EM Drive

[woodchip]

Any thoughts on this:

Interplanetary travel could be a step closer after scientists confirmed that an electromagnetic propulsion drive, which is fast enough to get to the Moon in four hours, actually works.

However in recent years Nasa has confirmed that they believe it works and this week Martin Tajmar, a professor and chair for Space Systems at Dresden University of Technology in Germany also showed that it produces thrust.

The drive is capable of producing thrust several thousand times greater than even a photon rocket and could get to Mars within 70 days or Pluto within 18 months. A trip to Alpha Centauri, which would take tens of thousands of years to reach right now, could be reached in just 100 years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science ... hours.html

[Sirius]

Well, we'll see I guess. Would be great if it works, but first you have to scale it up and then you have to test it...

Propulsion research is probably the most useful area to look at for space now though - exploring the outer solar system is prohibitively difficult because the missions have to be so long - things like this could be the solution to that problem.

Though the other big issue is getting things into space in the first place... if we could get re-usable SSTO launch vehicles that would make a big difference there, and there are some promising developments on that front as well.

[Ferno]

well, there's our impulse drive. Next thing to do is design a large cruiser-esque ship.

[woodchip]

Out of curiosity, could this type engine power electrical generators?

[Avder]

I'm still wondering just how the hell it works. It violates established scientific laws and no one knows how.

Absolutely fascinating to know that there's something big involved and this drive is the first clue we've got about it.

[Krom]

Out of curiosity, could this type engine power electrical generators?

Probably not that kind of engine. Although it is confusing as hell because nobody really says what it actually does. But usually the way they phrase it, you put energy of one form into this engine and it transforms that to a different form of energy for you (so whatever fuel you put in becomes propulsion).

[Duper]

Here's a good explanation.
http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/08/emdriv ... ginal.html

There are a couple of links within the post that prove greater detail.