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As you all know, in addition to the states of matter that we all know to be: solid, liquid and gaseous, there is also a fourth state of matter called plasma, which is the most abundant in the universe.
Plasma is obtained by heating a gas to high temperatures or subjecting it to intense electric fields, which makes the atoms of this gas ionize, that is, they lose their electrons.
The use of plasma as a propulsion system is not new, it has already been used to move space probes but it would not be powerful enough to counteract gravity and air friction in air navigation.
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However, a group of Chinese engineers have announced the creation of a prototype jet engine that does not use any fossil fuel, but rather generates plasma by compressing and ionizing the air with microwaves.
During the tests, this propeller managed to lift a 1 kilogram steel ball on a 24-millimeter diameter quartz tube, which properly scaled would be equivalent to the power of a conventional jet engine.
The researchers aim to create multiple thrusters like this and improve their efficiency so that they can be scaled large enough to be used in commercial air propulsion.
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If we follow the official data, commercial aviation is responsible for 2.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, so this would be a great invention to fight climate change.
Fortunately, there are people who not only complain and blame others for the problems, but invest their efforts to fix the problem without progress stopping.
More information:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/aiop-ffj050420.php
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