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Thrust from Microwaves - The Relativity Drive
dfenstrate writes "The latest New Scientist has an article about an engine that exploits relativity and microwaves to generate thrust. There is a working prototype." From the article: "Roger Shawyer has developed an engine with no moving parts that he believes can replace rockets and make trains, planes and automobiles obsolete ... The device that has sparked their interest is an engine that generates thrust purely from electromagnetic radiation — microwaves to be precise — by exploiting the strange properties of relativity. It has no moving parts, and releases no exhaust or noxious emissions. Potentially, it could pack the punch of a rocket in a box the size of a suitcase. It could one day replace the engines on almost any spacecraft. More advanced versions might allow cars to lift from the ground and hover."
"The latest New Scientist has an article about an engine that exploits relativity and microwaves to generate thrust.
That sounds a bit more advanced than these two guys, who exploit explosives and a microwave to generate thrust.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
It also warms soup, and is great for reheating food.
Roger Shawyer has developed an engine with no moving parts that he believes can replace rockets and make trains, planes and automobiles obsolete ... The device that has sparked their interest is an engine that generates thrust purely from electromagnetic radiation
Of course, his first effort was to create a drive that ran purely on improbability, but you could never be sure where you'd end up or even what species you'd be when you get there.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Seriously, we were supposed to have these things *years* ago. The scientific community should be ashamed of themselves.
( yes, this is a joke )
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
I think you're forgetting that it involves relativity, therefore doesn't need to make sense. Plus I seem to remember that conservation of momentum was a by product of that 4-vector thing, so maybe something funny happens. Maybe.
"In this house we obey the Laws of Conservation of Momentum!"
you can have it for free:
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If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Now I can have what I've always dreamed of, a flying car with a Phantom game console running Duke Nuke'em Forever on HURD with Copland running in virtualization on a BitBoys Oy Glaze3D graphics system whose driver was programmed in Perl 6 running on top of Parrot!
I love it when dreams come true.
Yet it is precisely the friction between the wheels and road which make a car go forward. Friction with the car wheels is not bad, you need it. Friction with the air is bad, but not the wheels.
I thought it was the exhaust coming out of the back that propelled the car forward.. I mean, if electromagnetic radiation can propel something forward surely gaseos exhaust can?
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The only problem with this propulsion method is that you need an awful number of photons...
Hmmm, I'd always thought the major problem with matter-annihilation drives was the lack of antimatter deposits in the Earth's crust from which the fuel could be mined...
But alas, that's an impossibility of geometry.
If M.C. Escher was alive, he would find a way.
What?