If space is a vacuum then what do space ship engines thrust against?

Answer 1

They can only thrust against our atmosphere. Oncwe they leave earth, , they can only travel on their original momentum until they reach another planet or large object with a gravitational pull, which will diminish the vacuum.

But I don't know how Star Wars space ships work.


Edit: Yeah, clon is right. I just made everything up.

Answer 2

Boy you really gotta weed through a lot of crud to get a right answer on this puppy.
It's true that there is little to no medium in empty space to propel mass forward, but that's actually a good thing. The rocket engine on a space vessel is just for breaking away from the Earths gravitational pull, and once far enough out, it gets dropped into orbit, but the rocket effect is the same in space just without an atmosphere to slow down the vessel.
The ship is "steered" by little blasts of Carbon dioxide gas out of little nozzles around the ship. The force that moves the ship in a general direction is actually against itself, kinda like when you let go of a balloon. The Co2 blasts don't need anything to push against except themselves, and can keep going in the same direction almost forever because of Inertia and lack of friction.

Answer 3

Gravity (and momentum). My understanding is that the engines of a spacecraft don't thrust all the time while in space, only when making certain maneuvers like a change in orientation or direction.

For example, a spacecraft must use thrust to escape the Earth’s gravity. It shouldn’t have to use any thrust while on its way to the moon. When it gets close to the moon, the moon’s gravity will pull the spacecraft towards the moon. Thrust will be needed to either land on the moon or escape the moon. If the physics calculations were correct at launch (and the spacecraft is trying to get to Mars, for example), very little (if any) thrust will be needed to guide the spacecraft from the moon to Mars as the moon’s gravity can be used to slingshot the spacecraft to Mars.

Basically, thursting is an all-at-once kind of event for major directional change. Minor thursts or bursts can be used to reorient the the spacecraft so that it is pointing in the right direction.

Answer 4

They thrust against themselves. They are creating force in the oppposite direction, which moves them. It doesn't have to actuall push off something. Like when you are swimming and push off a wall, you take off with little effort. When you are swimming in the middle and have no wall, you have to thrust your body forward by creating an opposite force with your arms and legs. Now granted you are still pushing against the water, but the human body does not have a thrust button and cannot create that much force. It is the same concept of creating a force in the opposite direction. A ships thrust is so powerful that simply creating the force will more it, it doesn't need to push off of anything.

Answer 5

Some of the answers are so hideously wrong that I think that some people are trying to pull a fast one on you.

The few answers that mention Newton's 3rd law are the only ones you should pay attention to.

Basically, its like this... if you hold a medicine ball (or a bowling ball) in your hands and throw it away from you, you will feel yourself moving back (opposite to the direction you threw the ball). This is what Newton's 3rd law describes. (Btw, a heavy object is not necessary, it just makes the effect more obvious)

When a spacecraft 'throws' out rocket fuel, it experiences a force in the opposite direction. When the force exerted on the rocket fuel is greater, the force experienced is also greater. A rocket could develop thrust by 'throwing' out other stuff (eg people who gave silly answers), but that wouldn't be so nice would it?

Answer 6

yep, that is loopy obtainable. a great number of tiny count number debris which have basically about no mass and are passing via you each and every of the time referred to as neutrinos. then the digital debris you're speaking about should be the bosons which aren't any more count number yet are stress service debris. An party of those should be the photons. those are debris of sunshine so all of us comprehend they're there via the very reality you will locate the sunlight, moon and stars. the fabric of area is a few thing very unusual. the debris themselves do not make it up, they basically exist interior it notwithstanding the reason "the fabric of area" is one of those large deal is that cutting-edge physics exhibits that is not any longer basically empty area because it should be manipulated. a good metaphor should be area is a canvas and the debris are the artwork, notwithstanding the canvas should be twisted, stretched, a great number of loopy stuff. i'm afraid that is not any longer some thing you will be able to achieve an information of in an afternoon's reading. i'm a ways from an authority and that i imagine technology has a straightforward methods to pass to totally information it. once you're very in touch i ought to characterize studying the classic form, actually learn a thanks to tell apart between fermions and bosons. also a good e book on relativity which addresses the fabric of area is Brian cox and Jeff foreshore's "Why does e=mc squared". explains it fantastically and inspired me to learn physics. sorry that is lengthy winded and desire it helps

Answer 7

The thrust is against the ship itself - it's not that it's pushing against anything behind, it's that it's being blasted out the back in one direction, making the ship move in the opposite direction.

It's all Newtonian.

Answer 8

Motion of the ship is in opposition of the thrust. It is not "pushing" against anything

Answer 9

They move by conservation of momentum.
Think about the kick on a rifle. When the bullet is fired at high velocity away from you, the gun moves backwards, conserving the momentum.
THe same principle applies in space. The exhaust fumes and pushed backward at high velocity, thereby pushing the craft forwards.

Newton's third law - kick it, and it kicks back.

Answer 10

Newtons third law of motion. This is valid everywhere even in vacuum. They throw mass out that pushes them in the opposite direction