NASA: "Impossible" Engine Could Change Space Travel Forever

[Nutso]

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/nasa-reveals- ... 7/+barrett

NASA: New "impossible" engine works, could change space travel forever

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.

[Teaos]

The Chinese have a history of reporting fake break throughs in science. Take anything from them with a 50kg bag of salt.

[Reliant121]

According to an article I read on pocket-lint, NASA wouldn't confirm until an American scientist built an EmDrive himself and tested it to make sure it works.

The change of heart on NASA's part came after US scientist Guido Fetta built his own microwave thruster dubbed Cannae Drive. The results were presented on 30 July at the 50th Joint Propulsion Conference where they were deemed positive.

[Teaos]

Fair enough, as I said, I dont believe anything scientific coming out of China.

[Reliant121]

I would tend to agree, especially if they provide little evidence to support their claims. But this seems to be pretty much the real deal.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Okay, then. That does sound... wow.

[Graham Kennedy]

Call me a skeptic. I remember the "cold fusion" flap, and more recently the "faster than light" flap.

If it turns out to actually work, great. I'm giving it a year or two before I'm convinced.

[Mikey]

Call me a skeptic. I remember the "cold fusion" flap, and more recently the "faster than light" flap.

If it turns out to actually work, great. I'm giving it a year or two before I'm convinced.

You're generous. I'm giving it until a succesful flight until I'm convinced. Sorry, NASA - I've still got my skeptacles on.

[LaughingCheese]

Its fine to be a skeptic and all, but it seems like everyone's gone off the deep end here.


Why doesn't anyone at nasa just build the friggin thing and test it???? I'm tired of this "I'm not touching this with a 10 foot pole" attitude.


I say this because at least from the article I read it looks like scientists are just sitting smugly in their armchairs going "Nope, that doesn't work" and not even bothering to test it themselves, until finally a third party does it FOR them.


They must be terrified of another debacle I guess, well, there's ways to handle it and still test and build the friggin thing. Geez.


Sometimes I think we do more harm to ourselves than good with this skeptic attitude.


EDIT: What FTL debacle? The neutrino thing?

[Mikey]

Why doesn't anyone at nasa just build the friggin thing and test it????

I'm sure they will, once your check clears. What's that? You say, "Just do it" but you didn't send the funding yet?

[LaughingCheese]

Why doesn't anyone at nasa just build the friggin thing and test it????

I'm sure they will, once your check clears. What's that? You say, "Just do it" but you didn't send the funding yet?

Well it sounds like someone had the money.



But to not even look at it for years and years? That seems shameful.


Is it scientific to cling to what you know and dismiss anything else, or test things with an open mind and see where the evidence leads? If it works great, if not you know what path not to pursue. Always a win win.


And yeah, they should "just" build it.

With the billions that we throw at probes, don't you think it would only make SENSE to divert some of those funds to something that could make launches less expensive???



Yeah, Nasa got burned by cold fusion. Boo hoo. But that's not a reason to just dismiss things you don't understand.



EDIT: Also it seems that if it does work, it IS pushing against SOMETHING, the quantum vacuum plasma.

That's just what I got from some articles I read tho.

[Graham Kennedy]

EDIT: What FTL debacle? The neutrino thing?

Yep. Though they broke the speed of light, turned out to be a faulty wire.

Like I say, if this turns out to be legit then great. More power to them, and it may lead to all kinds of exciting stuff. I'm just not putting any money on it until it's been widely replicated and well proven.

[LaughingCheese]

EDIT: What FTL debacle? The neutrino thing?

Yep. Though they broke the speed of light, turned out to be a faulty wire.

Like I say, if this turns out to be legit then great. More power to them, and it may lead to all kinds of exciting stuff. I'm just not putting any money on it until it's been widely replicated and well proven.

That doesn't bother me at all. Misreads happen. Maybe they should have had a few more eyes on that before they announced it tho.


Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

At least it sounds like it has more cred than Rossi's "E-Cat." Now THAT's a debacle!

[Graham Kennedy]

I wouldn't say it bothered me as such. It just made me take "spectacular" headlines about science with a pinch of salt.

[Mikey]

Is it scientific to cling to what you know and dismiss anything else

Nope. But it is most definitely human.

In any event, NASA (nor any other space agency) has the funds to "just build" anything simply because it might have a small chance of working a fraction of the way it is intended.