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China's Radical New Space Drive

Posted by samzenpus on from the learning-to-fly dept.

First time accepted submitter Noctis-Kaban writes "Scientists in China have built and tested a radical new space drive. Although the thrust it produces may not be enough to lift your mobile phone, it looks like it could radically change the satellite industry. Satellites are just the start: with superconducting components, this technology could generate the thrust to drive everything from deep space probes to flying cars. And it all started with a British engineer whose invention was ignored and ridiculed in his home country."

11 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. How about a different headline.... by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Funny

    How about this headline: "Discredited British Engineer Finds New Scam Victims in China." His invention is "a closed, conical container which, when filled with resonating microwaves, experiences a net thrust towards the wide end." Sounds realistic.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    1. Re:How about a different headline.... by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

      The most inviolable law in the universe is that everything flies pointy end first.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  2. Re:this post will be remembered by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 5, Funny

    No more Anonymous Coward posts? Whatever shall we do?

    --
    The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  3. Ridiculed Brit? by PPH · · Score: 1, Funny

    So they found the guy who invented the Triumph?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  4. BS by mbone · · Score: 3, Funny

    All the usual signs of pseudoscience.

    Show it works (note : that is not the same as saying that you have shown it works), and I'll be interested. Until then, this goes in the cold fusion circular file.

  5. Re:Devil's (angel's?) advocate: by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Funny

    "The thrust is reported to be from the large end towards the small end. "

    No, TFA says:

    "... experiences a net thrust towards the wide end."

  6. Re:I'm pretty sure it doesn't work by Dahamma · · Score: 3, Funny

    And, that makes 3 hands... next time I should proofread to limit my trite opening phrases to one per post :)

  7. Re:I'm pretty sure it doesn't work by Hamsterdan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Good! now we can start building TIE Fighters

    --
    I've got better things to do tonight than die.
  8. what? by jafac · · Score: 4, Funny

    I find it hard to believe that the Nation that is home to the Ministry of Silly Walks has ridiculed a scientist for his strange ideas. . .

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  9. Re:Doesn't work by rufty_tufty · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's not a device for extracting momentum from the relativistic differences between the group and phase velocity of resonating microwaves.
    It's a device for extracting money from people who don't understand physics.
    I would call this device a total success so far.

    --
    "The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
  10. Re:I'm pretty sure it doesn't work by Will.Woodhull · · Score: 3, Funny

    So as usual in capitalist societies, it was all a matter of who screws who.

    --
    Will