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Advanced Spaceship Drive Compendium (Narration Only)

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

00:00

The Different Types of Torch Ships

Torque drive is often used to discuss fusion reactions, which generally convert no more than 1% of the fuel's mass to energy. The original usage was on a torch ship in Robert Heinlein's 1953 short story, Sky Lift where it was able to convert 100% of matter to energy. Vassimure and parallel engine concepts allow a ship with a good power supply such as nuclear fission or fusion reactor, or external power such as solar or energy beams,. They can achieve very high speeds on a very small amount of fuel. See also Hall Effect Thruster, Ion Drive. Warp drives predates both FTRs and rely on the notion that a spaceship has to travel through space

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