NASA Engineer Theorises Interstellar Drive Concept
Imagine an engine that needs no propellant. It sounds impossible, and it most likely is.
That’s not stopping one NASA engineer from testing theories around the EmDrive — a conceptual “helical” engine that could defy the laws of physics and create forward thrust without fuel.
Such a creation would allow us to travel the far reaches of space and would arguably be the most exciting technological advancement of the century.
What is the EmDrive?
Back in 2001, British scientist Roger Shawyer theorized that we could generate thrust by pumping microwaves into a conical chamber.
Shawyer suggested that the microwaves would, in theory, bounce exponentially off the chamber walls, creating enough propulsion to power a spacecraft without fuel.
Some researchers do claim to have generated thrust in EmDrive experiments. The amount was so low, though, that the detractors believe the thrust may have even been caused by outside influences. These could be seismic vibrations or the Earth’s magnetic field.
New Research
Over the last few months, several engineers and scientists have come out with contradictory positions on the EmDrive.
Some have claimed it’s impossible, while others continue to work at what might be a futile task, justifying their work by saying the payoff would be enormous.
The most recent of these is NASA engineer David Burns, as New Scientist reports. “The engine itself would be able to get to 99 percent the speed of light if you had enough time and power,” Burns told New Scientist.
See more here sci-nature.com
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Saighdear
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I’m tempted to ask whether sometimes, as in computing, this is software or Hardware engineering.
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Frank S.
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The microwave generating system would require electricity to operate. An alternative propulsion type might make use of sound traveling through solid metal, with strategic placement of sound dampers to focus the waves. This could operate in a vacuum, absolute zero and without gravity. The sound waves are generated from the “sound plate”, touching the solid metal “core”, which then vibrate through the metal to the strike plate, touching the core’s opposite end, causing forward motion. Changes in intensity and/or range of the sounds affect “thrust”.
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VOWG
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Ah, the elusive search for a perpetual motion machine.
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Pierre-D Bernier
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How about changing the climate ? Humans can do anything. Ask Klaus !
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