Download the app
educalingo
specific impulse

Meaning of "specific impulse" in the English dictionary

DICTIONARY

PRONUNCIATION OF SPECIFIC IMPULSE

specific impulse


GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SPECIFIC IMPULSE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Specific impulse is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES SPECIFIC IMPULSE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Specific impulse

Specific impulse is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines. It represents the force with respect to the amount of propellant used per unit time. If the "amount" of propellant is given in terms of mass, then specific impulse has units of velocity. If it is given in terms of weight, then specific impulse has units of time. The conversion constant between the two versions of specific impulse is g. The higher the specific impulse, the lower the propellant flow rate required for a given thrust, and in the case of a rocket the less propellant is needed for a given delta-v per the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation. The actual exhaust velocity is the average speed of the exhaust jet as it leaves the vehicle. The effective exhaust velocity is the exhaust velocity that would be required to produce the same thrust in a vacuum. The two are identical for an ideal rocket working in a vacuum, but are radically different for an air-breathing jet engine that obtains extra thrust by accelerating air. Specific impulse and effective exhaust velocity are proportional.

Definition of specific impulse in the English dictionary

The definition of specific impulse in the dictionary is the ratio of the thrust produced by a rocket engine to the rate of fuel consumption: it has units of time and is the length of time that unit weight of propellant would last if used to produce one unit of thrust continuously.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE SPECIFIC IMPULSE

specifiable · specific · specific charge · specific conductance · specific gravity · specific heat · specific heat capacity · specific humidity · specific name · specific performance · specific resistance · specific viscosity · specific volume · specifical · specifically · specificate · specification · specificity · specifics · specified

WORDS THAT END LIKE SPECIFIC IMPULSE

aeropulse · appulse · avulse · bulse · compulse · convulse · divulse · dulse · evulse · expulse · impulse · insulse · keep one´s finger on the pulse · monopulse · mulse · nerve impulse · on impulse · pulse · repulse

Synonyms and antonyms of specific impulse in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «specific impulse» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR

TRANSLATION OF SPECIFIC IMPULSE

Find out the translation of specific impulse to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of specific impulse from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «specific impulse» in English.
zh

Translator English - Chinese

比冲
1,325 millions of speakers
es

Translator English - Spanish

impulso específico
570 millions of speakers
en

English

specific impulse
510 millions of speakers
hi

Translator English - Hindi

विशिष्ट आवेग
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

دفعة محددة
280 millions of speakers
ru

Translator English - Russian

удельный импульс
278 millions of speakers
pt

Translator English - Portuguese

impulso específico
270 millions of speakers
bn

Translator English - Bengali

নির্দিষ্ট আবেগ
260 millions of speakers
fr

Translator English - French

impulsion spécifique
220 millions of speakers
ms

Translator English - Malay

Dorongan khusus
190 millions of speakers
de

Translator English - German

spezifischen Impuls
180 millions of speakers
ja

Translator English - Japanese

比推力
130 millions of speakers
ko

Translator English - Korean

비추력
85 millions of speakers
jv

Translator English - Javanese

Rangsangan tartamtu
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

xung cụ thể
80 millions of speakers
ta

Translator English - Tamil

குறிப்பிட்ட தூண்டுதல்
75 millions of speakers
mr

Translator English - Marathi

विशिष्ट प्रेरणा
75 millions of speakers
tr

Translator English - Turkish

Özel itki
70 millions of speakers
it

Translator English - Italian

impulso specifico
65 millions of speakers
pl

Translator English - Polish

impuls
50 millions of speakers
uk

Translator English - Ukrainian

питома імпульс
40 millions of speakers
ro

Translator English - Romanian

impuls specific
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ειδική ώθηση
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

spesifieke impuls
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

specifik impuls
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

spesifikk impuls
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of specific impulse

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SPECIFIC IMPULSE»

Principal search tendencies and common uses of specific impulse
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «specific impulse».

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about specific impulse

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SPECIFIC IMPULSE»

Discover the use of specific impulse in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to specific impulse and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Rocket Propulsion Elements
As explained in Section 3.5, there are at least four values of specific impulse: (1) theoretical specific impulse, (2) delivered or actual values as measured from flight tests, static tests, or demonstrations (see Ref. 12.12), (3) delivered specific ...
George P. Sutton, Oscar Biblarz, 2011
2
Rocket and Spacecraft Propulsion: Principles, Practice and ...
... imparted to the rocket per kilogramme of propellant expelled. If the exhaust velocity is high then the propellant eciency is high, which is clear from the equation for ] Sec. 2.5 2.5 Computing rocket engine performance 59 2.5.1 Specific impulse.
Martin J. L. Turner, 2008
3
Specific Impulse
Charles Justiz. SPECIFIC IMPULSE CHARLES JUSTIZ iUniverse, Inc. Bloomington Specific Impulse Copyright © 2010, 2011, 2012 Charles Justiz All.
Charles Justiz, 2011
4
Orbital Mechanics: Theory and Applications
SPECIFIC IMPULSE The specific impulse of a rocket-propcllant combination is analogous to "miles per gallon" for an automobile. All other things being equal, the A r we can obtain from a rocket stage is directly proportional to its specific ...
Tom Logsdon, 1998
5
Aerospace Propulsion Systems
Simply stated, a rocket is more fuel-efficient if the specific impulse is higher. (This should not in any way be confused with energy-efficiency, which can decrease as specific impulse increases. Many propulsion systems that give high specific ...
Thomas A. Ward, 2010
6
Air University Review
14 AIR UNIVERSITY REVIEW impulse capabilitv of a svstem, w e know how efficiently the system is using its propellant Specific impulse has the units of seconds in the MKS svstem The practical implication of specific impulse can lminedidtelv ...
Author
7
Solar Sailing: Technology, Dynamics and Mission Applications
Infinite specific impulse is only achieved in practice for an infinite mission duration. In order to measure the effective specific impulse delivered by a solar sail the initial mass m\ will be considered to be the mass of the solar sail and the payload, ...
Colin R. McInnes, 2004
8
Encyclopedia of Space and Astronomy
However, the RP-1/LOX propellant combination delivers considerably less specific impulse (Isp) than that delivered by cryogenic propellant combinations. The specific impulse is an important parameter in describing the performance of a ...
Joseph A. Angelo, 2009
9
Plasma Chemistry
Attitude control, precision spacecraft control, and low- thrust maneuvers can be effectively provided by ion and plasma thrusters, which are high- specific-impulse , low-power electric propulsion systems (Grishin, Leskov, & Kozlov, 1975; ...
Alexander Fridman, 2008
10
The Chemistry of Fireworks
Lighter gases are preferred because they can be accelerated to higher velocities through the nozzle and this factor contributes to a higher value of specific impulse . On the other hand, solid propellants based on gunpowder produce carbon ...
Michael S. Russell, 2009

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SPECIFIC IMPULSE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term specific impulse is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Space shuttle powered by MICROWAVES could be the future of …
EDI's external propulsion launch system will operate at a specific impulse above 750 s and this breakthrough increase in efficiency reduces the fraction of mass ... «Daily Mail, Jul 15»
2
This Company Aims To Launch Rockets With Beams Of Power
The efficiency of rockets are generally measured by their specific impulse, ... Traditional chemical rockets have a specific impulse of 460s, which is why they rely ... «Forbes, Jul 15»
3
Chinese Long March 4B conducts surprise Gaofen-8 launch
The vehicle is equipped with a YF-21B engine capable of a ground thrust of 2,971 kN and a ground specific impulse of 2,550 Ns/kg. The second stage has a ... «NASASpaceflight.com, Jun 15»
4
"World's first battery-powered rocket" readied for launch
... and lithium polymer batteries, and provides enough fuel for the Rutherford to generate 4,600 lbf (20,462 N) of thrust and a specific impulse of 327 seconds. «Gizmag, Apr 15»
5
VASIMR Rocket Could Send Humans To Mars In Just 39 Days
NASA has selected Texas-based Ad Astra Rocket Company for a round of funding to help develop the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, ... «Huffington Post, Apr 15»
6
Long March 3C in secretive launch with new Upper Stage
On the first stage, the CZ-3C uses a DaFY6-2 engine with a 2961.6 kN thrust and a specific impulse of 2556.2 Ns/kg. The first stage diameter is 3.35 m and the ... «NASASpaceflight.com, Mar 15»
7
Arianespace Soyuz ST-B conducts launch of Galileo duo
With the Soyuz ST-B utilizing the RD-0124 third stage engine, an additional 34 seconds of specific impulse (Isp) significantly increases the vehicle's overall ... «NASASpaceflight.com, Mar 15»
8
Angara rocket key to Russia's launch future
Engines based on hydrogen have a higher specific impulse than the commonly used RP-1 (kerosene), meaning they produce more thrust for the same weight of ... «EarthSky, Mar 15»
9
Elon Musk Will Unveil SpaceX's Mars Colonizing Spaceship This Year
One of the new features of MCT's engines, Musk explains, are that they have a higher specific impulse, which basically means the rocket can power itself with ... «Business Insider, Jan 15»
10
Wax Fuel Gives Hybrid Rockets More Oomph
Rocket designers do that with a quantity called specific impulse, which is directly proportional to the speed of the gas exiting the rocket nozzle. (The higher the ... «IEEE Spectrum, Nov 14»
REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Specific impulse [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/specific-impulse>. Jun 2026 ».
Download the educalingo app
EN