specific impulse
noun
: the thrust produced per unit rate of consumption of the propellant that is usually expressed in pounds of thrust per pound of propellant used per second and that is a measure of the efficiency of a rocket engine
Examples of specific impulse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And this is where SEP shines: the specific impulse of these Hall effect thrusters is 3000 seconds.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 30 Mar. 2015
The result of all our trials—which at one point included a motor exploding—is that our designs are now very reliable and produce very high specific impulse.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2014
Rocket designers do that with a quantity called specific impulse, which is directly proportional to the speed of the gas exiting the rocket nozzle.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2014
Ideally, the engine should be able to produce high specific impulse while also satisfying the high thrust and low engine mass requirements.
—Dan Kotlyar, Discover Magazine, 5 Oct. 2024
Chemical rockets in the 1960s had a specific impulse anywhere between 300 to 450 seconds.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2019
Thrust is measured in specific impulse.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2019
There were problems developing the science payload and the R-7 was proving to be less powerful with a lower specific impulse than anticipated.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2017
The higher the seconds of specific impulse the more economic and efficient the rocket.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2019
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IEEE Spectrum, 30 Mar. 2015
The result of all our trials—which at one point included a motor exploding—is that our designs are now very reliable and produce very high specific impulse.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2014
Rocket designers do that with a quantity called specific impulse, which is directly proportional to the speed of the gas exiting the rocket nozzle.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2014
Ideally, the engine should be able to produce high specific impulse while also satisfying the high thrust and low engine mass requirements.
—Dan Kotlyar, Discover Magazine, 5 Oct. 2024
Chemical rockets in the 1960s had a specific impulse anywhere between 300 to 450 seconds.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2019
Thrust is measured in specific impulse.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2019
There were problems developing the science payload and the R-7 was proving to be less powerful with a lower specific impulse than anticipated.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2017
The higher the seconds of specific impulse the more economic and efficient the rocket.
—Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Specific impulse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/specific%20impulse. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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