“A plasma rocket motor is a type of electric motor. It is based on two electrodes. Charged particles are passed between them, and at the same time a high voltage is applied to the electrodes,” Egor Biriulin, a junior researcher at Rosatom’s scientific institute in Troitsk, told Izvestia.
“As a result, the current creates a magnetic field that pushes the particles out of the engine. Thus, the plasma receives directional motion and creates thrust.”