Timeline for Could ships in space use a Steam Engine?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
34 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Mar 18, 2018 at 15:32 | comment | added | G0BLiN | @MozerShmozer - I think that the crucial difference is that steam engines can recycle their water (they condense the steam back to liquid state for reuse), while there is some loss of water (which theoretically can be minimized for space age technology) - this is radically different from rocket engines, which basically "throw away" the gas to produce thrust - they lose a lot of mass, by design, and there's no way around that. | |
| Mar 18, 2018 at 13:47 | answer | added | Manish | timeline score: 0 | |
| Oct 16, 2016 at 4:03 | history | reopened |
TrEs-2b Vincent Frostfyre a4android Thucydides |
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| Oct 14, 2016 at 19:57 | review | Reopen votes | |||
| Oct 16, 2016 at 4:03 | |||||
| Oct 14, 2016 at 19:38 | vote | accept | TrEs-2b | ||
| Oct 14, 2016 at 14:40 | history | closed |
Mołot Josh King Green SE - stop firing the good guys Mindwin Remember Monica |
Needs details or clarity | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 13:56 | comment | added | Luaan | You know steam engines use a huge amount of water, right? Where would you get that water, and how would you justify using it in a steam engine rather than, say, letting hydrogen and oxygen combust and produce thrust directly? What's the benefit of using a steam engine? It's not like you can use wheels for propulsion in space :) | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 11:33 | comment | added | enkryptor | @TrEs-2b do you ask about steam engines as a part of the ship's infrastructure (internal transporting, generating electricity, etc.), or are they supposed to propel the ship? | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 10:20 | comment | added | Aron | To be clear, is the question on using H2O for reactionary mass? | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 10:11 | comment | added | Thijser | Your reactor is also probably going to be steam driven, most people don't realise that nuclear reactors (and coal and gas and oil) are all basically steam engines. | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 9:19 | answer | added | Polygnome | timeline score: 2 | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 7:20 | answer | added | ohwilleke | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 6:52 | answer | added | Etaila | timeline score: 0 | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 3:04 | answer | added | Vadim | timeline score: 0 | |
| Oct 14, 2016 at 3:01 | answer | added | JRandomHacker | timeline score: 2 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 21:58 | history | edited | JDługosz | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
edited title
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| Oct 13, 2016 at 21:16 | answer | added | vsz | timeline score: 5 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 21:02 | answer | added | Thucydides | timeline score: 12 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 20:16 | answer | added | njzk2 | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 19:28 | comment | added | leftaroundabout | @MozerShmozer: technically speaking, a steam engine is specifically defined as an external combustion engine, which a LH/LOx rocket engine is not. But you're right, it does make some sense to call such a rocket “steam engine”. | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 18:08 | comment | added | MozerShmozer | Technically speaking, modern rocket engines that use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as the fuel are steam engines. The combustion reaction between the oxygen and hydrogen flash boils the product (which is water) and ejects the steam from the nozzle at ludicrous speeds. So, high-pressure steam is what provides thrust, the only difference is from where the steam gets its high temperature/pressure. | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:42 | comment | added | kingledion | I would use a steam engine in space to make espresso. | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:37 | answer | added | jamesqf | timeline score: 13 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:30 | review | Close votes | |||
| Oct 13, 2016 at 19:27 | |||||
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:28 | comment | added | Cem Kalyoncu | I would assume the engine would boil, pressurize and release steam for thrust. | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:26 | answer | added | Durakken | timeline score: 2 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:13 | comment | added | Mołot | What stream engine you imagined? Obviously not the one used to turn wheels, so what's your idea? What would you call a steam engine? | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:12 | comment | added | TrEs-2b | @CemKalyoncu right | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 17:06 | comment | added | Cem Kalyoncu | Just to clarify, this system will not use the steam engine to climb out of atmosphere right? | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 16:58 | answer | added | Innovine | timeline score: 10 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 16:54 | answer | added | enkryptor | timeline score: 3 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 16:52 | answer | added | Pliny | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 16:33 | answer | added | AndreiROM | timeline score: 15 | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 16:29 | history | asked | TrEs-2b | CC BY-SA 3.0 |