(aeronautics) A jet engine in which forward motion forces air into an inlet, compressing it (as opposed to having a pump type device compressing the air for combustion with fuel), and where combustion is subsonic.
Used in a Sentence
ramjets
Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for ramjets.
Editorial note
What makes them 'dual-mode ramjets' is that a single engine can work at both supersonic and hypersonic speeds.
Examples15
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(aeronautics) A jet engine in which forward motion forces air into an inlet, compressing it (as opposed to having a pump type device compressing the air for combustion with fuel), and where combustion is subsonic.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of ramjets gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for ramjets.
noun
(aeronautics) A jet engine in which forward motion forces air into an inlet, compressing it (as opposed to having a pump type device compressing the air for combustion with fuel), and where combustion is subsonic.
Example sentences
What makes them 'dual-mode ramjets' is that a single engine can work at both supersonic and hypersonic speeds.
If you're a scifi fan, this was invented by the guy who came up with Bussard ramjets.
The USA studied nuclear ramjets in the 1950, as well as thermal nuclear rockets.
And then there are open-cycle designs such as nuclear ramjets, fission-fragment rockets, and Orion.
Armchair aeronautical engineer but other solutions might be pulsejets or ramjets which can be much less complicated and cheaper than a turbofan.
There was some paper a few years ago about detecting Bussard ramjets, but I can't find it right now.
Lots of these high mach ramjets have amazing cooling devices on the intake.
There are already developments on for variable-geometry multi-mode ramjets for this purpose.
Some people still think ramjets are possible — what’s your point?
This distinction is important, but in the contexts of this engine, hypersonic is important because it roughly aligns with a performance boundary for conventional ramjets.
Probably not a coincidence, because a very ooooof zone will be the ramjet intake, since ramjets need to slow the air to subsonic for combustion.
My understanding is that mach ~5 is when ramjets hit their limit and you have to transition to scramjets if you want to go faster.
Quote examples
The only way "electric planes" would be faster than turbojets — let alone ramjets or rocket engines — is for the plane itself to be a ballistic component launched by a gigantic railgun, and then — assuming you manage to build the thing in the first place — your passengers are literally paste on takeoff as they eat a few hundred Gs.
The civilizations rely on Bussards Ramjets (which seem to be impractical, magnetic sails would be more likely) and constant acceleration and then (from half-way point) deceleration: they're effectively marooned if they're unable to repair or refuel their "ram scoops", so they're taking bets that whenever they reach their target, the civilization on the other end is able to repair the ships.
Proper noun examples
Ramjets can't operate at slow speed therefore it uses a turbojet design to get it going.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use ramjets in a sentence?
What makes them 'dual-mode ramjets' is that a single engine can work at both supersonic and hypersonic speeds.
What does ramjets mean?
(aeronautics) A jet engine in which forward motion forces air into an inlet, compressing it (as opposed to having a pump type device compressing the air for combustion with fuel), and where combustion is subsonic.
What part of speech is ramjets?
ramjets is commonly used as noun.