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with them, so is momentum per reaction mass.

Airplane engines are in the middle, as they only push against airflow through the engine. Some of this reaction mass is carried with them, and some is breathed from the air. Therefore, "specific impulse" could be taken to mean either "per reaction mass", as with a rocket, or "per fuel burned" as with cars. The latter is the traditional and more common choice. Because of these differences, specific impulse is not directly comparable between different types of engines.

Specific impulse

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