Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

EmDrive propulsion that ‘breaks laws of physics’ will soon be put to the test

Interstellar travel requires some impossible physics.

Jordan Strickler by Jordan Strickler
June 11, 2019
in News, Science, Space

Never let physics get in the way of a good propulsion system. A group of scientists at Germany’s Technische Universität Dresden isn’t doing just that. Led by physicist Martin Tajmar, the team is conducting new studies in the fabled world of the EmDrive, hoping to end the debate once and for all.

For nearly 20 years, scientists have debated the viability of such a system; one that could power a spacecraft without fuel. Even using today’s most powerful rocket engines, it would take 50,000 years to reach our closest interstellar neighbor. An EmDrive (Electromagnetic Drive), on the other hand,  would drastically speed things up.

Still just a hypothetical engine, the EmDrive works by converting electricity into microwaves and channeling this electromagnetic radiation through a conical chamber. In theory, the microwaves would exert force against the walls of the chamber which would produce enough thrust to propel the spacecraft. First proposed by the British scientist Roger Shawyer in 2001, the idea of the EmDrive would bend the rules of physics since it would essentially create force out of nothing, thereby breaking Newton’s Third Law.

Many scientific groups, including NASA and DARPA, have dabbled in the EmDrive black arts, however, none have truly succeeded. While some have claimed success, any observations of thrust in the experiments were so small, a true confirmation could not be claimed.

Tajmar’s group have set out to create a measuring device so sensitive and immune to interference, that it could truly measure these tiny bursts with accuracy. Dubbed the SpaceDrive project when created late last year, Tajmar says that a resolution to the EmDrive could only be a few months off. The group hopes to publish their results in the journal Acta Astronautica in August according to Wired magazine.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

In 2016, Tajmar and 25 other scientists attended the first conference dedicated to the EmDrive and related exotic propulsion systems. It was here that two NASA scientists, Paul March and Harold White, provided a presentation on work testing various EmDrive prototypes. It was from this research that Tajmar and his group modeled their own EmDrive prototype. After 55 experiments, his team walked away without any huge victories as the forces they found were more like due to thermal expansion than any real thrust. They are hoping that their new research will shine a better light on this and other previous studies to see if they had actually produced true thrust.

While it is universal knowledge that rockets just won’t cut it in interspace travel, it has always been up in the air as to what could exactly be a ship’s main source of propulsion. Photon rockets or solar sails have thrusts so low that maybe only nano-scaled spacecraft may reach the next star within our lifetime using very high-power laser beams. Unless the experiments go the way of cold fusion, this leaves the EmDrive as one of a few potential propellantless options in the driver’s seat.

So while it seems that EmDrive technology has always been just around the corner, if Tajmar’s experiment is successful, that corner could take a tighter turn in August.

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Faster than light sub-particle at CERN breaks laws of physics
  2. The ‘Impossible EmDrive’ will soon be tested in outer space
  3. Why the sun’s corona is hotter than its surface: laws of physics still stand
  4. Newly measured W Boson breaks Standard Model of Physics. Here’s why this is a big deal
  5. Scientists baffled as laws of physics still stand
Tags: EmDrive

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW