Mass driver constrained by a limited amount of onboard spacecraft power. Thrust and momentum from exhaust, per unit mass expelled, scales up linearly with its velocity (momentum = mv), yet kinetic energy and energy input requirements scale up faster with velocity squared (kinetic energy = mv). Too low exhaust velocity would excessively increase propellant mass needed under the rocket equation, with too high a fraction of energy going into accelerating propellant not used yet. Higher exhaust velocity has both benefit and tradeoff, increasing propellant usage efficiency (more momentum per unit mass of propellant expelled) but decreasing thrust and the current rate of
Mass–energy equivalence Mass–energy equivalence In physics, mass–energy equivalence states that anything having mass has an equivalent amount of energy and vice versa, with these fundamental quantities directly relating to one another by Albert Einstein's famous formula: formula_1 This formula states that the equivalent energy () can be calculated as the mass () multiplied by the speed of light ( = about m/s) squared. Similarly, anything having energy exhibits a corresponding mass given by its energy divided by the speed of light squared . Because the speed of light is a very large number in everyday units, the formula implies that even an