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Ridiculed as impossible by the scientific community, the electromagnetic propulsion engine – which could supposedly take a craft from Earth to Pluto in just 18 months without the need for rocket fuel – has apparently been confirmed by an independent scientist as working.
German scientist Martin Tajmar, who has a history of debunking fanciful propulsion systems, claims in a paper he has tested a copy of NASA's experimental device (known as the EMDrive) and that it does produce thrust. This is controversial because the theory that has been used to explain the device violates conventional physics and the law of conservation of momentum.
The EMDrive theoretically works by converting electric power into microwaves which bounce around inside an enclosed cavity, using the difference in radiation to move through an environment. This violates the laws of physics, which state that if something moves forward it must also push something back, as no propellant is expelled to balance the engine's momentum.
Read more:
'Impossible' propellantless engine appears to work despite breaking laws of physics
German scientist Martin Tajmar, who has a history of debunking fanciful propulsion systems, claims in a paper he has tested a copy of NASA's experimental device (known as the EMDrive) and that it does produce thrust. This is controversial because the theory that has been used to explain the device violates conventional physics and the law of conservation of momentum.
The EMDrive theoretically works by converting electric power into microwaves which bounce around inside an enclosed cavity, using the difference in radiation to move through an environment. This violates the laws of physics, which state that if something moves forward it must also push something back, as no propellant is expelled to balance the engine's momentum.
Read more:
'Impossible' propellantless engine appears to work despite breaking laws of physics
