A Spin-Polarised Propellant Thruster: Thrust and Specific Impulse from Torsion-Assisted Exhaust Expansion

This paper presents a complete design study of the device is a magnetic-nozzle thruster fed with hydrogen whose nuclei are spin-polarised before ionisation, so that the expansion of the exhaust through the nozzle is assisted by the torsion coupling of the aligned spin population, derived from stated assumptions and computed throughout by the accompanying script. The unpolarised specific impulse is 458.9 s. At a polarised fraction of 0.50 it rises to 596.5 s, thrust at the reference mass flow is 117.0 N, and jet power rises to 342.2 kW, so the gain is worth having only where polarisation itself is cheap. Every figure in the study is a computed result of the stated model and nothing was built or tested: the study is SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED, and its limits are stated as plainly as its performance.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24123363
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Low-Pressure Plasma Processing and Diagnostics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.32
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article

A Spin-Polarised Propellant Thruster: Thrust and Specific Impulse from Torsion-Assisted Exhaust Expansion

William Alexander Aldred
1 citations
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Low-Pressure Plasma Processing and Diagnostics
1.32
article

A Spin-Polarised Propellant Thruster: Thrust and Specific Impulse from Torsion-Assisted Exhaust Expansion

William Alexander Aldred
article en
1 citations

Abstract

This paper presents a complete design study of the device is a magnetic-nozzle thruster fed with hydrogen whose nuclei are spin-polarised before ionisation, so that the expansion of the exhaust through the nozzle is assisted by the torsion coupling of the aligned spin population, derived from stated assumptions and computed throughout by the accompanying script. The unpolarised specific impulse is 458.9 s. At a polarised fraction of 0.50 it rises to 596.5 s, thrust at the reference mass flow is 117.0 N, and jet power rises to 342.2 kW, so the gain is worth having only where polarisation itself is cheap. Every figure in the study is a computed result of the stated model and nothing was built or tested: the study is SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED, and its limits are stated as plainly as its performance.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Low-Pressure Plasma Processing and Diagnostics
1.32
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