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Space & Astronomy

Has China managed to crack NASA's EmDrive ?

By T.K. Randall
September 13, 2017 · Comment icon 33 comments

Could EmDrive really revolutionize space travel ? Image Credit: NASA
Chinese scientists have allegedly built a working prototype of the 'impossible' space engine.
The electromagnetic propulsion engine, which some scientists believe could herald a new era of spaceflight by replacing conventional chemical rocket engines, has been a hot topic recently.

EmDrive allegedly works by converting electrical power in to thrust without the need for propellant through a process that scientists argue is in direct violation of the laws of physics.

Research into the mysterious drive has so far yielded promising results, however it has remained unclear exactly how it works or whether or not it can be adapted for use on an actual spacecraft.
Now though, scientists in China led by Dr Chen Yue have reportedly succeeded in putting together their own working prototype of this promising new space engine.

"National research institutions in recent years have carried out a series of long-term, repeated tests on the EmDrive," said Dr Chen. "NASA's published test results can be said to re-confirm the technology. We have successfully developed several specifications of multiple prototype principles."

According to reports, the prototype currently only generates a few millinewtons of thrust - something that will need to be improved upon before the drive can be tested out on a satellite in space.

As things stand though, it looks as though EmDrive is very much the real deal.

Source: Yahoo! News | Comments (33)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #24 Posted by bmk1245 7 years ago
Here it is, bison, from BBC Horizon, Project Greenglow - The Quest for Gravity Control (2016) (bit offsync, but you'll get the idea)  
Comment icon #25 Posted by DieChecker 7 years ago
My computer shows the video is Blocked by BBC.
Comment icon #26 Posted by bmk1245 7 years ago
Damn... There are plenty of documentaries from BBC on YT. Maybe I shouldn't had put tags on that video. I'll figure out smthng.
Comment icon #27 Posted by RoofGardener 7 years ago
Umm... hold on a minute. A "working prototype" ?  What the Chinese scientists said in the linked article was "... We have successfully developed several specifications of multiple prototype principles." Specifications ? Principles ? That sounds like a paper exercise, not a "working prototype" ? 
Comment icon #28 Posted by Ozymandias 7 years ago
This is bulls**t. No scientist will announce to the world that their invention 'defies the laws of physics'. NOTHING defies the laws of physics. It's an oxymoron. Secondly, this drive produces 'a few millinewtons' of propulsive force! That's the pulling power of a bumble bee. And this will allow travel to Mars within weeks! Yeah, right. Don't be gullible.
Comment icon #29 Posted by Ozymandias 7 years ago
That is totally meaningless! Gobbledigook.
Comment icon #30 Posted by bison 7 years ago
Thanks BMK. Even without the video,  we have he name of this particular experiment-- 'Project Greenglow'. This should help in finding further information about it. 
Comment icon #31 Posted by bison 7 years ago
I found a number of articles on 'Project Greenglow', via Google.  None, so far, contain enough details to evaluate just what sort of experiments they ran on Shawyer' EM drive, or a device like it in some respects. I find no references, yet, to a test in which an effect was noted, independent of the orientation of the device.
Comment icon #32 Posted by bmk1245 7 years ago
And how did I missed that full documentary was already on YT  The thrust issue I was stalking about, starts at 30:12 (Martin Tajmar clearly states that).
Comment icon #33 Posted by bison 7 years ago
Thanks for  finding and sharing  that documentary, BMK. Very interesting ; I viewed it in full. A seeming effect was detected, like thrust, but coming from both the end and the side of the Shawyer device.  This tended to make it suspect; perhaps an experimental artifact.  If I may suggest another possibility: That Shawyer's thinking about a unidirectional thrust may be mistaken. Perhaps the device somehow creates an omni-directional antigravity field that opposes the gravity field of the Earth. Regardless of its orientation, it would pull away from the center of Earth's mass. The fact... [More]


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