where the electric field is not in the direction of the acceleration.

Ion thrusters in operation typically consume 1-7 kW of power, have exhaust velocities around 20-50 km/s (12-30 mi/s, ''I''_sp 2000-5000s), and possess thrusts of 25-250 mN and a propulsive efficiency of 65-80%; experimental ion thrusters have