in ionic wind mode yes, thats the case. but IF this were antigravity, it would only have one direction of thrust: up. so mounting the two engines on either side of the pinwheel, they would both produce upward thrust, cancelling each other out. ionic wind thrust of course works in any direction, hence the pinwheel spins in atmosphere.
If there really is antigravity at work here once the ionic wind component is removed, wouldnt the pinwheel configuration in the vacuum test produce exactly the results witnessed by the author? The two "engines" would work against each other resulting in zero net movement. I can't believe a whole slew of NASA nerds could overlook this issue, which leads me to believe I'm missing something. Any thoughts?
And for the record, I most certainly do NOT believe this is antigravity. Some other form of electromagnetic propulsion maybe, but not antigravity.
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in ionic wind mode yes, thats the case. but IF this were antigravity, it would only have one direction of thrust: up. so mounting the two engines on either side of the pinwheel, they would both produce upward thrust, cancelling each other out. ionic wind thrust of course works in any direction, hence the pinwheel spins in atmosphere.
If there really is antigravity at work here once the ionic wind component is removed, wouldnt the pinwheel configuration in the vacuum test produce exactly the results witnessed by the author? The two "engines" would work against each other resulting in zero net movement. I can't believe a whole slew of NASA nerds could overlook this issue, which leads me to believe I'm missing something. Any thoughts?
And for the record, I most certainly do NOT believe this is antigravity. Some other form of electromagnetic propulsion maybe, but not antigravity.