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

"Until yesterday, everyone in the international community was
laughing at this engine and its inventor, Roger Sawyer. It's
called the EmDrive and everyone said it was impossible
because it went against the laws of physics. But the fact is
that the quantum vacuum plasma thruster works in the lab and
scientists can't explain why.

Sawyer'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."

See:

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/nasa-revea...49987/+barrett

wrote in message
...

"Until yesterday, everyone in the international community was
laughing at this engine and its inventor, Roger Sawyer. It's
called the EmDrive and everyone said it was impossible
because it went against the laws of physics. But the fact is
that the quantum vacuum plasma thruster works in the lab and
scientists can't explain why.

Sawyer'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."

See:

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/nasa-revea...49987/+barrett


Yeah, my guess is it's a simple photon engine (or electrons from the
material).

Nothing to get too excited about.


--
Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net

Ah, but it only works in the Slow Zone.
It will not work in the Beyond, Transcend or the Unthinking Depths!

;-)

Dave

On 08/01/2014 2:49 PM, Greg (Strider) Moore wrote:


wrote in message
...

"Until yesterday, everyone in the international community was
laughing at this engine and its inventor, Roger Sawyer. It's
called the EmDrive and everyone said it was impossible
because it went against the laws of physics. But the fact is
that the quantum vacuum plasma thruster works in the lab and
scientists can't explain why.

Sawyer'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."

See:

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/nasa-revea...49987/+barrett



Yeah, my guess is it's a simple photon engine (or electrons from the
material).

I wouldn't bet on electrons from the material. The thing would get
highly charged before having much thrust. Photon engine might be
possible. I would think that one side of the contraption gets hot which
heats the air on the outside of that side of the engine. This heated air
provides the thrust.

Nothing to get too excited about.

Agreed.


Alain Fournier

What looks interesting is thrust is generated in the direction away from the wide end towards narrow, just the opposite of a rocket nozzle!

In other words this engine doesn't spew, it sucks! ;-)

Dave

PS: Check out Roger Shawyer's paper from he
http://www.emdrive.com/IAC13paper17254.v2.pdf

There is also a claim that this "engine" when run in reverse cycle kills momentum by generating (presumably) electrical power from vacuum. Hence trading off kinetic energy for electricity when operating as a brake. Oh boy....

On Friday, August 1, 2014 3:47:58 PM UTC-4, David Spain wrote:
What looks interesting is thrust is generated in the direction away from the wide end towards narrow, just the opposite of a rocket nozzle!



In other words this engine doesn't spew, it sucks! ;-)



Dave



PS: Check out Roger Shawyer's paper from he

http://www.emdrive.com/IAC13paper17254.v2.pdf



There is also a claim that this "engine" when run in reverse cycle kills momentum by generating (presumably) electrical power from vacuum. Hence trading off kinetic energy for electricity when operating as a brake. Oh boy....

no doubt this has possible military uses, and as such very little info will be released

Alain Fournier wrote:
I wouldn't bet on electrons from the material. The thing would get
highly charged before having much thrust. Photon engine might be
possible. I would think that one side of the contraption gets hot
which heats the air on the outside of that side of the engine. This
heated air provides the thrust.

I would have throught NASA would have been clever enough to have put
the thing in a vacuum chamber no? Or am I ass-u-me-ing too much
there?

rick jones
--
a wide gulf separates "what if" from "if only"
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

On Friday, August 1, 2014 3:51:51 PM UTC-4, bob haller wrote:
no doubt this has possible military uses, and as such very little info will be released

Verifications are coming from China and Sonny White's Eagleworks lab at NASa.
Shawyer himself is from the UK. So far his paper is free to download from the web, so being subject to UK law not US law it would appear his paper has not yet fallen afoul of the "Official Secrets Act".

Dave

On Friday, August 1, 2014 3:46:31 PM UTC-4, Alain Fournier wrote:
I wouldn't bet on electrons from the material. The thing would get
highly charged before having much thrust. Photon engine might be
possible. I would think that one side of the contraption gets hot which
heats the air on the outside of that side of the engine. This heated air
provides the thrust.

Nothing to get too excited about.

Agreed.

Alain Fournier

Disagree. *IF* the contraption works as claimed, it should work in a vacuum just as well as in air. In fact without air resistance to deal with it should work *better* in a vacuum.

Dave

On Friday, August 1, 2014 3:47:58 PM UTC-4, David Spain wrote:
What looks interesting is thrust is generated in the direction away from the wide end towards narrow, just the opposite of a rocket nozzle!



In other words this engine doesn't spew, it sucks! ;-)



Dave



PS: Check out Roger Shawyer's paper from he

http://www.emdrive.com/IAC13paper17254.v2.pdf



There is also a claim that this "engine" when run in reverse cycle kills momentum by generating (presumably) electrical power from vacuum. Hence trading off kinetic energy for electricity when operating as a brake. Oh boy....

And he

http://www.emdrive.com/theorypaper9-4.pdf

Dave