Does a liquid fueled rocket booster produce more thrust in the atmosphere than in a vaccum?

Question

Can a rocket produce more thrust when it is in the air because it has air molecules to push against? Can the presence of air molecules cause more pressure to build up inside the thrust director and thus increase the amount of thrust per fuel burned? Do any physics buffs have input on this question?

Do'nt worry about air resistance. The question is about thrust produced (ie how much force the rocket engine exerts on the rocket in the atmosphere vs in space).

to clarfiy: lets say you are puttung a scale, or some device for sensing force, between the rocket's engine and the rocket. So ignoring speed and air resistance, is the force applied to the rocket greater while it is in the atmosphere because there are air molecules to push against and air moleculed causing drag on the rocket?? Perhaps it changes as airspeed and air density change? Or perhaps the force is equal to the force it exerts on the rocket in space...

Answer 1

Thrust is greater in vacuum since the exhaust is unimpeded from having to push the air aside, giving it a higher exhaust velocity V. From momentum conservation, thrust is equal to burn rate (mass per unit time) times V. Goddard discovered this experimentally and was pleased. See ref.

Answer 2

The boost is the same. However acceleration and speed is greater in the vacuum of space. Air creates a lot of resistance.

If there were any gain by pushing against the air is more than offset by having to push air out of the way in front of the rocket.

Answer 3

There are an entire heap of distinctive beverages used to gasoline rockets. Kerosene seems the main commonplace gasoline even in spite of the indisputable fact that Hydrogen and diverse Hydrazines are additionally used (the final ones being very nasty issues). Oxidiser is many times Liquid Oxygen yet Nitrogen Tetroxide (or interior the previous Nitric Acid) are additionally usually used with the Hydrazines. Hydrogen Peroxide is likewise enjoyed via some human beings. particularly some different components have been proposed which comprise flouinated propellents and boron containing components yet they have been judged to have dealing with problems that the greater overall performance isn't properly worth them.

Answer 4

Dr. R is correct. When a rocket is launched into space, careful calculations are done to determine the optimal path: at first, you want to go mostly up, to get past a lot of the atmosphere and into space where the engine works better, and later, more to the side, to reach orbital velocity going around the earth.

Answer 5

I agree with Greg :-)

It may "push" the Rocket better in space, but it does not "Produce more thrust" but more "Apparent Thrust" LOL. Liquid fueled rockets carry their own oxidizer.

Ummm, less resistance.............more thrust..........damn why didn;'t I think of that! LOL

I'm still kinda thinking that the Rocket motor is not producing "more" thrust, since the chemical processes within the rocket have not changed but that it has become more efficent and it's "Apparent Thrust" has increased.......ummm