Rocket Science

Why Do Ion Thusters Use Xenon? KSP Doesn't Teach.....
Since I have been studying chemistry, I've started to take note of specific uses for specific elements. (It helps that Scott uses the word 'specific' in his video.) I mean it's kind of weird. We've got this periodic table of elements and supposedly elements that are adjacent in the chart have some similar properties, but it seems that those similarities are vastly overshadowed by their differences. Which makes the fact that we even have a periodic table pretty fricking amazing.


What is Hall Effect and How Hall Effect Sensors Work
Hall Effect Thruster sounds like something I should understand, after all Hall Effect Sensors are everyday items. Shoot, the ABS in our 1995 Ford Windstar used Hall Effect Sensors for measuring wheel speed. Your keyboard probably uses Hall Effect Sensors to determine when you have pressed a key, assuming of course that you are even using a real keyboard. I dunno how many people are reading this on their smart phones, but what am I gonna do about it? Yell at the kids? Tell them to
'get off of my lawn'? Yeah, like that's gonna work.

Anyway, I didn't really understand the Hall Effect until I watched this video. I also watched another half a dozen videos on the subject and while the audio track on this one isn't Hollywood perfect, the video is still better than all the others I sampled.

The Hall-effect thruster aboard the European Space Agency’s SMART-1 mission. Launched in 2003, this became the first Hall thruster to be utilized beyond geosynchronous orbit. Photo Credit: ESA

The Hall-effect thruster in the above image is from Experimental Design Bureau (EDB) Fakel of Kaliningrad, Russia. That's twice Russia got mentioned today. Three times if you count the link in my post about cocaine production. The link pointed to a story that came from RT (formerly Russia Today).

Scott Manley (the video up top) has appeared here before.