NASA Engineer Claims ‘Helical Engine’ Concept Could Reach 99% The Speed of Light
When it comes to space, there’s a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It’s, well, space. It’s way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.
more…
Tau.Neutrino said:
NASA Engineer Claims ‘Helical Engine’ Concept Could Reach 99% The Speed of LightWhen it comes to space, there’s a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It’s, well, space. It’s way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.
more…
no, it couldn’t.
ChrispenEvan said:
Tau.Neutrino said:NASA Engineer Claims ‘Helical Engine’ Concept Could Reach 99% The Speed of LightWhen it comes to space, there’s a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It’s, well, space. It’s way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.
more…
no, it couldn’t.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/corkscrewing-bouncy-ion-drive-would-provide-thrust-in-different-universe/
Tau.Neutrino said:
NASA Engineer Claims ‘Helical Engine’ Concept Could Reach 99% The Speed of LightWhen it comes to space, there’s a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It’s, well, space. It’s way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.
more…
> it would need to generate 165 megawatts of energy to produce 1 newton of thrust.
Because it relies on brownian motion, a quantum mechanical phenomenon, i have complete confidence that qm with special relativity says that the thrust is exactly zero.
mollwollfumble said:
Tau.Neutrino said:NASA Engineer Claims ‘Helical Engine’ Concept Could Reach 99% The Speed of LightWhen it comes to space, there’s a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It’s, well, space. It’s way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.
more…
> it would need to generate 165 megawatts of energy to produce 1 newton of thrust.
Because it relies on brownian motion, a quantum mechanical phenomenon, i have complete confidence that qm with special relativity says that the thrust is exactly zero.
mollwollfumble said:
Tau.Neutrino said:NASA Engineer Claims ‘Helical Engine’ Concept Could Reach 99% The Speed of LightWhen it comes to space, there’s a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It’s, well, space. It’s way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.
more…
> it would need to generate 165 megawatts of energy to produce 1 newton of thrust.
Because it relies on brownian motion, a quantum mechanical phenomenon, i have complete confidence that qm with special relativity says that the thrust is exactly zero.
165 megawatts of energy, eh. Hopefully that’s not in the original paper.
mollwollfumble said:
Because it relies on brownian motion, a quantum mechanical phenomenon, i have complete confidence that qm with special relativity says that the thrust is exactly zero.
Whoa there, Poindexter, lemme see if i got this straight: it’d be an engine that consumes vast amounts of energy to do absolutely nothing at all?
sibeen said:
mollwollfumble said:
Tau.Neutrino said:NASA Engineer Claims ‘Helical Engine’ Concept Could Reach 99% The Speed of LightWhen it comes to space, there’s a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It’s, well, space. It’s way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.
more…
> it would need to generate 165 megawatts of energy to produce 1 newton of thrust.
Because it relies on brownian motion, a quantum mechanical phenomenon, i have complete confidence that qm with special relativity says that the thrust is exactly zero.
165 megawatts of energy, eh. Hopefully that’s not in the original paper.
paper says 165MW power
According to the principle of the conservation of momentum – in which the momentum of a system remains constant in the absence of any external forces – this should be not completely possible.
But! There’s a special relativity loophole. Hooray for special relativity! According to special relativity, objects gain mass as they approach light speed. So, if you replace the weight with ions and the box with a loop, you can theoretically have the ions moving faster at one end of the loop, and slower at the other.
But Burns’ drive isn’t a single closed loop. It’s helical, like a stretched out spring – hence “helical engine”.
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Fucking no. You can’t trick momentum like that.
dv said:
According to the principle of the conservation of momentum – in which the momentum of a system remains constant in the absence of any external forces – this should be not completely possible.But! There’s a special relativity loophole. Hooray for special relativity! According to special relativity, objects gain mass as they approach light speed. So, if you replace the weight with ions and the box with a loop, you can theoretically have the ions moving faster at one end of the loop, and slower at the other.
But Burns’ drive isn’t a single closed loop. It’s helical, like a stretched out spring – hence “helical engine”.
——
Fucking no. You can’t trick momentum like that.
that’s what the arsetenica article writer writes.
ChrispenEvan said:
sibeen said:
mollwollfumble said:> it would need to generate 165 megawatts of energy to produce 1 newton of thrust.
Because it relies on brownian motion, a quantum mechanical phenomenon, i have complete confidence that qm with special relativity says that the thrust is exactly zero.
165 megawatts of energy, eh. Hopefully that’s not in the original paper.
paper says 165MW power
Idiot journalists.
Is this engine some kind of ion engine?
sibeen said:
ChrispenEvan said:
sibeen said:165 megawatts of energy, eh. Hopefully that’s not in the original paper.
paper says 165MW power
Idiot journalists.
the arstechnica writer says
:-)
Even better, the energy lost in accelerating the ions can be recovered when you slow them down, so it’s nearly free acceleration (it is not a perpetual-motion machine in that sense, anyway). To put this in perspective, the author modeled this using magnetic fields of about 13T. The accelerator requires 160MW of power, which the author hopes to recover from the particles when they slow.
Tau.Neutrino said:
Is this engine some kind of ion engine?
similar to an EM Drive by the looks.
Jupiter generates magnetic fields that are intense.
What if such intense magnetic fields could be shaped and directed towards a surface.
Could intense magnetic fields power craft like the EM drive?
captain_spalding said:
mollwollfumble said:Because it relies on brownian motion, a quantum mechanical phenomenon, i have complete confidence that qm with special relativity says that the thrust is exactly zero.
Whoa there, Poindexter, lemme see if i got this straight: it’d be an engine that consumes vast amounts of energy to do absolutely nothing at all?
It radiates heat.
Tau.Neutrino said:
Jupiter generates magnetic fields that are intense.What if such intense magnetic fields could be shaped and directed towards a surface.
Could intense magnetic fields power craft like the EM drive?
Certainly, you can use magnetic fields gradients to accelerate a charged craft.
That’s not going to get you to the stars, though, since SPAAAAACE is not very magnetic…
dv said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
Jupiter generates magnetic fields that are intense.What if such intense magnetic fields could be shaped and directed towards a surface.
Could intense magnetic fields power craft like the EM drive?
Certainly, you can use magnetic fields gradients to accelerate a charged craft.
That’s not going to get you to the stars, though, since SPAAAAACE is not very magnetic…
HHHHhhhhoooww much is not very?
roughbarked said:
dv said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
Jupiter generates magnetic fields that are intense.What if such intense magnetic fields could be shaped and directed towards a surface.
Could intense magnetic fields power craft like the EM drive?
Certainly, you can use magnetic fields gradients to accelerate a charged craft.
That’s not going to get you to the stars, though, since SPAAAAACE is not very magnetic…
HHHHhhhhoooww much is not very?
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8205/818/1/L18/meta
~300 picotesla
dv said:
roughbarked said:
dv said:Certainly, you can use magnetic fields gradients to accelerate a charged craft.
That’s not going to get you to the stars, though, since SPAAAAACE is not very magnetic…
HHHHhhhhoooww much is not very?
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8205/818/1/L18/meta
~300 picotesla
much doesn’t seem the correct vernacular.