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reactive thrust

American  

noun

  1. Aeronautics. thrust generated when an engine rapidly expels propellant or exhaust in one direction.

reactive thrust Scientific  
/ rē-ăk′tĭv /

  1. Thrust generated by an engine through the rapid expulsion of propellant or its exhaust in a particular direction. By Newton's third law, the force required to expel the propellant or exhaust is counterbalanced by an equal and opposite force, driving the engine (and its vehicle) in the opposite direction.

  2. See also ion engine Newton's laws of motion

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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.