Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2009
- Messages
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"Martin Tajmar, the German scientist who has been independently testing the EM Drive, has a history of debunking experimental propulsion systems. So far, the drive appears to work, even in a vacuum. More testing is required to examine exactly how it works, and whether it is viable for use."
51st AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference
27 Jul 15
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2015-4083
The 'impossible' EmDrive could reach Pluto in 18 months
24 July 15
https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-07/24/emdrive-space-drive-pluto-mission
Excerpt:
Last summer WIRED revealed that Nasa's Eagleworks Lab was testing a copy of the EmDrive, a propulsion device frequently labelled as "impossible" because it appears to violate the law of conservation of momentum. Against all expectation they found it produced thrust. The response from the scientific community was dramatic, and generally sceptical -- but the "anomalous thrust" stubbornly refuses to disappear as more research zeroes in on it.
The situation is not helped by garbled media reports like "British scientist who says he's found the secret of Star Trek's 'warp speed'". But the subject is attracting serious examination from scientists who want to know if a sealed cavity filled with resonating microwaves can really produce net thrust. Previously the effect has been measured by British scientist Roger Shawyer, who invented the EmDrive, and a Chinese team, as well as Nasa.
Martin Tajmar, professor and chair for Space Systems at the Dresden University of Technology, is perhaps uniquely well qualified to evaluate the EmDrive. His research interests include "Breakthrough Propulsion Physics," space drives which do not rely on the variations on rocket thrust but which draw on more exotic science.
The obvious sources of error -- air currents, leaking microwaves, ionisation -- have long ago been ruled out. But this is the first time that someone with a well-equipped lab and a strong background in tracking experimental error has been involved, rather than engineers who may be unconsciously influenced by a desire to see it work.
Tajmar will be presenting his results at the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics' Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition in Orlando on 27 July, in a paper called "Direct Thrust Measurements of an EmDrive and Evaluation of Possible Side-Effects". By side-effects, he is referring to the electric and magnetic fields that may cause false readings.
Tajmar prefers his results not to be shared in advance, but told WIRED that his paper will not close the EmDrive story and that it merits further research.
Roger Shawyer is encouraged by Tajmar's work, which he says validates his own theoretical predictions as well as his experimental results. Shawyer has often been dismissed because of his own lack of peer-reviewed scientific publications. That looks to be changing very soon; a paper Shawyer presented at the International Astronautical Conference in Toronto in 2014 is in the final stages for peer-review for publication. This describes an advanced EmDrive-powered spaceplane.
51st AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference
27 Jul 15
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2015-4083
The 'impossible' EmDrive could reach Pluto in 18 months
24 July 15
https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-07/24/emdrive-space-drive-pluto-mission
Excerpt:
Last summer WIRED revealed that Nasa's Eagleworks Lab was testing a copy of the EmDrive, a propulsion device frequently labelled as "impossible" because it appears to violate the law of conservation of momentum. Against all expectation they found it produced thrust. The response from the scientific community was dramatic, and generally sceptical -- but the "anomalous thrust" stubbornly refuses to disappear as more research zeroes in on it.
The situation is not helped by garbled media reports like "British scientist who says he's found the secret of Star Trek's 'warp speed'". But the subject is attracting serious examination from scientists who want to know if a sealed cavity filled with resonating microwaves can really produce net thrust. Previously the effect has been measured by British scientist Roger Shawyer, who invented the EmDrive, and a Chinese team, as well as Nasa.
Martin Tajmar, professor and chair for Space Systems at the Dresden University of Technology, is perhaps uniquely well qualified to evaluate the EmDrive. His research interests include "Breakthrough Propulsion Physics," space drives which do not rely on the variations on rocket thrust but which draw on more exotic science.
The obvious sources of error -- air currents, leaking microwaves, ionisation -- have long ago been ruled out. But this is the first time that someone with a well-equipped lab and a strong background in tracking experimental error has been involved, rather than engineers who may be unconsciously influenced by a desire to see it work.
Tajmar will be presenting his results at the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics' Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition in Orlando on 27 July, in a paper called "Direct Thrust Measurements of an EmDrive and Evaluation of Possible Side-Effects". By side-effects, he is referring to the electric and magnetic fields that may cause false readings.
Tajmar prefers his results not to be shared in advance, but told WIRED that his paper will not close the EmDrive story and that it merits further research.
Roger Shawyer is encouraged by Tajmar's work, which he says validates his own theoretical predictions as well as his experimental results. Shawyer has often been dismissed because of his own lack of peer-reviewed scientific publications. That looks to be changing very soon; a paper Shawyer presented at the International Astronautical Conference in Toronto in 2014 is in the final stages for peer-review for publication. This describes an advanced EmDrive-powered spaceplane.
