Bussard Ramjet

A drive that works by creating a large magnetic scoop to collect the very sparse atomic hydrogen of interstellar space and feed it into an engine such as a fusion drive.

Examples

• 1967 The Ethics of Madness

  The story centers around two Bussard Ramjets and their ability to keep accelerating forever with a free supply of fuel.

• 1979 Ringworld Engineers

  The Ringworld ships use Bussard ramjets. They do not need to accelerate from a stop because the Ringworld is spinning at many kilometers per second, and acceleration/decceleration is handled by a series of magnetic mass drivers along the rim.