How does the underwater ion drive work?
The underwater ion drive is described as: “a slender metal cylinder, two feet long, with an inner concentric tube projecting at each end.” This is how Tom explains the idea to Bud: “But well need speed to cover the area. So first I want to add an ion drive to our equipment.” “Ion drive? For underwater?” Bud, who was familiar with ion propulsion for spaceships, wrinkled his brow in a puzzled frown. “A goofy idea just occurred to me, but I think it may work out,” Tom replied. He seized a pencil and began explaining what he had in mind. The drive unit would take water into itself, separate the ionized molecules, and expose them to an electric field. Thus a stream of water would be forced out. This procedure, in turn, would set up a siphoning action through a central tube in effect, creating a small but powerful water-jet motor. So it is effectively a pump with no moving parts that uses an electric field to repel the charged ions present in water. The ion drive unit in the story is so powe
