[Cindy]

Cindy asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hello, Chris, my name is Cindy.

I know it sounds odd, but I had a very unusual dream about the discovery and application of "Ion Pulse Drive". In this dream, there was a craft which was very large and sort of flat, that actually travelled on ions, similar to skipping a stone across a lake, but without the skip. The craft was able to travel at unimaginable speed without affecting who or what was inside the craft or damaging its integrity. I looked and found nothing similar to this idea on the web. I am not a scientist, I am a layman but this idea was so real that I wanted to share it with someone.

Peace...Cindy

What do you think?

[Kryptid]

Ion propulsion has been used on spacecraft before but not in the way that you describe. In such applications, the ions are shot out the rear of the spacecraft for propulsion. The thrust generated is very small, so the acceleration is also small. The top speed, however, has the potential to be rather high if the engine is used for long enough.

What you are describing may be likened to a magnetohydrodynamic drive or perhaps an ionocraft (also called a "lifter"). Using ion wind to propel an aircraft is not yet practical because we do not have the needed energy density for such craft to carry their own power source onboard.

This might be of interest to you: http://jnaudin.free.fr/lifters/main.htm

[theSloth]

We could always do better with access to higher energy volumes, that is certain. But in this case it is more an issue of orthodoxy breeding stagnation in the minds of science wielders.  Consider these things: only the difference between fluids and gas/plasma. All you are describing is application of surface tension to a loose gas-category configuration of particles. Energy in the form of electricity can ionize air, giving it a ready response to magnetic fields. One could in principle ( though not with concurrent prefabricated tech) energize then configure particles into a parachute or wing configuration. But doing it via applied energy is less efficient than a set of aluminum wings. So rather the option that fits best is the interchange, back and forth, between energy and mass. Conductive fluids like mercury could be the answer for patterning energy, and there are the usual issues of weight/mass being tied to energy sufficient enough to do stuff, and so much more. But with your questions, come these apparently belated answers. I don't really with linear time, ya know?

Good luck, test it on your Morty first!

[wolfekeeper]

I've got a rough design for a spacecraft that uses the solar wind that works kinda-sorta like that. But I haven't managed to model the solar wind to the level needed to publish it, so it may not even work. The thing is that the solar wind is an ionised plasma and plasmas are kinda weird things. The interesting thing is that it doesn't require the vehicle to carry propellant, and it generates power as well as propulsion, so you don't need separate solar panels, but one downside is that the acceleration is very low.

[CliffordK]

All current space ships run on a mass action/reaction principle. 

Fire mass out the back end at high speeds, and the equivalent energy pushes the space ship forward. 

The issues, however, are:

• Consumption of Energy
• Net loss of mass over time.

Ion propulsion could potentially use almost any matter than can be ionized, and maximize accelerating the particles rearward without relying on chemical reactions.

When near a star (sun), one can capture large amounts of solar energy, but that energy supply decreases with distance form the star.  So, one would have to find another energy source.  Fission, Fusion, or anti-matter annihilation.