“EmDrive”, A Physics-defying Engine Does Not Work As Expected
Scientists at Eagleworks advanced-propulsion lab, NASA, have been acting on an innovation which is based on the theory of bringing the humans to Mars in only 70 days. The technology is building to make the “flights to space” more efficient and cheaper.
EmDrive, the rocket propulsion engine, originally developed by Roger Shawyer, a British scientist, in the 2000s, which is believed to develop thrust by active microwaves in a cone-shaped chamber without any force or movement.
As the engine does not need any fuel to power-up, the advancement can theoretically make the space-traveling far more efficient and cheaper. It can hugely make the space mission possible than ever before, specifically manned missions.
The engine is supposed to build in a fashion that it will defy the law of physics, specifically the 3rd law of motion, on which the other spacecrafts work. Past year, in a peer-reviewed scientific paper, NASA reported that they examined the EmDrive and were able to measure some thrust. However, not all the individuals were convinced with this statement.
A group of investigators, Technical University at Dresden, Germany, remained cynical about the statement and asked for re-experiment the engine. The new experiment was executed in a vacuum and every process is automated.
Martin Tajmar, Lead Author, Technical University Dresden, said, “I consider the EmDrive just like an experimental claim and we are still working to find out whether it works or not.”
The investigators spotted that some effects were observed in past experiments. The measured thrust does not seem to come from the engine. The force produced is more than the expected amount, and the investigators also found that there is an existence of thrust no matter where the engine was pointing.
This shows that the thrust comes from a secondary source and could be the force from the Earth’s magnetic field. This finding has put the theory of EmDrive to hold for now.
