New Test Suggests NASA's "Impossible" EM Drive Will Work In Space
125 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Ardosos;47641502]Wasn't there a story about how when the atomic bomb was invented, it was theorized that it might start a chain reaction and ignite the entire atmosphere? Yet they tested it anyway.[/QUOTE]was going to post that
why use caution when there's science to be made
[QUOTE=Ardosos;47641502]Wasn't there a story about how when the atomic bomb was invented, it was theorized that it might start a chain reaction and ignite the entire atmosphere? Yet they tested it anyway.[/QUOTE]
Technically, it sort of did, but only in a certain radius.
Guys, can you even fathom that within not even 50 years of Star Trek's debut, we may have just discovered the very technology that made everything in that universe possible?
Sure, this wasn't the first Trek technology to become de-fictionalized. But it was one thing to have everyone with a mobile means of voice communication, or a global public data network, or handheld touch computers, or video chat on every modern consumer device, or completely electric cars, or even friggin' 3D printers!
But this? This is [b]warp drive.[/b] Potentially within our lifetimes.
[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;47641607]This is [b]warp drive.[/b][/QUOTE]
No it is [b]not[/b]
It could lead to it.
[QUOTE=Eeshton;47640612]Fire and electricity are a bit far from objects going (close to) relativistic speeds... I'm not really saying we shouldn't delve deeper but isn't it very possible that if an object was going a small % of the speed of light and it had some mass, it could just destroy the earth?[/QUOTE]
We already smash atoms going close to light speeds against each other and nothing has been destroyed by it.
Everyone feared the LHC would create a black hole.
[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;47641638]It could lead to it.[/QUOTE]
Eeeeeh, no. Do you have any knowledge oh what a warp drive is? There [I]is[/I] actual mathematical model of a warp drive however it probably won't work in our universe [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive#Difficulties"]because of multiple reasons[/URL].
However this thing isn't even remotely a warp drive, it... honestly i'm not sure what this is. I don't even know if it actually works or all this is bullshit. But if it works it's just a "regular" engine, even in original article they stated that expected acceleration is one milli-g or 0.00981 m/s^2. Also do we even know what power requirements this thing will have? It may require so much energy that it's actually useless.
[QUOTE=mijyuoon;47641674]Eeeeeh, no. Do you have any knowledge oh what a warp drive is? There [I]is[/I] actual mathematical model of a warp drive however it probably won't work in our universe because space warping bubble will still propagate at the speed of light.
However this thing isn't even remotely a warp drive, it... honestly i'm not sure what this is. I don't even know if it actually works or all this is bullshit. But if it works it's just a "regular" engine, even in original article they stated that expected acceleration is one milli-g or 0.00981 m/s^2. Also do we even know what power requirements this thing will have? It may require so much energy that it's actually useless.[/QUOTE]
Well, what do we know so far? We know that what we have is a technology that generates thrust even in a vacuum without requiring any sort of fuel, violating conservation of momentum. And that it causes some sort of phenomenon that works kind of like a warp field, allowing photons within to apparently move faster than the speed of light. That's a pretty big discovery if it's true, and NASA themselves are giving it a preliminary thumbs-up, which carries quite a bit of weight. I [i]know[/i] more testing and peer review must be done for this, but this is a very promising first sign.
Look, I know it's not [i]exactly[/i] warp drive, but from what I understand, this could have major implications for both space travel as well as having the potential to turn what we've taken as infallible physical truths on their head as we discover more about it. I mean, we've pretty much confirmed that it [i]works,[/i] even if we're not sure [i]how.[/i] At the very least, it could mean space travel without all the mass that comes with a fuel source, which could have [i]huge[/i] implications if true. That alone vastly increases our practical reach distance throughout space.
Is any of that incorrect so far?
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;47639227]it would be some real 40k shit if they can't figure it out but we still end up using it a lot anyways.[/QUOTE]
"First mate, what's going on?"
"Libations sir! We successfully reached our destination!"
"Well there's a first time for everything."
If this holds up in space, we're in for a big boost to propulsion tech.
Also, could the EM Drive also be utilized in such a matter as to levitate a vehicle off of the ground? If so, then perhaps the hovertank and the jetpack could become a reality?
[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;47641684]Well, what do we know so far? We know that what we have is a technology that generates thrust even in a vacuum without requiring any sort of fuel, violating conservation of momentum.[/QUOTE]
Zero proof of that.
[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;47641684]Look, I know it's not [i]exactly[/i] warp drive, but from what I understand, this could have major implications for both space travel as well as having the potential to turn what we've taken as infallible physical truths on their head as we discover more about it. I mean, we've pretty much confirmed that it [i]works,[/i] even if we're not sure [i]how.[/i] [/QUOTE]
Arguable. The effect is small enough that it's still pretty susceptible to error. A vacuum chamber isolates it from stuff like thermal fluctuations but, they haven't cut it off from all momentum-carrying interaction.
[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;47641684]At the very least, it could mean space travel without all the mass that comes with a fuel source, which could have [i]huge[/i] implications if true. That alone vastly increases our practical reach distance throughout space.[/QUOTE]
Again, super doubtful. Momentum conservation is very well-tested and occurs in physics at every scale that we know of, albeit only locally in general relativity.
This drive's effects are infinitely improbabl-....if someone finds a whale splattered on the ground next to a pot of petunias, you should probably call NASA. Also find a towel.
[QUOTE=confinedUser;47640213]y'know this is cool and all but if you can't figure out how it works then you really shouldn't tinker around with something that has the potential to fuck things up beyond our control.[/QUOTE]
anything thats built in a guys garage is probably not operating at energies that laboratories haven't already tried.
seriously, its like people making a particle colider in their garage and saying they discovered a new super heavy particle, while the LHC hasn't done the same thing
[editline]1st May 2015[/editline]
[QUOTE=GunFox;47641967]This drive's effects are infinitely improbabl-....if someone finds a whale splattered on the ground next to a pot of petunias, you should probably call NASA. Also find a towel.[/QUOTE]
well i found the pot of petunias but i haven't seen a splattered whale yet
[QUOTE=Sableye;47642058]well i found the pot of petunias but i haven't seen a splattered whale yet[/QUOTE]
Was it on the roof of Leonardo Tower?
[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;47641684]Well, what do we know so far? We know that what we have is a technology that generates thrust even in a vacuum without requiring any sort of fuel, violating conservation of momentum. And that it causes some sort of phenomenon that works kind of like a warp field, allowing photons within to apparently move faster than the speed of light. That's a pretty big discovery if it's true, and NASA themselves are giving it a preliminary thumbs-up, which carries quite a bit of weight. I [i]know[/i] more testing and peer review must be done for this, but this is a very promising first sign.
Look, I know it's not [i]exactly[/i] warp drive, but from what I understand, this could have major implications for both space travel as well as having the potential to turn what we've taken as infallible physical truths on their head as we discover more about it. I mean, we've pretty much confirmed that it [i]works,[/i] even if we're not sure [i]how.[/i] At the very least, it could mean space travel without all the mass that comes with a fuel source, which could have [i]huge[/i] implications if true. That alone vastly increases our practical reach distance throughout space.
Is any of that incorrect so far?[/QUOTE]
That warp field thing was from shit UFO nonsense website.
[QUOTE=ironman17;47641774]If this holds up in space, we're in for a big boost to propulsion tech.
Also, could the EM Drive also be utilized in such a matter as to levitate a vehicle off of the ground? If so, then perhaps the hovertank and the jetpack could become a reality?[/QUOTE]
Jetpacks already exist, what would hovering ground vehicles be good for?
[QUOTE=Mingebox;47642128]That warp field thing was from shit UFO nonsense website.[/QUOTE]
Was it? Okay, square one, then, just so I know I have my info completely right: tell me what we [i]know[/i] this does.
[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;47642157]Was it? Okay, square one, then, just so I know I have my info completely right: tell me what we [i]know[/i] this does.[/QUOTE]
It produces a very small anomalous thrust. That's about it.
[QUOTE=Rixxz2;47642152]What would hovering ground vehicles be good for?[/QUOTE]
Comfort. Imagine buzzing with such a vehicle over rocky terrain.
[QUOTE=confinedUser;47640213]y'know this is cool and all but if you can't figure out how it works then you really shouldn't tinker around with something that has the potential to fuck things up beyond our control.[/QUOTE]
This is the dangerous kind of thinking that would have prevented literslly every single modern convenience we ha e today. Stop it right now. Bad. Bad confineduser.
Space. The final frontier.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;47639369]God damn. It's so hard to want to make any sort of comment until this thing is sorted out because the journalism on it is absolutely the worst:
[url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nasa-says-emdrive-does-work-it-may-have-also-created-star-trek-warp-drive-1499098]Nasa says EmDrive does work [B]and it may have also created a Star Trek warp drive[/B][/url]
No. No one with a decent reputation thinks this is a warp drive. A lot of this shit is coming up in forum posts and whatnot, not peer-reviewed results that have been critiqued and responded to by experts (and that's largely because no one working on the drive has any idea why it "works").[/QUOTE]
this is the problem with science. noone cars unless you make a big deal about it
to the normal person it doesnt mean shit that they found something like a higgs boson, its just all the end of the world black hole shit that keeps the lhc in the news
[QUOTE=Teehee;47642220]this is the problem with science. noone cars unless you make a big deal about it
to the normal person it doesnt mean shit that they found something like a higgs boson, its just all the end of the world black hole shit that keeps the lhc in the news[/QUOTE]
Excuse me I like science
[QUOTE=Zombie_2371;47642267]Excuse me I like science[/QUOTE]
I think you missed his point.
[QUOTE=Zombie_2371;47642267]Excuse me I like science[/QUOTE]
[url]https://medium.com/@writingben/a-disease-of-scienceyness-7b5571a34953[/url]
What could this mean for things like weapons technology? Would it have any application in a warfare sense?
[QUOTE=CapLaPorte;47642331]What could this mean for things like weapons technology? Would it have any application in a warfare sense?[/QUOTE]
um if slowly pushing the enemy away one by one by attaching spooky devices on them is your plan of attack then maybe
What kinds of speeds can this work in?
[QUOTE=Oicani Gonzales;47639861]i still can't wrap my head around this
how can it be creating propulsion if there's nothing going in the opposite direction
i mean even ion thrusters work like that right[/QUOTE]
Just because we've never seen a physical phenomenon happen doesn't mean it can't.
I've always been really skeptical about definitive physical "laws". Where do we get the nerve to be so sure?
[QUOTE=greendevil;47642852]Just because we've never seen a physical phenomenon happen doesn't mean it can't.
I've always been really skeptical about definitive physical "laws". Where do we get the nerve to be so sure?[/QUOTE]
Well, thing is that it is all based on evidence. So far laws have become laws because they have been able to explain things very accurately. Pretty much the laws in science are part of a model of reality, and so far those models have fit the real thing pretty well. Same thing does for physical phenomenon that we have never seen happen, if we have never seen it happen then there is no reason to incorporate it in our model because there is no evidence that it has ever happened at all. Fields like particle physics can be complicated though because it is extremely difficult to observe things on such a small level, and so mathematics usually is way ahead of the observations.
Pretty much physical laws are laws because so far they have been beautifully accurate to reality.
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