Metallic Hydrogen: A Game Changing Rocket Propellant

Abstract

The objective of this research is to produce metallic hydrogen in the laboratory using an innovative approach, and to study its metastability properties. Current theoretical and experimental considerations expect that extremely high pressures of order 4-6 megabar are required to transform molecular hydrogen to the metallic phase. When metallic hydrogen is produced in the laboratory it will be extremely important to determine if it is metastable at modest temperatures, i.e. remains metallic when the pressure is released. Then it could be used as the most powerful chemical rocket fuel that exists and revolutionize rocketry, allowing single-stage rockets to enter orbit and chemically fueled rockets to explore our solar system.