Boxy CubeSats get a propulsion boost in new space race

Boxy CubeSats get a propulsion boost in new space race
New Scientist, 2 December 2013
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24679-boxy-cubesats-get-a-propulsion-boost-in-new-space-race.html

Instead, Lozano and his colleagues will propel their craft with an unusual substance called an ionic liquid, made solely of positively or negatively charged ions. In the engine, a reservoir of ionic liquid soaks into a porous, metal chip and forms tiny pools in the pores of spikes on its surface. When a small electric field is applied, these pools morph into cones, which amplify the electric field so that it is strong enough to pull away ions in a steady beam (see below).