Understanding Hall Effect Thrusters

What is the primary advantage of the Hall Effect Thruster over the gridded ion thruster?

• It produces more thrust.

• It uses less power.

• It is cheaper to manufacture.

• It doesn't suffer from grid erosion.

How are more Xenon ions produced in the Hall Effect Thruster?

• By creating an electron tornado with electromagnets.

• By using a stronger anode.

• By increasing the amount of Xenon gas.

• By increasing the temperature of the discharge channel.

What role does the virtual accelerator grid play in the Hall Effect Thruster?

• It accelerates ions using a grid of electrons.

• It creates a magnetic field to trap ions.

• It physically pushes ions out of the thruster.

• It cools down the thruster to prevent overheating.

What problem does beam neutralization solve in the Hall Effect Thruster?

• It prevents overheating of the thruster.

• It reduces the power consumption of the thruster.

• It stops the buildup of negative charge that pulls ions back.

• It increases the speed of ions leaving the thruster.

What is a major limitation of the Hall Effect Thruster?

• It has low thrust, limited to about 200 milliNewtons.

• It is too expensive to produce.

• It requires a lot of maintenance.

• It cannot operate in space.