A curious connection between the flight anomaly and the “impossible” EmDrive engine
This morning, Google Alert brought a link to the article “The Curious Link Between the Animely and the“ Impossible ”EmDrive Thruster , which seemed interesting to me. Made a translation, enjoy reading!
The theory that explains the mysterious transit anomaly can also explain how the controversial EmDrive produces cravings.
More than 10 years ago, an obscure aviation engineer named Roger Shawyer made an amazing statement. Take a truncated cone, he said, run the microwaves inside, reflecting back and forth, and as a result you will get cravings towards the sharp end of the cone. Voila! Ready revolutionary engine that can send a spaceship to the planets and beyond. Schoer called it EmDrive.
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Schoer's statement was highly controversial. The system converts one type of energy into kinetic, like many others, and in this respect is nothing special. The principal problem arises with momentum. The total impulse of the system increases when it starts moving. But where does this additional impulse come from?
Schoer did not offer any explanations and critics noted that there is an obvious violation of the law of conservation of momentum. Schoer contrasted them with the results of experiments confirming that the device works as stated. However, this did not convince opponents. EmDrive was said to be the same thing as creating traction by standing in a box and pushing a wall. In other words - quackery.
Since then, something interesting has happened. Various teams around the world began to build their versions of EmDrive and test its capabilities. To everyone's surprise, the Shoer effect was reproduced. It looks like EmDrive actually produces cravings. In 2012, the Chinese team stated that they measured their version of EmDrive. In 2014, an American scientist built EmDrive and convinced NASA to check it out, with positive results. This year, NASA conducted new tests in a vacuum to eliminate the effect of air on the occurrence of force. Once again, NASA confirmed that EmDrive produces cravings. As a result, six independent experiments confirmed the initial statements of Shoer.
This leads to an important riddle - how to explain the apparent violation of the law of conservation of momentum. Now we get some answer thanks to the work of Mike McCulloch from the University of Plymouth, UK. McCulloch's explanation is based on a new theory of inertia, which makes startling predictions about the motion of bodies with very small accelerations.
First, introductory information. Inertia is the resistance of all massive bodies to their movement or acceleration. In modern physics, inertia is considered as an inherent property of massive bodies under the action of acceleration. Moreover, body weight itself can act as a measure of inertia. However, the reasons for the existence of inertia have been puzzling scientists for centuries.
The idea of McCulloch is that inertia arises as a result of Unruh radiation, the effect predicted by the general theory of relativity. It lies in the fact that the accelerating object radiates like a black body. In other words, the universe heats up when you accelerate.
According to McCulloch, inertia is simply the pressure that Unruh radiation exerts on the accelerating body.
It is difficult to notice under acceleration conditions common to the surface of the Earth. However, with a decrease in the magnitude of the accelerations and a corresponding increase in the wavelength of the Unruh radiation, everything becomes more interesting.
McCulloch says that there is evidence in favor of this theory, in the form of the famous "transient anomalies." These are strange surges in momentum observed on some spacecraft as they pass by the Earth. And this is exactly what theory predicts.
A thorough check of this effect on the Earth is difficult due to the fact that the involved accelerations are very small. One way to make it easier would be to reduce the permissible wavelength of the Unruh radiation. “This is exactly what EmDrive does,” says McCulloch.
The idea is that if photons have an inertial mass, they should experience inertia upon reflection. However, Unruh radiation in this case is extremely small. So much so that it actually interacts with the immediate environment. In the case of EmDrive, this is a truncated cone.
The cone allows Unruh radiation of a certain length from the large end, and a smaller length from the other end. Therefore, the inertia of the photons inside the cavity should change with reflections. And to maintain momentum, there must be a thrust.
McCulloch tests the theory, using it to predict the magnitude of the force emerging. Exact calculations are complex due to the three-dimensional nature of the problem, but the approximate results correspond to the order of magnitude of thrust obtained in all the experiments carried out so far.
Most importantly, McCulloh’s theory makes two verifiable predictions. The first is that placing the dielectric inside the cavity should increase the efficiency of the engine.
Second, resizing the cavity can reverse the direction of thrust. This should happen when the Unruh radiation will better correspond to the sharp end of the cone.
McCulloch says that there is evidence that this is exactly what is happening. “This appeal of thrust seems to have been observed in recent NASA experiments,” he says.
This is an interesting idea. Schoer's EmDrive can potentially revolutionize space travel because it does not require fuel, the most limiting factor in today's propulsion systems. But in the absence of an explanation of how it works, scientists and engineers are understandably cautious.
McCulloh’s theory can help change the situation, although the idea is far from being generally accepted. It is based on two controversial assumptions. First, that the photon has an inertial mass. Secondly, the speed of light must vary within the cavity. This is not so easy to digest many theorists.
But the more experimental evidence confirms EmDrive Schoer, the harder it becomes the position of theorists. If not an explanation of McCulloch, then what?
The theory that explains the mysterious transit anomaly can also explain how the controversial EmDrive produces cravings.
More than 10 years ago, an obscure aviation engineer named Roger Shawyer made an amazing statement. Take a truncated cone, he said, run the microwaves inside, reflecting back and forth, and as a result you will get cravings towards the sharp end of the cone. Voila! Ready revolutionary engine that can send a spaceship to the planets and beyond. Schoer called it EmDrive.
')
Schoer's statement was highly controversial. The system converts one type of energy into kinetic, like many others, and in this respect is nothing special. The principal problem arises with momentum. The total impulse of the system increases when it starts moving. But where does this additional impulse come from?
Schoer did not offer any explanations and critics noted that there is an obvious violation of the law of conservation of momentum. Schoer contrasted them with the results of experiments confirming that the device works as stated. However, this did not convince opponents. EmDrive was said to be the same thing as creating traction by standing in a box and pushing a wall. In other words - quackery.
Since then, something interesting has happened. Various teams around the world began to build their versions of EmDrive and test its capabilities. To everyone's surprise, the Shoer effect was reproduced. It looks like EmDrive actually produces cravings. In 2012, the Chinese team stated that they measured their version of EmDrive. In 2014, an American scientist built EmDrive and convinced NASA to check it out, with positive results. This year, NASA conducted new tests in a vacuum to eliminate the effect of air on the occurrence of force. Once again, NASA confirmed that EmDrive produces cravings. As a result, six independent experiments confirmed the initial statements of Shoer.
This leads to an important riddle - how to explain the apparent violation of the law of conservation of momentum. Now we get some answer thanks to the work of Mike McCulloch from the University of Plymouth, UK. McCulloch's explanation is based on a new theory of inertia, which makes startling predictions about the motion of bodies with very small accelerations.
First, introductory information. Inertia is the resistance of all massive bodies to their movement or acceleration. In modern physics, inertia is considered as an inherent property of massive bodies under the action of acceleration. Moreover, body weight itself can act as a measure of inertia. However, the reasons for the existence of inertia have been puzzling scientists for centuries.
The idea of McCulloch is that inertia arises as a result of Unruh radiation, the effect predicted by the general theory of relativity. It lies in the fact that the accelerating object radiates like a black body. In other words, the universe heats up when you accelerate.
According to McCulloch, inertia is simply the pressure that Unruh radiation exerts on the accelerating body.
It is difficult to notice under acceleration conditions common to the surface of the Earth. However, with a decrease in the magnitude of the accelerations and a corresponding increase in the wavelength of the Unruh radiation, everything becomes more interesting.
McCulloch says that there is evidence in favor of this theory, in the form of the famous "transient anomalies." These are strange surges in momentum observed on some spacecraft as they pass by the Earth. And this is exactly what theory predicts.
A thorough check of this effect on the Earth is difficult due to the fact that the involved accelerations are very small. One way to make it easier would be to reduce the permissible wavelength of the Unruh radiation. “This is exactly what EmDrive does,” says McCulloch.
The idea is that if photons have an inertial mass, they should experience inertia upon reflection. However, Unruh radiation in this case is extremely small. So much so that it actually interacts with the immediate environment. In the case of EmDrive, this is a truncated cone.
The cone allows Unruh radiation of a certain length from the large end, and a smaller length from the other end. Therefore, the inertia of the photons inside the cavity should change with reflections. And to maintain momentum, there must be a thrust.
McCulloch tests the theory, using it to predict the magnitude of the force emerging. Exact calculations are complex due to the three-dimensional nature of the problem, but the approximate results correspond to the order of magnitude of thrust obtained in all the experiments carried out so far.
Most importantly, McCulloh’s theory makes two verifiable predictions. The first is that placing the dielectric inside the cavity should increase the efficiency of the engine.
Second, resizing the cavity can reverse the direction of thrust. This should happen when the Unruh radiation will better correspond to the sharp end of the cone.
McCulloch says that there is evidence that this is exactly what is happening. “This appeal of thrust seems to have been observed in recent NASA experiments,” he says.
This is an interesting idea. Schoer's EmDrive can potentially revolutionize space travel because it does not require fuel, the most limiting factor in today's propulsion systems. But in the absence of an explanation of how it works, scientists and engineers are understandably cautious.
McCulloh’s theory can help change the situation, although the idea is far from being generally accepted. It is based on two controversial assumptions. First, that the photon has an inertial mass. Secondly, the speed of light must vary within the cavity. This is not so easy to digest many theorists.
But the more experimental evidence confirms EmDrive Schoer, the harder it becomes the position of theorists. If not an explanation of McCulloch, then what?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/396083/
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