Yes, steam rockets and turbines both rely on the principle of Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In both cases, hot steam is forced through a nozzle, creating a high-pressure, high-velocity jet that propels the rocket or turbine blades.
The efficiency of a steam rocket is generally lower than that of a turbine. This is because a significant amount of energy in a steam rocket is lost through the exhaust, while turbines are designed to capture and use as much of the steam's energy as possible.
In general, the calculations for steam rockets are more complex than those for turbines. This is because steam rockets not only have to account for the thrust generated by the steam jet, but also the weight and aerodynamics of the rocket itself. Turbines, on the other hand, only need to consider the forces acting on the blades.
While steam rockets have been used successfully for atmospheric flight, they are not powerful enough to overcome Earth's gravity and reach space. However, there is ongoing research into the use of steam-powered spacecraft for potential missions to other planets.
One major drawback of steam rockets is their low specific impulse, which is a measure of how efficiently a rocket uses its fuel. This means that steam rockets require a large amount of fuel to generate enough thrust for a given amount of time, making them less efficient than other propulsion methods such as chemical rockets or ion thrusters.