A forcing or pushing to shove or drive something forward: Good propulsion is needed to move a swimmer through the strong waves of an ocean.

The wind requires strong propulsion to blow trees down during a storm.

1. In rocketry, a reaction engine in which the propellant is accelerated by an electrical device.
2. A rocket engine in which the propellant is accelerated by some electric device.

1. Any form of rocket propulsion in which the propellant is either composed of charged electrical particles or accelerated by an electric or magnetic field.
2. A general term encompassing all the various types of propulsion in which the propellant consists of electrically charged particles which are accelerated by electric or magnetic fields, or both.
3. Propulsion of spacecraft and other vehicles by electrothermal, electrostatic, or plasma techniques, as contrasted to chemical propulsion, which involves the direct use of fuel.

1. Any form of rocket propulsion possessing both magnetic and electric properties; especially, one in which the propellant is accelerated by an electromagnetic field.

Specifically, such power in a flight vehicle generated by the electromagnetic acceleration of a plasma fluid.

2. Motive power for flight vehicles produced by electromagnetic acceleration of a plasma fluid.

The propulsion of spacecraft or other vehicles by employing electric fields to accelerate charged particles in a desired direction.

1. A type of rocket propulsion in which the propellant is heated electrically; such as, an electric arc that is used to heat hydrogen gas in an arc-jet engine.
2. The propulsion of spacecraft by using an electric arc or other electric heater to bring hydrogen gas or other propellant to the high temperature required for maximum thrust; for example, an arc-jet engine.
3. Vehicular propulsion which involves electrical heating to raise the energy level of the propellant.

In contrast, chemical rockets use the chemical energy of one or more propellants to heat and to accelerate the decomposition products (monopropellants) or combustion products (bipropellants) for thrusting purposes.

In both instances, the high-energy propellant gases are exhausted through a nozzle where they are accelerated to a high velocity, and thrust is produced by reaction.

1. A motion produced in reaction to the expulsion of a stream of accelerated ions.
2. Vehicular motion caused by reaction from the high-speed discharge of a beam of electrically charged minute particles, usually positive ions, that are accelerated in an electrostatic field and ejected behind the vehicle.
3. A propulsor (mechanical device that gives propulsion), usually a small thruster, used to create vehicular motion by generating a high-velocity jet of ions in an electrostatic field, then ejecting the ions behind a vehicle.
4. Propulsion by the reactive thrust of a high-speed beam of similarly charged ions ejected by an ion engine.