[ExI] SpaceX launch

[Adrian Tymes]

On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 3:03 PM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:
> You could theoretically make plasma with a self contained chemical reaction
> if you superheat the reactants before you combine them, but I don't think
> that is what you meant.  That would wreck the nozzle in any case.

If one can superheat the fuel anyway, one might as well simply superheat it
directly to plasma and don't bother reacting it.  Unless one includes a
short-lived fusion reactor as part of the engine, of course.

Then again, that's "short-lived" as in "approximately 10 minutes", whereas with
modern experimental fusion reactors, 10 seconds is considered a very long
reaction.  (Which makes me wonder how they think they'll get it to commercial
practicality, which requires sustained power output for hours at least.  I also
can't help but wonder if engineering for extremely short reactions is part of
the reason why big fusion reactors have not produced progress
commensurate with their expense.)

Might anyone know of experiments in long duration plasma containment?