From: 103134.3516@compuserve.com   
      
   On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 10:18:50 AM UTC-4, 0something0 wrote:   
   > I thought that a pure antimatter-powered nuclear-pulse was a interesting   
   idea that deserved a thread all of its own. So, here is a question that begs   
   to be asked:    
   >    
   > How do we calculate the thrust and the Isp of an antimatter-powered nuclear   
   pulse?   
      
   "...and they improved the thrust by over 30% when they invented the neutrino   
   reflector" - paraphrased by memory from _The Ophiuchi Hotline_ (Varley),   
   though it was a black hole drive, not an antimatter drive, IIRC. I think   
   proton-antiproton annihilation    
   emits about half the energy as useless neutrinos going in all directions. Not   
   only will you get no thrust out of 'em, I bet they'll kill you, too.   
      
   The big problem with an antimatter drive is probably directing the particles   
   that come out of the annihilation event in some particular direction. Their   
   net charge is necessarily zero, so you probably can't use EM fields to do it.   
   Uniform spread = zero    
   ISP. Easy calculation!   
      
   JimboCat   
   --    
   "Some of the more environmentally aware dinosaurs were worried about the   
   consequences of an accident with the new Iridium enriched fusion reactor. 'If   
   it goes off only the cockroaches and mammals will survive...' they said."   
   [Derek Tearne]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)