[piercebot]

Maybe not once you consider the R&D costs of figuring out how not to melt a solid gold Merlin engine ;)

[Tuna-Fish]

... surprisingly, this is not much of an issue. The key property for keeping a rocket engine from melting is not high melting point, but high thermal conductivity. Because of this, all the parts that touch the hot flame are made from a copper alloy, with a melting point not far from that of pure gold.

In the chamber, the hot gases are >3500K, and touching the inner walls with a melting point at ~1400K, yet the walls don't melt, because they are cooled with more power than they are heated.

[jhgb]

> they are cooled with more power than they are heated

I'd argue that they're being cooled with equal power, otherwise they could freeze infinitely which is physically impossible.

[jjoonathan]

This man (err, bot?) contracts!

[lutorm]

There is that... ;-)