Re: [AT2] Dropship exhaust

Mike Miller wrote:
> Peter La Casse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
>
> > Something occurred to me recently: what does dropship exhaust look like 
> > after the dropship that expelled it is long gone?
> >
> > Eventually it would cool, and possibly harden into tiny crystals.  How 
> > much could we reasonably expect it to dissipate?  How recognizable would 
> > reaction mass be, long after it cooled?
>
>
> Reaction mass = hydrogen. (That's mentioned in the CBT:Companion's
> fuel section and BS.)
>
> It's a colorless, odorless gas, and when you blast it out of BT fusion
> rocket's tail pipe, it WILL react with anything in the environment.

I think he means in space.

Hydrogen expelled from a fusion rocket would be in ionized (plasma) 
form. I suspect that natural magnetic forces would recombine the 
hydrogen into gaseous form after a short while, assuming it's had time 
to cool. In any case, what you'd probably end up with is bubbles of 
gaseous hydrogen which would dissipate slowly under gravity. You might 
also expect an unusually high ion count, dwindling slowly as the 
reaction mass recombines.

At least, that's the story if I remember my high-school physics right.

- 5parrow