Impulse drives are real??

Con · August 01, 2014, 02:34:59 PM

I cant wait for us all to start saying "I canna break the laws o Physics"

If these results are real we could be all looking at a major breakthrough in space propulsion. This could be our moment to boldly go

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/space/improbable-thruster-seems-work-violating-known-laws-physics/

Con

panzerde · August 01, 2014, 04:39:38 PM

Read some other articles on this. Pretty amazing that this works, and works as well as it seems to. Hopefully they can scale it up to act as a main drive; from what I read it seems right now to produce sufficient thrust for maneuvering thrusters.

Now, if it turns out that the warp drive stuff NASA is working on also works, we will have to resurrect Gene Roddenberry and make him God-Emperor or something.

Capn Darwin · August 01, 2014, 05:32:49 PM

I think we are finding more and more things that "break" the known "laws" of physics. The question is upscaling these odd quantum effects into something useful.

Staggerwing · August 01, 2014, 06:14:09 PM

Is this another form of an Ion Thruster? They've been used on space probes and allow for subtle long-term maneuvering.

GDS_Starfury · August 01, 2014, 06:36:34 PM

Nope. O0

Con · August 01, 2014, 06:48:25 PM

Quote from: Staggerwing on August 01, 2014, 06:14:09 PM
Is this another form of an Ion Thruster? They've been used on space probes and allow for subtle long-term maneuvering.

Best I can understand is take an odd shaped container with lots of angles in it and a nozzle, cover it in rare earth materials, fire microwaves in it. As they bounce around they generate energy in the form of thrust coming out of the nozzle (defying the first law of thermodynamics thank you very much Scotty since this is breaking the laws of physics). Hence thrust with no fuel since the microwaves can be generated using solar power thus eliminating all on board fuel requirements which currently contribute to over 50% of spacecraft payload.

Con

Mr. Bigglesworth · August 02, 2014, 10:38:29 AM

I will have to modify my lazy-boy for beer runs. 8)

panzerde · August 02, 2014, 03:27:36 PM

The latest thing I've read on this call the experimental results into serious question. Apparently in the NASA testing even the device that was specifically constructed not to produce thrust produced the same amount of thrust as the actual device.

In that experiment at least there look to be some serious problems with the design of the test.

Mr. Bigglesworth · August 03, 2014, 10:52:17 AM

Only if the measurement of thrust was an error. If on the other hand the thrust was real, positive or negative results from the particular design both move the science to understand what is really going on.

Con · August 07, 2014, 10:59:55 PM

Good little summary on where things stand right now...if I had to say anything its looking more and more likely that in the near future someone in a lazy boy chair in space is gonna get to say "Engage"

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-08/07/10-qs-about-nasa-impossible-drive

Con

GDS_Starfury · August 07, 2014, 11:07:12 PM

its just science. Im not minimizing it but, the more we know the more we know.
and what I know is that we're now the dumb shmucks from 1914.
I sure as shit know those people didn't have a clue as to where 2014 would be.

Staggerwing · August 08, 2014, 05:45:02 AM

Lets hope that the resultant spacecraft designers go with a shipwide OS that's based on Linux rather than Windows. Having a BSOD just before a critical maneuver would be embarrassing to say the least. While we're at it, maybe we should have the interface portion of the OS take a Rorschach test as well.