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Flea Powered Spacecraft

Oh, go on then.
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A flea weighs approximately 1 milligram and jumps at a speed of about 1.9 metres per second.

Thus if 1 flea jumps from a surface per second, a force of approximately 1.9 micronewtons results.

If about 260,000 fleas jump per second, collectively they will provide about half a newton of thrust - comparable to the ion thrusters which NASA is currently researching.

So, this spacecraft consists of a rear plate from which fleas are encouraged to jump into the vacuum of space, propelling the craft on its journey.

Wrongfellow, Jan 06 2018

Thrust specific fuel consumption for various engine types https://en.wikipedi...ic_fuel_consumption
[Voice, Jan 06 2018]

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       Not as completely ludicrous as the title suggests. But still quite so.
RayfordSteele, Jan 06 2018
  

       Output = 260 killer flees
wjt, Jan 06 2018
  

       According to fleascience.com an unfed flea weighs .45 mg. 260 000 fleas should weigh 117 grams.   

       There seems to be no research whatsoever on whether a flea can survive in the vacuum of space. This is a serious oversight.
Voice, Jan 06 2018
  

       //whether a flea can survive in the vacuum of space//   

       I suppose this idea does present a risk that we may one day make it to a habitable planet only to find that it's already thoroughly infested by fleas that made it there years in advance.
Wrongfellow, Jan 07 2018
  

       You're going to get a lot more reaction force from the same mass of LiDeT ...
8th of 7, Jan 07 2018
  


 

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