reactive force. Did I miss something?

[@ancapftw9113]

If you are producing more energy than you put in, you can likely convert some of the excess heat into electricity to do that.