Chinese Say They're Building 'Impossible' Space Drive

Wired | 24 Sep 2008

[Fractal Trader]

(wired) Link Only:

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/09/chinese-buildin.html

[cardinal4]

We really need to drop the barack and obama, and use only HUSSEIN..

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Heck, what’s an Earth or two when a new galactic freeway needs to be built....

"Why?! It's a bypass Mr. Dent. You've GOT to build bypasses."

[r9etb]

Perhaps you’re right, and perhaps Mr. Costella is right ... but just the tone of Mr. Costella’s rant makes me hope you’re both wrong. ;-)

[steve86]

I was just remarking on that one aspect — Costella’s concern may turn out to be misplaced. I haven’t formed any opinion of the relativistic physics — not quite sophisticated enough to do that, at least not without a solid weekend of cramming which I’m not going to do — but I would say the viability is unlikely for any useful thruster within our lifetimes even if the claims are true. Costella’s most useful contribution from my point of view may be his observation that relativity doesn’t impact the conservation of momentum IIRC.

[stylin_geek]

Heh.

Galactic renewal, doncha know.....

[Kevmo]

Sounds like they’ve been doing their homework on electrogravitics.

[VRWCtaz]

Particles bouncing off a surface, even at a shallow angle, impart a force perpendicular to the surface, not at the angle of the incoming particle (my summary). I had to think about that, as it is counter-intuitive unless you think it through, but sure enough, that objection is valid. The change in the particle’s direction uses up the rest of the momentum (approximate statement).

It took me many Saturday afternoons in a dark pool hall and a few forfeited dollars before I fully appreciated that concept.

[SunkenCiv]

NCC 1701 ping. Cue the Jerry Goldsmith.

[LibWhacker]

So am I. No luck yet.

[MHGinTN]

They’re not interested in my time machine though. I can prove it by going right on into tomorrow, in, oh, about three hours and forty-three minutes.

[KevinDavis]

Does anybody know where I could get a good Browncoat???

[wastedyears]

Great movie

[steve86]

Hadn’t thought about that application, not being a billiard player. So it really works, eh?

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Call me old fashioned, but I loved Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ and ‘Robot’ series, as well as Heinlein’s ‘Fuiture History’.

[BenLurkin]

At Wal-Mart.

[ckilmer]

from the article.................

What will China do with the technology? It may be relevant that professor Yang is not unknown in military circles, having published a paper called “Plasma Attack Against Low-Orbit Spy Satellites.”

Meanwhile, what about the American interest? Shawyer told me that “the flight thruster program is on hold for the present. [O]nce the U.K. government had provided an export license for a U.S. military application, the major U.S. aerospace company we had been dealing with stopped talking to us. “

The company may have decided that the Emdrive could not work. If they’re wrong, China has at least a year’s head start in a technology that will dominate space and make previous satellites as obsolete as sailing ships in the age of steam.

[Dajjal]

bump