====== Plasma Propulsion ======

Conventionally speaking, rocketry requires a body of 80-90% fuel in order to achieve a thrust/weight ratio duration capable of putting an object into orbit, and then even more to get them to destination, making them very fuel inefficient with most of a rocket being taken up by its fuel stores.

"Electric thrusters" or plasma-rockets are a fuel ultra-efficient method of applying thrust. They work using the ionized nature of the thrust itself and an acceleration assembly similar to that of a railgun to impart additional velocity upon the plasma, as well as its own already very high thermal/compression ratio which is superior to that of hydrogen or helium by upwards of a factor of 10 - or less, with acceleration compression.


==== Types ====

These come in various arrangements of plasma fuel composition, frequency of electromagnetism, ionization techniques and heating techniques - generally breaking down into **pre-effect** (heated by a reactor system, often fusion, a matter/antimatter reaction or even monopole-induced baryonic decay of matter itself) or **post-effect** (conventional thrust heated by radiowaves to ionize propellant as an extra stage to another type of engine).

Some types do not expel a complete 'thrust' of plasma itself but but instead just the ions coating its positive particles, which are provided using electrical charge: electricity goes in, ions (part of the electrical circuit of matter) come out, no propellant is expended. These are distinguished as ion engines and have a much lower thrust/weight ratio but are incredibly fuel efficient. These are **ion engines**.

==== Longevity ====
To create plasma, a gas-like matter that’s as hot as the sun, radio waves are used to heat a gas propellant. The problem is that during the heating process, charged ion particles are expelled, causing damage to the thruster’s walls that could potentially lead to a catastrophe. These charged ions are very similar to ionizing gamma radiation coming from a nuclear blast that causes radiation sickness and other serious problems in people should the output of the engine be high enough. 

=== Solutions ===

Either the interior wall can be made of superior materials which are heavy and expensive or create a type of wall which can repair itself using a property called plasma re-deposition. While it isn't a permanent fix, it does mean an engine can be 'booted up' into re-deposition mode and matter be used to plug the gap in the engine's interior construction as it is added to the thrust-stream - and in turn, the lifetime of an engine can be extended dramatically.