Nuclear Engines in Space Anyone?

Homeland Security · Post by **Homeland Security** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 8:54 pm

Ok, broad topic I know. But still.

For IB I have to write an extended essay of about 4000 words, its kind of like the honors thesis at Carolina my brothers writing, but not quite. We have to argue a point.

So I'm looking around on this topic and I was going to talk about the benefits to the program nuclear engines would be and the best application for it. That being my argue, I haven't found in my opinion the best application, whether it be weapons, exploration(unmanned) or human travel. My paper is still in the research stages, but I'd like some second opinions because honestly a high school student and this assignment scares me to death... (figuratively of course)

I've looked at nuclearspace.com and space.com and a few other sites, but does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be more helpful?

coffeediver · Post by **coffeediver** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:05 am

I have one suggestion, it's called spell check. Learn it. Use it. Love it.

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:17 am

I think spell check has gotten me through high school. I'm serious.

SpaceCanada · Post by **SpaceCanada** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:29 am

You may want to go to a local university and use their library for resources. If the university has anyone studying nuclear propulsion, you may want to talk to them. An essay of 4000 words isn't so bad, really... I think the number is more intimidating than anything. Just read some books, talk to some people, and start making a list. You may end up discussing many subcategories of nuclear propulsion and the benefits and shortomings of each.

Best of luck with the essay - I'm sure you'll do great!

Also, especially for IB essays, you may want to get someone with a good knowledge of English to read your essay over for grammar, clarity, and simplicity. Extended essays (like thesises - or whatever thesis is in plural form) should always be written so that someone with no knowledge of the subject should be able to understand it. So, start small by explaining what nuclear propulsion is, and how it works, before moving on to its applications. I'll give you a hint: when writing a thesis, you have to take things down to the smallest tiniest detail... and define everything. If you talk about protons and neutrons - explain what those are, and how they relate to eachother. Things like that. The more you break it down, the easier it is to understand, and the more confidence the reader will have that they are fully understanding what you are trying to say.

As for the spell check, it probably won't help you much with the long words associated with nuclear propulsion, but use your head and your common sense and you will ge through it... alive...

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:47 pm

spell check helped me with a 12 page history paper last year

spacecampaddict28 · Post by **spacecampaddict28** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:49 pm

And that was 3.876 words long...so there.

SpaceCanada · Post by **SpaceCanada** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 2:26 pm

There is no doubt that spell check is a valuable editing tool, but it doesn't write the essay for you! That is what the good between your ears is for!

tennisrox014 · Post by **tennisrox014** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:41 pm

i love spell check. how did people do it before spell check. that would suck to actually have to know how to spell.

Hello. My Name Is... · Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:08 am

I just wrote a paper about the necessity of nuclear propulsion in manned or unmanned spaceflight. Here are some websites I found useful:

http://www.redcolony.com/art.php?id=0303050

http://www.atomicinsights.com

and also the book:
Zurbin, Robert. The Case for Mars. New York: The Free Press, 1996.

Good luck.

randomfacts · Post by **randomfacts** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 8:52 pm

You may want to narrow your topic for the paper. The applications for nuclear engines are fairly obvious. You may want to attack from a different angle. It's generally easier to do research on one aspect of a problem than the whole deal. Anyway, the immediate problem that comes to my mind is getting the fuel to the spacecraft. If you remember, NASA didn't use the NERVA (nuclear engine in rocket park) because of the fear of a malfunction in Earth's atmosphere. This means that any nuclear craft will require an on-orbit assembly, so we have to figure out the safest way to get the nukes there.

Another idea to explore is that NASA can't seem to use nuclear engines, but the DOD can. They do it all the time (think submarines). So is this a case for the privatization of NASA or for a DOD and NASA merger?

This is an interesting topic. Good luck.