EMdrive - propulsion system

[corrado33]

Hmm Crookes Radiometer does not spin in full vacuum - not enough force. Also effect that we are talking about is exactly reverse - light from the object like Sun pushes other objects away allowing for Solar Sail. In this case object (or spacecraft) itself emitting light.  Yarkovsky effect would describe physical force involved in this case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarkovsky_effect

No, it cannot. That effect comes about because things like asteroids are warmed and cooled by coming in close contact with the sun (or other hot bodies). Photons are emitted anisotropically (not evenly) causing a very small net force. Unless your spacecraft is going to be traveling close to the sun many many times, this effect will have no effect. You'd be better off with a flashlight... At least you can direct that in any direction you want.

Heating things takes a ton of energy (queue solar roadways arguments). Heating a rotating something on a satellite will not be efficient.

No to mention there is not nearly enough energy available to a satellite outside of our own solar system. Good luck in interstellar space...

[HP-ILnerd]

Until REAL research comes out published in a reputable journal, I will stand here with the majority of rest of the educated scientists in the world and call this device BS.

Quite so.  It appears to be a clear violation of conservation of momentum, despite any protestations of interacting with Quantum media, it's a reactionless drive.  I.e., BS.

The only real test you can do, is put some solar arrays on it, put it in orbit, turn it on, and if it moves on it's own while not touching anything else and you can get it to raise it's orbit by any amount, it works.  More likely it'll just float there and make you look silly.

Inevitably, upon peer review, this sort of thing will vanish in a puff of experimental error.

[SeanB]

Slap it in orbit, extend a long rod and charge it up with a set of sharp points at each end to discharge electrons and collect them and you have a motor that uses the earth's magnetic field. Works for doing orbital changes very slowly but no propellant used. Drawback is you can really only move normal to the local field.

[Alexei.Polkhanov]

Also effect that we are talking about is exactly reverse - light from the object
like Sun pushes other objects away allowing for Solar Sail. In this case object (or spacecraft) itself emitting light.

Radiation pressure works exactly the same both ways. "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." If photons hitting an object exert a force on it, then an object emitting photons will experience an equivalent force in the opposite direction.

I would not be so sure that laws of mechanics applicable here exactly. After all photons are said to have zero mass at rest and calculations of momentum created by photon in dielectric material leads to some "controversy" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham%E2%80%93Minkowski_controversy.


Actually there is already a Wikipedia article on subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emdrive

[corrado33]

You're sitting here quoting a controversy that has been disproven by the us air force and NASA. (According to the wiki you posted.) Your position is not a strong one.

[Alexei.Polkhanov]

Hmm, ops, I thought I was one most sceptical among everyone here    When did say anything to defend any claims in that article? I just don't think that some of the counter-arguments given here are completely correct either.

[babysitter]

Obviously those readings only show what leaked RF power does to the force sensor front-end 
babysitter solution done.