If we assume we are in a perfect vacuum in space, where there’s no friction or anything to slow us down, at what point would bursts of fuel from thrusters stop increasing our speed? And would they even?
Now, I understand that by einstein, we need infinite energy to accelerate to speed of light, but i cant intuitively see how a rocket wouldnt constantly speed up in a vacuum when given constant bursts of rocket thrust. Im sure im missing something pretty simple here, but nevertheless.
In: 4
There’s several good comments here (and one wildly inaccurate series) but, to directly answer your question, there is no maximum speed to which a rocket can accelerate other than the speed of light.
If you keep running the engine you will keep accelerating. For most designs, you’ll accelerate *faster* the longer you go as you burn up fuel and get lighter (same thrust, less mass = more acceleration).
In virtually all real-world circumstances the limit is how much fuel you have. When you run out of fuel you run out of thrust and stop accelerating.
You are not missing anything; in a vacuum with constant thrust a rocket will constantly speed up.
Latest Answers