Demo
    Diagram of rotating detonation engine showing flow direction, unburned fill region, detonation wave, and exhaust, with a temperature gradient scale from -73 to 2730 Celsius at the bottom.
    A rotating detonation engine operates via a continuous detonation wave that propagates around the inside of a cylindrical combustor. Air and natural gas propellant (blue) are introduced continuously through the inlet and react across the detonation wave that is moving perpendicular to the incoming propellant. High-temperature, high-pressure products behind the detonation wave expand and exhaust out (top) to drive a turbine or generate thrust. Once the process begins, it self-sustains as long as the inlet propellant is flowing.
    Copper-colored mechanical apparatus with multiple wires and connectors, mounted on a blue and gray metal frame.
    A subscale rotating detonation engine was tested at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. The 10-centimeter-diameter rotating detonation combustor is the gray portion of the machine. The exhaust comes out of the diffuser on the right.