Physicists have solved a long-standing puzzle about mercury’s nuclear fission by using a five-dimensional model that ...

A nuclear fission fragment rocket engine (FFRE) that is exponentially more propellent efficient than rocket engines currently used to power today’s space vehicles and could eventually achieve very ...

Depends. If you use a fission fragment rocket based on sustaining a chain reaction, yeah, the fragments are typically also radioactive. But you can do a fission fragment rocket based on radioactive ...

Fission Fragment Rocket Engine Concept Puts Planets 100 Light Years Away Within Reach. Published: 21 Feb 2023, 11:43 UTC • By: Daniel Patrascu. 6 photos. Photo: NASA/Ryan Weed/Positron Dynamics.

However, the structure of the aerogels themselves wouldn't do much to contain the fission fragments are they break apart. To do so would require a massive outside force, which is where the ...

What Is a Fission Fragment Rocket Engine? FFREs are not a new concept in themselves, but many have massive technical hurdles to overcome before they can be considered useful.

A five-dimensional model has successfully predicted the asymmetric fission of mercury isotopes, offering new insights into ...

A rocket is essentially a controlled explosion—when it works, all the energy comes out of one end and propels the vehicle forward. When it doesn't, well, it is still a tube of explosive material.

While we’ve discussed them here at UT before, NASA’s Institute of Advanced Concepts has provided a grant to a company called Positron Dynamics for the development of a novel type of nuclear fission ...

A similar but more far-off idea is the fission fragment rocket. This type of vehicle would eject nuclear fission products from a reactor engine using magnetic fields. This could theoretically ...