WarpDrive built. NASA mystified by device.

[Legend]

The 'impossible' EmDrive could reach Pluto in 18 months (Wired UK)

Tajmar will be presenting his results at the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics' Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition in Orlando on 27 July, in a paper called "Direct Thrust Measurements of an EmDrive and Evaluation of Possible Side-Effects". By side-effects, he is referring to the electric and magnetic fields that may cause false readings.
Tajmar prefers his results not to be shared in advance, but told WIRED that his paper will not close the EmDrive story and that it merits further research.

[Legend]

It looks like big companies have also started testing the device. If it ends up being a real reactionless drive, there's trillions of dollars to be made. Would revolutionize almost everything.

Going to deep space would become cheap and easy.

[DD_Bwest]

It looks like big companies have also started testing the device. If it ends up being a real reactionless drive, there's trillions of dollars to be made. Would revolutionize almost everything.

Going to deep space would become cheap and easy.

some thoughts that i had been thinking, but dont have enough knowledge to figure out.  would these require alot more electrical power than current propulsion?  New horizon uses that plutonium reactor, that we are already running out of plutonium to make more of,  and i thought that thing had less then 100watts?

[Legend]

some thoughts that i had been thinking, but dont have enough knowledge to figure out.  would these require alot more electrical power than current propulsion?  New horizon uses that plutonium reactor, that we are already running out of plutonium to make more of,  and i thought that thing had less then 100watts?

It's too soon to say. Right now the experimental data is all over the place.

What makes it so revolutionary is that it's reactionless, meaning electricity is the only fuel. New Horizons only has its engine on for short periods of time. Once it runs out of fuel, it's toast. If the engine was swapped out with an EmDrive, it could stay on for the entire duration of the flight. Even if it still took 9 years to get to Pluto, we'd have the ability to turn the probe back and send it towards another target.

In theory we could make one super probe and keep reusing it, instead of spending a few billion dollars for every launch.

[DD_Bwest]

It's too soon to say. Right now the experimental data is all over the place.

What makes it so revolutionary is that it's reactionless, meaning electricity is the only fuel. New Horizons only has its engine on for short periods of time. Once it runs out of fuel, it's toast. If the engine was swapped out with an EmDrive, it could stay on for the entire duration of the flight. Even if it still took 9 years to get to Pluto, we'd have the ability to turn the probe back and send it towards another target.

In theory we could make one super probe and keep reusing it, instead of spending a few billion dollars for every launch.

assuming we can get a new source of plutonium 238 lol  im just wondering how we keep it powered for 9 years, if we have any other options

[Raven]

I'm so sad that I have not kept up with such incredibly interesting news. Here's a question. Could the answer to many of our energy concerns be less about what we're using to create that power and more about how efficient the devices using it are?

[DD_Bwest]

I'm so sad that I have not kept up with such incredibly interesting news. Here's a question. Could the answer to many of our energy concerns be less about what we're using to create that power and more about how efficient the devices using it are?

in every day life possibly, and especially in industry, but of course it comes down to the cost factor. we really need to figure out a more efficient energy source, thorium has potential if it ends up to be what some are saying, but since they obviously have a vested interest in it you cant always be sure.

[Legend]

assuming we can get a new source of plutonium 238 lol  im just wondering how we keep it powered for 9 years, if we have any other options

We have enough plutonium to get us through the next 5 years.

Plus if the warp drive works out, it'd undoubtedly be big enough news to increase NASA's budget and kickstart 238 production.

I'm so sad that I have not kept up with such incredibly interesting news. Here's a question. Could the answer to many of our energy concerns be less about what we're using to create that power and more about how efficient the devices using it are?

In the case of New Horizons and other deep space probes, the 238 reactor is used to keep the craft alive and operating. Rocket fuel was/is used for propellant.

[the-pi-guy]

assuming we can get a new source of plutonium 238 lol  im just wondering how we keep it powered for 9 years, if we have any other options

All space probes will come installed with gigantic solar panels that easily give enough power to them.  


(Maybe not...)

[Legend]

All space probes will come installed with gigantic solar panels that easily give enough power to them.  


(Maybe not...)

Well we do that for probes staying closer to Earth. Dawn, the probe orbiting Ceres, has huge panels that generate over 1 kw of power.


65 feet wide!

[the-pi-guy]

Well we do that for probes staying closer to Earth. Dawn, the probe orbiting Ceres, has huge panels that generate over 1 kw of power.


65 feet wide!

Yeah I know.  

[DD_Bwest]

Well we do that for probes staying closer to Earth. Dawn, the probe orbiting Ceres, has huge panels that generate over 1 kw of power.


65 feet wide!

but ofcourse as you move away you get drastically less power,  lessons i learned in kerbals

5 years doesnt get us very far,  and wouldnt we need to build new facilities for the plutonium?  i dont think theirs been any active production in decades.   and with pl238 being a product of the thorium process, do you think that could be a faster, better way to get it?   its one of the things thorium advocates have mentioned, and just wondering how credible that is

[the-pi-guy]

but ofcourse as you move away you get drastically less power,  lessons i learned in kerbals

5 years doesnt get us very far,  and wouldnt we need to build new facilities for the plutonium?  i dont think theirs been any active production in decades.   and with pl238 being a product of the thorium process, do you think that could be a faster, better way to get it?   its one of the things thorium advocates have mentioned, and just wondering how credible that is

All dat solar power.  

[Legend]

Yeah I know.  

I assumed, but I'm too tired and too in love with science to not post this stuff  

All dat solar power.  

That's misleading! It makes it look like Pluto is only 1/40 of us.

#s for not pie  

Planet	Distance (x 10^9 m)	Mean Solar Irradiance (W/m2)
Mercury	57	9116.4
Venus	108	2611.0
Earth	150	1366.1
Mars	227	588.6
Jupiter	778	50.5
Saturn	1426	15.04
Uranus	2868	3.72
Neptune	4497	1.51
Pluto	5806	0.878

[Legend]

Scientists Confirm 'Impossible' EM Drive Propulsion | Hacked