Research physicist Fatima Ebrahimi of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory outlines a new type of rocket thruster that propels a spacecraft by taking advantage of the physical mechanism that accelerates solar flares. The thruster would apply magnetic fields to force particles of electrically charged gas, or plasma, to shoot out the back of a rocket at high velocity, causing forward momentum. This technology was presented at Celebrate
Princeton Innovation 2021, the University's annual showcase of research with
the potential to benefit society. The research is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.