Posted on 08/02/2014 12:16:09 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Until yesterday, every physicist was laughing at this engine and its inventor, Roger Shawyer. It's called the EmDrive and everyone said it was impossible because it goes against classical mechanics. But the fact is that the quantum vacuum plasma thruster works and scientists can't explain why.
Shawyer's engine is extremely light and simple. It provides a thrust by "bouncing microwaves around in a closed container." The microwaves are generated using electricity that can be provided by solar energy. No propellant is necessary, which means that this thrusters can work forever unless a hardware failure occurs. If real, this would be a major breakthrough in space propulsion technology.
Obviously, the entire thing sounded preposterous to everyone. In theory, this thing shouldn't work at all. So people laughed and laughed and ignored him. Everyone except a team of Chinese scientists. They built one in 2009 and it worked: They were able to produce 720 millinewton, which is reportedly enough to build a satellite thruster. And still, nobody else believed it.
Now, American scientist Guido Fetta and a team at NASA Eagleworks—the advanced propulsion skunkworks led by Dr Harold "Sonny" White at the Johnson Space Center—have published a new paper that demonstrates that a similar engine working on the same principles does indeed produce thrust. Their model, however, produces much less thrust—just 30 to 50 micronewtons. But it works, which is amazing on its own. They haven't explained why their engine works, but it does work:
Test results indicate that the RF resonant cavity thruster design, which is unique as an electric propulsion device, is producing a force that is not attributable to any classical electromagnetic phenomenon and therefore is potentially demonstrating an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma.
The entire idea that we have found something that seems to go against the the principle of conservation of momentum just seems crazy to me. But the fact that it has worked for two independent parties can't be denied. That's the laboratory speaking. Then again, perhaps both labs made a mistake. I'm sure this will be tested by the Russians and the Europeans too, but at least I'm glad we are working on it.
But the fact that we may be witnessing something completely new, something that may push us forward into sci-fi territory once again, is very exciting.
I heard the same. He lived in Galesburg, Illinois. One guy I talked to years ago claimed to know him.
For later
yup. nothing works until they say so.
our modern day “priests of the material universe and nothing more.”
We don’t even understand gravity despite it being one of the most well known physical forces.
There’s just no (known) reason mass should be an attractive force. Personally I think its the holy grail of space flight.
It certainly gives us a clearer picture when we understand how and why something works but it isn’t a necessity. We can accept that it works and that’s that.
But when we understand how and why something works, its a fist step toward controlling it and using it to our advantage.
I read the paper linked to, and followed the equations. It appears they've found a scheme to use unbalanced forces from electromagnetic radiation in a cavity.
The paper was several years old. I hope they publish more soon.
The Chinese or the Americans?
“bouncing microwaves around in a closed container.”
This would explain why my microwave oven keeps bouncing around on the counter. It was trying to go into warp.....
If it did produce enough speed to get close to light speed, they’ll have to also tackle the problem of being fried by the charged particles they’d be colliding with.
It’d be better to send a probe with this engine and a bunch of sensory gadgets on board to send back data relevant to the attempt. Shouldn’t cost too much to do, either.
Too bad we’re broke.
Exciting times to be in - when we discover we were wrong, or "not fully up on" something like this, it leads to bigger leaps.
And much money is lost by those who invest in the impossible made to seem possible.
That gives a lot of credence to Burt Rutan’s comment about NASA being pronounced “NaySay.” NASA dissed the technology but the Chinese didn’t...now we find out it’s real and we’ve lost 5 years of R&D time.
.............
Happens all the time. The DOE is currently helping the Chinese develop a lftr thorium reactor that will revolutionize the world of nuclear energy by collapsing costs. The first prototypes of the reactors were developed in the late 60s and then shelved ostensibly because they weren’t dual use. The Chinese picked up the plans several years ago as they were available to everyone. There are currently several US companies looking for funding to develop a prototype. But the feds are not helping. The canadian government is helping their lftr thorium start up.
eaw. The whole bidness makes me sic.
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