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


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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.

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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 thrusterworks in the lab and scientists can't explain why.

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.

More here http://sploid.gizmodo.com/nasa-reveals-new-impossible-engine-can-change-space-t-1614549987

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Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet

Fantastic, one step closer to exploiting the entire solar system's resources. One only imagines what we could accomplish.

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Posted
  • Location: Crowborough, East Sussex 180mASL
  • Location: Crowborough, East Sussex 180mASL

Whilst this is an interesting story, the device remains to be tested in a vacuum and microgravity let alone understood.

 

Other experiments which seemed to violate conventional laws of physics (cold fusion, faster than light neutrinos etc.), have since proven to be in error. The NASA scientists have not jumped the gun and stated 'it works' but have cautiously suggested further experimentation is necessary - evidently having learned from the mistakes of others.

 

If it is proven to work, then a new chapter of science and possibly the next evolutionary state of humans may have just opened up.

 

I will wait for confirmation but something tells me that the wait should be tempered with a healthy dose of caution.

Edited by full_frontal_occlusion
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Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

http://www.cheniere.org/references/emdrive.htm

Tom Bearden: The one thing the paper does not wish to do is explain how the drive works, instead offering quantifiable results and the procedures used to achieve them. However, given that we now have several tests all confirming that thrust can be generated out of thin air, a radically different future awaits humanity. In it, the immense costs of satellites, space ships and stations could be reduced to a mere fraction of what was previously thought. This should open the world up to exciting deep-space missions and enable us to survive a virtual lifetime in space. Even more amazing, new propulsion technology based on the EmDrive should take space travel to amazing speeds, enabling humanity to reach distant worlds much more quickly.

 

 

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Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

Would you invest in it?

And why not rockets are totally outdated now use a enormous amount of fuel and been a lot of disasters in recent years clumbersome.
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Posted
  • Location: Near Newton Abbot or east Dartmoor, Devon
  • Location: Near Newton Abbot or east Dartmoor, Devon

And why not rockets are totally outdated now use a enormous amount of fuel and been a lot of disasters in recent years clumbersome.

 

Rockets obey the laws of physics, this device does not.

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/08/04/reactionless_motor_needs_more_evidence.html

 

"The effect is incredibly small, and one thing we’ve learned many times in history is that very small effects are usually due to something not being built or measured correctly. Steve rightly points out the faster-than-light neutrinos story, which were not real; the measurements were messed up by a faulty cable. And as Baez points out, this new device in question wasn’t even tested in a vacuum! That’s extremely important; assuming the measurements are real, the thrust seen could be due to air being warmed up and moving around."

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