This New Fusion Engine Will Cut The Travel Time To Mars Down To Six Weeks

Business Insider ^ | 10/4/12 | Geoffrey Ingersoll

[Nachum]

Brace yourselves: Researchers at University of Huntsville in Alabama say they are using "Dilithium Crystals" in a new fusion impulse engine that could cut the travel time to Mars down to as little as six weeks, not the six months it takes now. Txchnologist, an online magazine sponsored by General Electric, talked to team member and aerospace engineering PH.D. candidate Ross Cortez, he said "The fusion fuel we're focusing on is deuterium [a stable isotope of hydrogen] and Li6 [a stable isotope of the metal lithium] in a crystal structure." "That's basically dilithium crystals we're using," he said (Snip) The

[Jewbacca]

Transparent aluminium has been in use in armoured vehicles for several years.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/transparent-aluminum-armor.htm

[NativeSon]

Isn’t that treaty that prevents us from putting nuclear powered thingies into space still around?

[Darth Reardon]

Start braking a little over half way there?

But yeah, my first thought was how many G’s would it take.

[JediJones]

[Jewbacca]

“How to slow down to a stop from 50,000 mph without turning the humans into grease spots on the bulkhead.”

Accellerate at 1g half way there and decellerate 1 g half way back (or whatever the ratio is), minus whatever speed is needed to maintain stable orbit at Amrs.

[Jewbacca]

how long does it take to travel 64,000,000 in a ship capable of accelerating at 1g assuming the maximum acceleration is used, then:

1g = 32 ft / s^2

1g = (32 ft /s^2)(3600^2 s^2/hr^2)(1 mile/5280 ft)

1g = 78545 mile/hr^2

64,000,000 = 2 * 32,000,000 (because you spend half the time accelerating and half the time decelerating - otherwise you get there, but you can’t stop)

d = at^2
t = sqrt(d/a)

t = sqrt(32,000,000 miles / (78545 miles/hr^2))
t = sqrt(407)
t = 20.2 hr

Double that and get 40.4 hr, or just under two days.

[BRK]

Thanks Jewbacca,
That was an amazing article on transparent aluminum over at HowStuffWorks.com. I had no idea that Star Trek item had already come true. I am afraid to ask about the tricorder. BTW, the HowStuffWorks site really pulls you in and one article leads to another and I was engrossed for several hours!