This engine breaks Newton’s Law!
Q. What is EmDrive?- Published on 15 Nov 16a. A controversial engine design
b. Experimental propulsion system
c. Both of the above
d. Neither of the above
ANSWER: Both of the above
A controversial and puzzling engine design that could make space travel cheaper and faster may work, according to a new NASA study
- Experimental propulsion system called the EmDrive seems to violate the laws of physics yet generates thrust in a lab test
- The EmDrive has been developed by British researcher Roger Shawyer over a decade ago and generates thrust by bouncing microwaves around inside a cone shaped chamber
- As per Newton’s third law of motion- for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction- this should not work, because no exhaust is expelled out of the EmDrive system
- Researchers from NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston did measure some thrust
- EmDrive variant produced 1.2 milli newtons of force per kilowatt of energy
- This is about 100 times the thrust of a solar sailing spacecraft which harnesses the momentum of the photons streaming from the Sun
- Much like solar sails, the EmDrive requires no propellant
- This is a spacecraft equipped with a propulsion system to generate microwaves it needs using solar panels
- EmDrive could make space travel cheaper and faster, opening up the heavens to greater exploration
- Further testing is needed to rule out experimental errors
