I wrote:
> As I said, you can use 43 kJ/g as the maximum energy density by weight. > There is no chemical fuel better than that. If there were, NASA would want > hear about it. > That's not realistic because you need oxygen, as with rocket fuel or torpedo fuel. I gather the most common solid rocket fuel is ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP), which sounds like really nasty stuff. Okay, I found: "APCP propellant which has an energy density of 8.6 Kwh per Kg." [31 MJ/kg] SOURCE, Wikipedia . . . sigh . . . "The main fuel, aluminum, is used because it has a reasonable specific energy density of about 31.0 MJ/kg, but a high volumetric energy density, and is difficult to ignite accidentally." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster Considerably less energy density than paraffin. - Jed
