Tõukemassa

Tõukemassa is an Estonian term that translates to "propellant mass" or "thrust mass" in English. It refers to the material that is expelled from a rocket or other thrust-generating device to produce propulsion. In the context of rocketry, this mass is typically the exhaust products of burning fuel and oxidizer. The principle behind rocket propulsion is Newton's third law of motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. By expelling mass at high velocity in one direction, the rocket is pushed in the opposite direction.

The properties of the tõukemassa are crucial for determining the performance of a rocket. A higher exhaust velocity means more thrust is generated for the same amount of mass expelled, leading to better efficiency. This is often quantified by the specific impulse, which is a measure of how effectively a rocket engine uses propellant. Different propellants, such as solid fuels, liquid fuels, or hybrid systems, produce tõukemassa with varying characteristics.

In a broader sense, tõukemassa can also refer to the mass expelled by other types of propulsion systems, including jet engines where it is the hot gases from combustion, or even in theoretical concepts like ion thrusters where charged particles are expelled. The concept is fundamental to understanding how objects achieve motion through the expulsion of matter.