A new type of engine - yes; the theory du jour for the doughnuts-on-a-rope contrails was a pulsed-detonation rocket. Which is pretty wild, but vaguely plausible. I've also heard reasonable-sounding explanations involving interactions between perfectly mundane engines and some funky effects from the wake of the aircraft, which imply that the contrails could have come from a boring old airliner.
"previously hypothetical energy force" - uh, no. If it's a contrail, that means the exhaust has water vapour in it; the only sane explanation for that involves burning something, probably hydrocarbons or maybe H2 if we're feeling adventurous.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
Re: Engines / new fuell type
Date: 2006-08-02 18:28 (UTC)"previously hypothetical energy force" - uh, no. If it's a contrail, that means the exhaust has water vapour in it; the only sane explanation for that involves burning something, probably hydrocarbons or maybe H2 if we're feeling adventurous.