• @[email protected]
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      331 year ago

      The physics behind this can theoretically improve all turbines by up to 25% efficiency. Not just rockets but turbines, thats nothing to sneeze at. Your point is noted, but misguided as nasa is around for exactly this reason to push the limits of physics not building housing. This is a huge leap forward. The brayton cycle working at the top of its efficiency curve at all is akin to jet engines over propellers. It’s that big of a deal to increase efficiency by 25% for an entire class of engines.

      • @[email protected]
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        41 year ago

        This does indeed appear to be a real breakthrough, as the engineering applications apply to more than just space flight as you say.

        Next up: In what settings is this cost effective to implement?

        • @[email protected]
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          1 year ago

          I’d say still too soon to say. It’s a very touchy process to maintain so my guess is we would see this in rockets and probably large turbines used for power at first then likely ships and probably filtering down as we improve. Best bet on this is to expect it in a 10 year horizon from where it’s at. The fact we can run as long as this test did in only about 3ish years of development? Is a good sign. Honestly rotating detonation engines working at all is a minor engineering miracle so even just a working rocket engine is huge. This can help the rocket equation a ton depending on how far from theoretical we get in reality but let’s swag 20%, that is better than the 10% we gained from switching from an open cycle to closed cycle rocket engine.

          Fun times ahead though!

    • @[email protected]OP
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      1 year ago

      Do you honestly expect NASA to build houses for the homeless? No, of course you don’t. They’re NASA and this is a community about space/space exploration. So take the off topic nonsense somewhere else. You’re just attempting to derail the discussion.

      • @[email protected]
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        211 year ago

        As a currently homeless person I still support NASA existing and working on cool shit like this.

        Far more reasonable ways to fund helping the homeless would be uh, tax the rich, or make housing a right, universal basic income, or in my case in particular, sending me some money.

        And no that is not a joke. Study after study have shown that by far the most cost efficient way any individual or organization can be in helping the homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless is just give them money without making them go through a nightmarish slog of confusing bureaucracies.

        • Guy Dudeman
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          -71 year ago

          So… what if we took the money from the rich AND the space programs and gave it to the homeless?

    • Mossy Feathers (She/They)
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      91 year ago

      Right now? No. In the future? Who knows, it could lead to other discoveries and inventions that makes houses easier and/or cheaper to build. That’s why this kind of question bothers me. Just because something helps one group doesn’t mean it can’t help others. NASA makes a lot of money for the US due to the discoveries, breakthroughs and inventions created with space travel in mind. However, many of those discoveries, like the CMOS image sensors used in cellphone cameras, have found their way into the consumer space. Like, we wouldn’t have GPS without NASA. Those satellites didn’t make it up into space by themselves, you know.

    • sebinspace
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      81 year ago

      Buddy, if you want to complain about wasted taxpayer money, NASA is the least of your worries compared to everything. The amount of funding they get is basically nothing compared to the defense budget.

      You’re basically bitching about pollution, then turning a blind eye to corporations that spew literal tons of pollutants into the air on a daily basis.

    • @[email protected]
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      31 year ago

      Do you have any idea how much NASA’s work has contributed to the economy, and thus indirectly to elevating poverty and helping the poor? If you did, you’d be wishing they were getting a bigger budget.