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Good evening. Is there a formulae to calculate how much lift an ion propulsion system would create on earth, given factors like voltage, load, etcetera? Just a mathematical formulae. That is all I ask for. A formulae. Thank you.

Devon Shire
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    Thrust is not simply a function of a voltage used somewhere in the thruster, and it is completely independent of the spacecraft's mass. Nor is the distance from the ground relevant. And you appear to be asking about ion thrusters as a means of lifting large masses on Earth's surface, which is a task ion thrusters are extremely unsuited for and an environment most simply can not operate at all in. – Christopher James Huff Jun 24 '22 at 05:29
  • Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking. – Community Jun 24 '22 at 05:43
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  • This does not provide anywhere near enough information to do even a basic upper bound calculation of the thrust provided by an ion thruster. 2. In general, no thruster that can reasonably be called an ion thruster can generate enough power to lift its own weight and power source under Earth gravity, let alone in an atmosphere.
    • – ikrase Jun 24 '22 at 07:27
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    A key missing piece in the provided information is that there is a voltage, not a power. Power is voltage times current, so if that 150kv power source is good for 1kA than things become possible that are not at 1 micro Amp. A quick check of Wikipedia suggests between 5 and 50 milli Newtons per kilo Watt, which is why ground take off is considered impossible since even if engine weight is zero your power supply budget needs to weigh single digit grams per KW. – GremlinWranger Jun 25 '22 at 00:48
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    It's not just that ion thrusters are inefficient on Earth. The interior of an operating ion thruster is near vacuum. Ion thrusters built for spacecraft will either destroy themselves with arcing or just not function at all if you attempt to operate them in an atmosphere. Ion thrusters can be designed for operation in atmosphere ("lifter" devices are an example), but these will function very differently and have entirely different performance characteristics. – Christopher James Huff Jun 25 '22 at 03:00
  • Good evening. I know that it is impossible, but theoretically. With the inefficiencies, what(This includes voltage, current, propellant's environment, etcetera) is needed to lift a 180 pound load. And what is the math behind it, please. – Devon Shire Jun 25 '22 at 03:38
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    Related, possible duplicate https://space.stackexchange.com/q/26449/6944 – Organic Marble Jun 28 '22 at 16:00
  • @DevonShire Well if you ignore that it can’t happen, you can say any number that you feel like and it will be just as right as any other number – Topcode Jul 02 '22 at 19:19