What Are Electric Plasma Jet Engines? 

First they excite you, then tell you it can’t be made.

On a serious note - the propulsion part of electric flight is relatively easy. As they pointed out, it’s the energy storage that’s hard.

I guess with all these electric based thrust technologies they are all limited by low energy density in chemical based batteries. A portable fusion powered generator is the real holy grail. I hope ITER is successful in creating breakthroughs in fusion

Something else to keep in mind about planes, they get more efficient as they use fuel and get lighter. Batteries don't get lighter when depleted so the plane would have to carry around that "dead" weight throughout the entire flight.

The bit about conventional fuel is 43 times more energy per unit weight is true. Just to add to this, conventional jets get lighter as they go farther. Electric jets will barely get lighter. 🙂

Such a cool sounding name for an engine, and I was impressed with ' hemi '.

Very well explained. I'm a RF engineer and loved the prototype.

HE SAID “OF ALL PLACES” IM DEAD LMFAO

Video will be worth a review in 10 years. Once enough engineers get their hands on it, plasma engines have come a very long way in the last 20 years, this is a very promising tech.

answer: I can't imagine jetting off on a holiday on any powered aircraft, anytime soon

The research and development of this video is inspiring keep up the great vids!

France had been working on this type of plasma magnetodynamics way back in the 1980s, but never really made anything out of it, apparently. Japan had a boat propelled by magnetohydrodynamics in the 1990s (the yamato-1, built by Mitsubishi). But those accelerated the plasma-ified medium by running a current through it inside of intense magnetic fields directly, with no moving parts, rather than with a traditional compressor+turbine.

they invented Tony Starks Patented Repulsor Lift Technology.

This is nowhere near being an engineering problem. This is more right now in the domain of basic research.

For anyone interested, the small turbine footage is from warped perception. An awesome channel!

This is old news I was going to build a plasma jet (several inches across) in the 1960s and even had some parts fabricated.. The design was based on one in the November 1961 issue of Scientific American magazine pp 173-188

I agree with the MIT professor. Most of the practical applications of this aren't possible without major breakthroughs in energy technology and material sciences and likely new physics that we haven't discovered yet. Not to mention the scale required. The tallest structure man has built is the 1000 foot building in Dubai. You simply can't pile up another 1000 feet on it given our current knowledge and cost of materials. This is not how engineering works.

Most engines start off as nearly useless lab curiosities. Most never make it out of the lab. But every once in a while, someone who is both an engineer and an entrepreneur sees an opportunity to build something that fills a need. And that's where the money and creativity come from to develop these engines to practicality. Will that happen here? Who knows?

if you can imagine it now - one day it will be a reality - me

It feels like we're going to the Sci fi Age!

Going to be brutally honest, I am actually trying this right now for a UAV. Now I am technically 3D printing using a powder based printer parts for the engine. Now the problem is that the airflow is not really spectacular it needs to have high compression which require CFD analysis. Also if you use a gas that is already extremely compressed you get a substantial amount of thrust after ionization also this require multiple fin channels where airflow is occurring inside the engine in order to increase thrust as well. Moreover, the ideal solution is to use two technologies which the other I am using has already been demonstrated by multiple institutions and is clean. In regards the batteries that is an engineering problem but not as big of a problem as you might think. The risk of battery usage is that high strain such as high current draw can cause dendrites to form between the electrolyte and electrode inside the battery leading to shorter life and possible failures and this is a costly problem. The only thing that is stopping this from really progressing is actual funding or company interest and ontop of that manufacturing which is another animal.

Huge respect to Tech Vision! Extensive coverage of a broad range of well-picked, informative tech topics, made enjoyable to watch & learn from. Your consistency is commendable. You inspire me. Keep going. Cheers :)

Brilliant! A video that isn’t slightly longer than ten minutes. Kudos and thumbs up.

We don't know exactly what they'll come up with. Let's not underestimate their technology, hopefully it's for peaceful purposes.

You Never Know ! Yes, it may be Possible !

I had thought abt this when I was in 5th grade.. I recently graduated . 😂

It gives me so much hope for the future to even see these things being discussed.

Honestly this sounds so cool! It's a way off before we get this technology, but I think the concepts and testing are a great sign for the future!

Nice video :)

This video is a long way to go to say "no, it cannot power an airplane."

This is how most great inventions get started. Start small, test, and re-test and hope for success.

I really like your videos dude. Very educational.

Excellent balanced video! Not just hype but well thought out and researched

I agree that this technology has no immediate practical use for our global society, but the research has great value for future projects. Humans will have to switch from fossil fuels sooner rather than later anyway. If future technological innovations made this form of flight more efficient and practical, then we should continue to explore possible uses for this technology in the coming decades.

Low tech answer to a high tech conundrum: Ain't gonna happen.

Please make a more detailed and graphical explanation of how the plasma engines work.

Tah dah 🎉

We already have a technology that can convert electricity to thrust highly efficiently: the propeller. There are already multiple models of electric planes that are powered by electric motors attached to propellers. Propellers are simple, light weight, reliable, and the most efficient known method of converting torque to thrust. The only drawback is that you need batteries to power the plane (which can be quite heavy), but that applies to plasma jets as well.

I don't know about you and your rocket science but I like seeing big jet go vroom vroom.

the plane will need to be full of harbor freight generators to run that plasma engine

Fusion reactors, like fission reactors, aren't going to happen on planes either. Require the same amount of shielding since they are quite radioactive.

It could be possible if you compress the air similarly on the same scale as a jet engine and convert to plasma... The only way to heat that quickly is a fusion reactor and a heat exchange system... The closest thing to that was the thorium aircraft reactor experiment and so far it was cancelled because ICBM rockets was cheaper and safer... The air force went a different way...

And then they said.... we’re waiting for fusion to make it work XD

Tang jet. Now that’s a good sign of a new era. 👍

The only thought I had was that if you're able to miniaturize the nuclear reactor, would it not be more efficient to utilize some other form of propulsion like directly heating something like hydrogen? Regardless, loved the concept, and looking forward to seeing what comes of it in the future!

Would energy of that level put off enough UV to damage your eyes? Arc welding's more than enough to, and I'd imagine this is even more energy, so I'm just curious.

Thank you for the honesty instead of only hype. I hope we can have electric jets somehow, but I'm also realistic.

'jetting on holiday' is part of where the problem starts. for the most part

Is any of this actually more practical than "just" powering a jet with renewable hydrogen? Not saying hydrogen is easy, but this plasma jet gismo and the necessary energy storage seems even more far-fetched.

Very P L A N E L I K E

This is probably going to take a 100 years to come to fruition.

What type of engineers do the TR-3B Astra aircraft use ?

Love this video. Please can you make a video on maglev trains and how they work

I had this idea years ago lol - airflow aside (it could be placed inside a high bypass engine to generate the needed pressure) the problem of course is energy storage density, hydrogen would be best, but then... Why not just burn the hydrogen directly rather than converting it to electricity to power a microwave to burn the air to get your heat/expansion? Ahh, because of the NoX emissions. There's no free lunch, but it will be exciting to see how this all develops.

Dang - another great idea foiled by facts.

'We've invented a jet engine that doesn't burn Kerosene to produce thrust, just heat air to plasma with electricity!' 'Where do you get the electricity?' 'Kerosene powered generators!'

I think the research should continue but currently this sounds like more pie in the sky.

Really a non-starter, even though I wish it could happen.

Even if using imaginary super batteries and super cables carrying the power to the engines, you'd be using fossile fuel-powered grid electricity to charge the batteries. And we are not even close to changing that fact.

This is basically a Light Saber!!

Looks like spinning a propeller with that juice would be more efficient lol

What I thik is that the jet technology is just evolution..when it made first time steel today its just upgrade not any more now what aviation really need is that revolution not evolution.. In short whole new kind of engine... Again what i think... If you want some unique inspiration and just take a look to Museum of alien video.. 🙂

I had this same exact concept in high school back in 2014, I still have the drawing

thank for share. This film is very clear to tell future.

If one could use a nuclear reactor on the plane, fusion or fission, turning the nuclear heat into electricity and then back into heat in the form of plasma would be a waste of energy and weight.

Wu-tang clan

Nuclear plasm with combination of petroleum plasma is unique!!

This reminds me of the repulsors used by ironman. Where he turns excess electrons into muons and generate ion plasma. Which is a self-sustainable way to generate thrust even in space.

The plasma exhaust from his engines will mean a new and more durable form of runway will have to be built. The asphalt and concrete and fall apart immediately. Another problem just maybe this new engines replacement for air travel in general. The thrust from these engines may have another problem with the superheating of the atmosphere with the exhaust from these aircraft. I do really hope that we make this technology viable.

How can i become a futurologist?

"Solve solid state electric storage and you solve a lot of things" - Somone, probably

I don't think the plasma jet engine will be lifting its power supply anytime soon. Most of the video footage of plasma engines are actually footages of ordinary jet engines. On my channel there are about 40 videos of a series of ion thrusters that are patented for lifting their power supplies against Earth's gravity. They really work as described and have lots of potential. They will not be replacing jet engines though anytime in the near future. They are valuable in other ways.

It seems to me it makes more sense to make synfuel out of green hydrogen and use that instead.

I love your voice

Hans von Ohain: In 1947, Ohain was brought to the United States by Operation Paperclip and went to work for the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In 1956 he was made the Director of the Air Force Aeronautical Research Laboratory and by 1975 he was the Chief Scientist of the Aero Propulsion Laboratory there. During his work at Wright-Patterson, Ohain continued his own personal work on various topics. In the early 1960s he did a fair amount of work on the design of gas core reactor rockets which would retain the nuclear fuel while allowing the working mass to be used as exhaust. The engineering needed for this role was also used for a variety of other "down to earth" purposes, including centrifuges and pumps. Ohain would later use the basic mass-flow techniques of these designs to create a fascinating jet engine with no moving parts, in which the airflow through the engine created a stable vortex that acted as the compressor and turbine.

I actually have my own ideas for ion power jet engines.

Until someone creates a light compact power source that doesn’t cause harm to the atmosphere or user like nuclear fusion

The fact that this concept came out of a Lab In good old WOOOOO HANNNN China tells me ALL I need to know

If you got rid of the backround noise/music and the narrator slowed down a bit ;perhaps your point could be made

maybe they could increase the thrust even more if they added an electric field to it as well. Turning it into an ion engine as well

Petroleum is still the heavy-lifting champion, and will be for a long time.

wowowow wait wuhan?

thank you for answering how the iron man suit works

I love my plasma torch in the shop. Replaced oxy acetylene method a decade ago.

It will happen. Electricity slowly wins over other forms of energy.

I think normal elecric engines driving fans are more likely to be useful and efficient.

The solution to the battery problem could be hydrogen fuel cells. That brings up the point that rocket assists can also be environmentally friendly.

Meanwhile- at HB-11 "That would be a cool application for our aneutronic fusion reactor when we get it working"

Is there something better than the jet engine? I'm sure scientists in the 1930s were more innovative.

wuhan the city that keep on giving

Compression before ignition is the key to this tech. How to do that with 'electric-powered turbines'?

Nice video 👍

Sooner china is making great strides..they are very focused & west has lost will to compete 😭

I don't know who, but someone actually needs to hear this, you've got to stop saving all your money. Venture into investing some, if you really want financial stability

This sounds like a good technology to use for space travel, as an intermediate between regular propellants and ion engines. As long as electrical power is available, it could run on anything from solar energy to nuclear power.

I wish that SpaceX would seriously consider some of that design and give up the vertical launch so they could go to a much bigger larger heavier spacecraft and do asteroid mining with it

this is inevitable tech, we may not see it in our life times but it will happen. they've been working on this since the 50s.

I can’t see this technology ever getting off the ground.

Maybe in the future, we will have compact aneutronic Fusion, then this would become viable, maybe even the best way of converting that electrical energy to kinetic energy.

If nobody does it before me, by 2052 will perfect the the use of electric thrusters on earth. I will save the car community