Skip to content
EntityQ51504· pop 32· linked from 778 articles

specific impulse

Sign in to save

how efficiently a reaction mass engine creates thrust, which is often proportional to effective exhaust gas velocity

~27 min read

Article

Specific impulse (usually abbreviated as Isp) is a physical quantity defined as the ratio of change in momentum (impulse) to the mass used, usually fuel. It typically uses units of metres per second (a SI unit) or feet per second (in imperial units). It is equivalent to thrust (a force, in newtons or pounds) per mass flow rate (in kg/s or lbm/s).

It serves as a measure of how efficiently an engine, such as a rocket or jet engine, generates thrust from propellant. Isp is the effective exhaust velocity used in the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation which calculates how much a vehicle's velocity can be changed with a given quantity of fuel.

Connections

Categories