Comment Re:40x efficiency (Score 1) 192
That makes a lot more sense, and I suppose it could be correctly termed as an efficiency multiplier. That would imply an astoundingly low actual efficiency for current engines expressed as a % of released energy.
I'm sure it would have been obvious had I RTFA.
Still, the engineering required to convert much of the thrust from such a reaction seems feasible, even if it suffers further efficiency loss through conversion. I'm thinking fusion thrust turbine generator, or something similar. And with that setup, it seems like something relatively close to a 40x efficiency gain might be made if the 40x thrust is real. I'm sure that would not put even the thrust energy itself at a real efficiency near 80% though. But we're still talking about expelling fusion byproducts and fuel that have obviously not been completely consumed, so that makes sense.