http://www.iflscience.com/space/the-peer-reviewed-emdrive-paper-is-officially-out/

Wasn't sure if this was the best place for this.

So this EM drive works apparently. Makes travel to Mars and outer solar system possibilities way better.

Think this could be encorporated into Elon Musk's plans?

11/20/2016 3:14:31 PM

fuck that rent-seeker

11/20/2016 4:48:39 PM

I call bunk. Thou shalt not violate the laws of thermodynamics.

That said, even if we assume it does work, which it doesn't, the estimated thrust to weight ratio (EM drive + nuclear power plant) is unimaginably horrible (only photon thrust is worse). An ion engine is many many times better. Yes, an ion engine consumes reaction material, an EM Drive does not, but on interplanetary time scales, an ion engine is by far the better choice, because the increased thrust is well worth hauling the fuel with you.

Of course, the calculation changes on longer time scales. If instead of going to mars, you're going to another solar system, then of course some form of EM drive is a necessity, making the trip in a hundred years rather than a thousand with anything else.

11/22/2016 1:52:37 AM

Hasn't been proven, just published. We need to wait for replication studies.

^ this is just a "prototype" or proof of concept. If someone can figure out "why" it works, then they would surely be able to scale up the thrust output.

11/22/2016 2:41:05 AM

Scaling and optimization. I'm curious if each test of this thing is using the same design or if any effort has been made to improve it.

11/22/2016 1:18:35 PM

I didn't understand their explanation of how they determined thermal expansion didn't account for the measured results. It would have been nice to see the thermal impact on the results demonstrated quantitatively instead of just explaining it out of the results.

11/22/2016 1:52:26 PM