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[Melon Husk]

No, the thrust is too low for operating on Earth. Also, it's not needed since we are bathed in propellant (air).

Shawyer claims that his 2nd-generation superconducting EM drives should produce 3.3t of thrust / 1kW. My kettle uses 1kW. That much power would lift an elephant. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? That's essentially levitation in practice.

Nothing has been confirmed yet. Mr. White isn't interested in sending any papers for peer-review any time soon. He has just confirmed that the presence of air has no effect on the thrust measured. If Shawyer gets funding for his superconducting super-thruster and we can see it levitating without wires attached, well, you can pour a drink for the man and for another fine British invention that changed the world.

This is the best summary I have found on this entire issue.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/34cq1b/the_facts_as_we_currently_know_them_about_the/

Everyone interested should read this memo.

 

[tanooki27]

this is a big one isn't it?

 

[JoeyJungle]

I'm so confused.

This article's headline:

New Test Suggests NASA's "Impossible" EM Drive Will Work In Space

Other articles suggested to read in this article:

NASA: New "impossible" engine works, could change space travel forever

Related: Don’t Get Too Excited About NASA’s New Miracle Engine

 

[Ferrio]

So a futuristic engine that no one understands it works and might advance space travel far beyond anything with have now?

Only one explanation

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

I'm so confused.

This article's headline:



Other articles suggested to read in this article:

The other articles are from a year ago I think during the initial announcement.

 

[Nafai1123]

this is a big one isn't it?

If it turns out that it is indeed warping space-time as has been theorized with the other Eagleworks test, it could be the biggest discovery in the history of mankind.

 

[BizzyBum]

This is amazing, but also gets me depressed because I will be dead before any of this becomes practical enough for interstellar travel.

I mean shit, humans born 100 years from now might have technology to get huge increases in lifespans and explore the Galaxy.

I feel fucking jipped.

 

[m_shortpants]

This is amazing, but also gets me depressed because I will be dead before any of this becomes practical enough for interstellar travel.

I mean shit, humans born 100 years from now might have technology to get huge increases in lifespans and explore the Galaxy.

I feel fucking jipped.

At leasy we got the internet?

 

[tanooki27]

If it turns out that it is indeed warping space-time as has been theorized with the other Eagleworks test, it could be the biggest discovery in the history of mankind.

exciting stuff. if it pans out this shawyer dude's gonna be all

 

[m_shortpants]

All we need to do now is terraform Mars and we're golden!

 

[Yamauchi]

This is amazing, but also gets me depressed because I will be dead before any of this becomes practical enough for interstellar travel.

I mean shit, humans born 100 years from now might have technology to get huge increases in lifespans and explore the Galaxy.

I feel fucking jipped.

Don't be too pessimistic. The last three centuries have shown that technology advances at something approximating exponential rates. We have no clue where we'll be in 30 years.

Edit: Oh, well, yeah, you probably won't live to see interstellar travel.

 

[Joyful]

This is amazing, but also gets me depressed because I will be dead before any of this becomes practical enough for interstellar travel.

I mean shit, humans born 100 years from now might have technology to get huge increases in lifespans and explore the Galaxy.

I feel fucking jipped.

born just in time for dank memes though

 

[Rorschach]

This is amazing, but also gets me depressed because I will be dead before any of this becomes practical enough for interstellar travel.

I mean shit, humans born 100 years from now might have technology to get huge increases in lifespans and explore the Galaxy.

I feel fucking jipped.

And you got to experience things people 100 years ago could have never imagined and your lifespan is improved substantially. Gotta come to grips with the fact that progress doesn't stop after you're gone.

 

[Kelsdesu]

Hello asteroid field mining operations!

Thats exactly what I was thinking. Time to invest.

 

[subrock]

This is amazing, but also gets me depressed because I will be dead before any of this becomes practical enough for interstellar travel.

I mean shit, humans born 100 years from now might have technology to get huge increases in lifespans and explore the Galaxy.

I feel fucking jipped.

gotta get on that Kurzweil vitamin regimen

 

[Almighty]

Yeah I will believe this when I see it. Because right now it sounds too good to be true.

And you got to experience things people 100 years ago could have never imagined and your lifespan is improved substantially. Gotta come to grips with the fact that progress doesn't stop after you're gone.

That's what you say, but I know when I kick the bucket mankind will be in such deep mourning that they will just say "Fuck it what's the point now that Almighty is no longer with us." It sucks that that will happen so I promise for all your sakes to stay alive for as long as I can.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

They did it, those sons of bitches, they did it!!

Spoiler

i hope they do it

 

[cebri.one]

I'm still pretty skeptical. We need more people testing this drive.

 

[RadioHammer500]

If is is true, then that Dr Yang who first did the experiment in 2008 surely deserves a nobel prize for this.

This can change humanity.

Roger Shawyer deserves one too for creating it

 

[RadioHammer500]

the genius behind Emdrive, the creator Roger Shawyer

 

[EndlessSky]

So the next step is to just put it in space, right? There won't be anymore skepticism once we see it works in space, and then we can finally implement it into spaceships.

 

[GDGF]

the genius behind Emdrive, the creator Roger Shawyer

If this pans out this man is going to become the most lauded figure in human history. Like, planets are going to be named after him. Entire star systems even. His face will be on Space Rushmore.

 

[RadioHammer500]

If this pans out this man is going to become the most lauded figure in human history. Like, planets are going to be named after him.

i wonder if he will be the 21st century Einstein? even more so

 

[GDGF]

i wonder if he will be the 21st century Einstein? even more so

Even more so I would think. If everything pans out, of course.

 

[RadioHammer500]

If this pans out this man is going to become the most lauded figure in human history. Like, planets are going to be named after him. Entire star systems even. His face will be on Space Rushmore.

the ironic thing is when he first introduced this he was universally ridiculed for "violating" laws of physics a few years back....

 

[freakzilla149]

"An EM drive working under a constant one milli-g acceleration would propel a ship to about 9.4% the speed of light, resulting in a total travel time of 92 years."

Ah shit! Almost. Take away 20 years from that and I might just barely be alive to see it happen.

 

[GDGF]

the ironic thing is when he first introduced this he was universally ridiculed for "violating" laws of physics a few years back....

Yep. That's how it always is, though. If he's right they'll be singing his praises.

 

[DarthWoo]

One-quarter impulse power.

Captain, may I remind you that regulations specify thrusters only while in space dock?

 

[M3d10n]

Shawyer claims that his 2nd-generation superconducting EM drives should produce 3.3t of thrust / 1kW. My kettle uses 1kW. That much power would lift an elephant. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? That's essentially levitation in practice.

Nothing has been confirmed yet. Mr. White isn't interested in sending any papers for peer-review any time soon. He has just confirmed that the presence of air has no effect on the thrust measured. If Shawyer gets funding for his superconducting super-thruster and we can see it levitating without wires attached, well, you can pour a drink for the man and for another fine British invention that changed the world.



Everyone interested should read this memo.

That would be insane. We'd have Star Wars grade levitating tech if it pans out.

And hoverboards.

 

[RadioHammer500]

Yep. That's how it always is, though. If he's right they'll be singing his praises.

i can see a time magazine with a picture of him"

"The Man that Defied physics"..

i hope everything works out for him..seems like a genuine dude, the scientific community seems harsh when it comes to new ideas that aren't as conventional

 

[Laekon]

I love how this stuff gets so far ahead of it's self. We have slight proof it might work so here is our space ship design.

 

[Tesseract]

I do hope this works, just because of how splendid it would be to live in a world where we're using some technology to get around but no one has any idea how it works.

let's be honest, that's basically how everything works

 

[orientalNoodle]

Can someone summarizes the physics behind this?

 

[RadioHammer500]

didn't Chinese scientists already prove that Roger Shawyer's invention works?

 

[gutshot]

So the next step is to just put it in space, right? There won't be anymore skepticism once we see it works in space, and then we can finally implement it into spaceships.

Next step is to see if it scales. Computer models, and the unverified Chinese tests, suggest that it does, but Eagleworks is going to confirm that with some higher powered tests.

 

[RadioHammer500]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGTjy6atKMs (Part 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmfPNuhy0mc(Part 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2dwC5Am42Q(Part 3)

here's Shawyer giving a talk about Emdrive

 

[sestrugen]

didn't Chinese scientists already prove that Roger Shawyer's invention works?

independently tested by two teams but not peer-reviewed, once that happens then it will be real

 

[Ferrio]

Can someone summarizes the physics behind this?

No one knows how it works.

 

[foxtrot3d]

One-quarter impulse power.

Engage.

 

[RadioHammer500]

independently tested by two teams but not peer-reviewed, once that happens then it will be real

then Roger Shawyer would be in the running for a noble prize then right?

 

[foxtrot3d]

Mass Effect drives circumvented the laws of physics and worked via a mechanism that no one really understood, and was developed by an alien race.

And now we've got real life "ME" dri- I'm sorry, "EM" drives? I'm on to you, Aliens!

If only Element Zero were a real thing.

 

[Akira]

Roger Shaywer is actually a time traveler, a true John Titon that traveled back in time to introduce the EM Drive.

Serious question, isn't quantum mechanics highly unpredictable? Why would we look to an engine that is powered by quantum underpinnings?

 

[Nafai1123]

Can someone summarizes the physics behind this?

Nobody really can at this point since it's still unclear.

Dr. White has created a computational model, but that model does not assume that the Quantum Vacuum is indestructible and immutable, even though the physics community widely assumes that the Quantum Vacuum IS indestructible and immutable. One of the main reasons that these devices have been met with such skepticism (and lack of funding) is largely due to the lack of an explanation of how they actually work.

didn't Chinese scientists already prove that Roger Shawyer's invention works?

Nobody's "proved" anything yet, thus the further research and skepticism.

 

[Crisco]

Isn't this,

[T]he EM Drive’s thrust was due to the Quantum Vacuum (the quantum state with the lowest possible energy) behaving like propellant ions behave in a MagnetoHydroDynamics drive (a method electrifying propellant and then directing it with magnetic fields to push a spacecraft in the opposite direction) for spacecraft propulsion.

Just a sciency way of saying "creating energy out of nothing"? Also, if this is really proven to be real, and not some transient phenomena that can never scale to practical applications, then the next step is giving NASA the Pentagon's budget lol.

 

[RadioHammer500]

Roger Shawyer is not even a physicist, he is an aerospace engineer which makes this even more impressive if this turns out to be true

 

[sinxtanx]

That would be insane. We'd have Star Wars grade levitating tech if it pans out.

And hoverboards.

you jest but what if this tech turns out to be silly-tier easy to implement and we get hoverboards and flying cars this year

in the year 2015

 

[Nafai1123]

Isn't this,



Just a sciency way of saying "creating energy out of nothing"? Also, if this is really proven to be real, and not some transient phenomena that can never scale to practical applications, then the next step is giving NASA the Pentagon's budget lol.

Eh, it's not really "creating energy out of nothing" since energy is fed into the drive. It's more like "exerting energy on something we did not previously think we could exert energy on." And that's just the leading theory at this point in time. It could drastically change as more research is done.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Is this the same thing?

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/4...tally-discovered-faster-than-light-travel.htm

Faster than light...

 

[SigmasonicX]

Is this the same thing?

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/4...tally-discovered-faster-than-light-travel.htm

Faster than light...

The EM Drive is involved, but the faster than light aspect is a big stretch.

 

[demon]

So in dum-dum terms is this a huge mystery because it seems to break Newton's third law? yes or no