5 ms·
Maybe not once you consider the R&D costs of figuring out how not to melt a solid gold Merlin engine ;)
by piercebot 5y ago
Maybe not once you consider the R&D costs of figuring out how not to melt a solid gold Merlin engine ;)
- lutorm 5y agoThere is that... ;-)
- jjoonathan 5y agoThis man (err, bot?) contracts!
- Tuna-Fish 5y ago... surprisingly, this is not much of an issue. The key property for keeping a rocket engine from melting is not high melting point, but high thermal conductivity. Because of this, all the parts that touch the hot flame are made from a copper alloy, with a melting point not far from that of pure gold. In the chamber, the hot gases are >3500K, and touching the inner walls with a melting point at ~1400K, yet the walls don't melt, because they are cooled with more power than they are heated.
- jhgb 5y ago> they are cooled with more power than they are heated I'd argue that they're being cooled with equal power, otherwise they could freeze infinitely which is physically impossible.