how do rockets work?

Question: how do rockets work?
- Keywords:
  mechanics,
  physics,
  rocket
Asked by cheeseballs to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 16 Mar 2012.
- Adam Stevens answered on 13 Mar 2012:
  
  Good questions
  
  Rockets are actually really simple in theory. All a rocket is is something that throws some mass out behind it, pushing it in the opposite direction.
  
  Rocket science is complicated because it’s actually quite difficult to throw lots of mass in one direction very fast, which is how you make the rocket more efficient.
  
  The best way to do it is to ignite some fuel and push it in one direction with a nozzle. The science of the fuel and the nozzle and how you get the fuel into the nozzle is very complicated!
- Karen Masters answered on 13 Mar 2012:
  
  Rockets are a wonderful demonstration of Newton’s 2nd Law – that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. They shoot stuff out their exhaust pipes, and because of that they move forward.
- Nazim Bharmal answered on 16 Mar 2012:
  
  Rockets work by a chemical reaction that burns fuel to make hot gas (basically, rockets carry two fuels that combine and one turns into oxygen, or they can carry one fuel and oxygen too) and they make sure the engine only has one outlet.
  
  All the hot gas then gets pushed out of that outlet, called a nozzle, and that pushes the rest of the rocket away. There are clever new rockets called ion engines: they push charged particles out of their nozzles which aren’t as fast, but they can work for years at a time instead of just a few minutes so overall, they can make space probes or satellites go faster.
- Leila Battison answered on 19 Mar 2012:
  
  I’m happy to say I have no idea 🙂
  
  Although I know how to make an amazing volcano, using vinegar and baking soda!

Question: how do rockets work?

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