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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 6015794" data-attributes="member: 177">This one *is* rocket science, so it gets complicated very quickly.Small point on definitions.  "Power" is "energy per unit time".  A low-power engine can't deliver more power.  It is, by definition, low power.  How long you run the engine doesn't change the power.But yes, a low power engine, over its lifetime can deliver more energy.  This is what the ion engines NASA's playing with these days are all about, in fact.    And, yes, it may be that the durability of parts in the low-power engine winds up not being an issue, as the lower power often means much, much lower stress and wear on parts.In reality, the choice of what engine to use depends on what you plan to do with it, what technologies you have, and what fuels you can use.  If you're really "blue sky", there's no way to tell you which is better or which is worse.  For fiction, you have to externally apply some restrictions in order to make a decision.</blockquote>