Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Rocket engine nozzle
open-in-new
<p>A rocket engine nozzle is a <a href="/facts/Propelling_nozzle/GDstAvRx">propelling nozzle</a> (usually of the <a href="/facts/De_Laval_nozzle/5LcDcs69">de Laval</a> type) used in a <a href="/facts/Rocket_engine/XT5gaFAb">rocket engine</a> to expand and accelerate <a href="/facts/Combustion/ohQoWj8z">combustion</a> products to high <a href="/facts/Supersonic_speed/D3VpzmlC">supersonic</a> velocities. </p><p>Simply: propellants pressurized by either <a href="/facts/Pump/UtMn3Btt">pumps</a> or high pressure <a href="/facts/Ullage/g4ctqhsR">ullage gas</a> to anywhere between two and several hundred <a href="/facts/Atmosphere_(unit)/aTbYALII">atmospheres</a> are injected into a combustion chamber to burn, and the combustion chamber leads into a nozzle which converts the energy contained in <a href="/facts/Enthalpy/bBou8lCE">high pressure, high temperature</a> combustion products into kinetic energy by accelerating the gas to high velocity and near-ambient pressure. </p>