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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."

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  1. FAQ from Dr. Shawyer answers a lot of questions. by Andy+Prough · · Score: 5, Informative

    The FAQ deals with conservation of momentum, allowance for bouyancy, electromagnetic effects, convection and other issues here: http://emdrive.com/faq.html. A fantastic picture of the device on this page: http://emdrive.com/.

    Here are some of the FAQ answers:
    Q. Why does the EmDrive not contravene the conservation of momentum when it operates in free space?
    A. The EmDrive cannot violate the conservation of momentum. The electromagnetic wave momentum is built up in the resonating cavity, and is transferred to the end walls upon reflection. The momentum gained by the EmDrive plus the momentum lost by the electromagnetic wave equals zero. The direction and acceleration that is measured, when the EmDrive is tested on a dynamic test rig, comply with Newtons laws and confirm that the law of conservation of momentum is satisfied.

    Q. Are there any convection currents which might affect the results?
    A. Convection currents did not affect the results, as measurements were taken with the thrust vector up, down and horizontal. Test runs were also carried out using a thermal simulation heater to quantify the effects of change of coolant temperature.

    Q. Have electromagnetic effects been taken into account? These include interactions between current-carrying conductors and between such conductors carrying RF currents and nearby metallic structures in which currents might be induced.
    A. Stray electromagnetic effects were eliminated by using different test rigs, by testing two thrusters with very different mounting structures, and by changing the orientation by 90 degrees to eliminate the Earth’s magnetic field.