Let’s say you don’t have to fly very far. What about jet engines? These are mostly found on commercial airliners, but very small jet engines can also be used to make actual jetpacks.
Much like a rocket, a jet engine produces thrust by shooting a mass from behind that is mostly just air. Energy is obtained by burning jet fuel made from petroleum similar to kerosene. This increased momentum of the ejected material creates forward force.
However, there is a big difference. A jet engine draws air from the front of the engine. The oxygen in this air is used in the combustion reaction with the fuel to provide the energy that increases the exit velocity of the air-fuel mixture. This means that jet engines only need fuel, not oxygen. However, this also means that jet engines only work in environments that have their own oxygen. It doesn’t work in outer space. Doesn’t work underwater.
So what about the Mandalorian jetpacks? Jet engines or rocket engines? I’m going to say they’re rockets. First, a jet engine needs air to run, and there is no air intake at the top of the jetpack. (Maybe it’s just very small.) Next, we verified that these jetpacks work underwater, as Bo-Katan went underwater to save Ding Djarin in Mandalore’s Living Waters. So. That excludes jet engines.
So we’re declaring that these jetpacks are actually rocketpacks. But “jetpack” sounds cool, so we can keep using the term even though we know it’s wrong.
rocket thrust
Let’s do some rough calculations in case you really want to build a jetpack like you see in the Star Wars universe. mandalorian See how these flying machines work.
The first thing you want to do with your jetpack is hover above the ground. So what better way to demonstrate your superiority over other people than to stand up over them and stare at them as they stand helplessly beneath you? produces an acceleration of 0 m/s per second. Newton’s second law states that the net force is equal to the mass of an object times its acceleration. Therefore, zero acceleration means that the net force must also be zero.
In the case of the hovering Mandalorian, two forces exist. There is a downward force of gravity that can be calculated as mass (m) multiplied by the gravitational field (g). Then there is the upward pushing force (thrust) from the jetpack. Therefore, just estimating the mass and the gravitational field gives the thrust required for hovering.
Mass seems to be a simple estimate. A typical adult weighs about 75 kg.Of course the Mandalorian wears armor and jet pack. Let’s say the mass of this other material is 25 kg, for a total of 100 kg. This is a great number.
