Hi All

Here's an interesting piece...

EM Drive

...on Roger Shawyer's microwave wave-guide reactionless drive. Sounds very cranky except he's a top aerospace engineer and has academic and government funding for this research as well as a working model - it gets just 0.02 Newtons out of 850 Watts, but that's better than some ion drives.

Here's the web-page for the Em-Drive but it doesn't say much. I got the heads-up from "The Fortean Times", hardly a trustworthy source, but still good for out-of-the-ordinary ideas. There's a fair bit of hype about the idea since the inventor and backers think they can get net lift against Earth-gravity for a different set of frequencies.

Flight International had this to say...

DATE:09/11/04
SOURCE:Flight International
UK inventor aims to replace wings

Government adds support for all-electric microwave-propulsion lift engine as private investors back demonstrator

With backing from the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), a British inventor is working on a microwave-propulsion lift engine he believes could eventually replace an aircraft's wing. The electrically powered lift engine would counter the aircraft's weight, while a conventional powerplant would provide forward propulsion.

Supported by £126,000 ($230,000) from the DTI for a feasibility study and research and development programme, inventor Roger Shawyer says he has developed a motor that converts electrical energy directly into thrust using microwaves in a metal chamber.

"A second-generation superconducting lift engine could replace the wing [of an aircraft]," says Shawyer. "For 1kW [power input] you would achieve 3t of lift." The weight of the powerplant and the liquid nitrogen required for superconductance would be offset by the the weight saving from eliminating the wing, he argues.

A prototype engine weighing 16kg produced 16mN of thrust with an 850W power supply, says Shawyer. With the help of private investors he is building a demonstrator intended to produce 280mN of thrust with a 1.1kW power input. To prove it generates thrust, the engine will be mounted on the end of a rotating arm, supported by an air bearing. The unit is expected to reach a rotation speed of 20RPM.

ROB COPPINGER / LONDON

I'm half-wondering if it's not a manifestation of a bias drive, which will be amazing if true.

F**k! 30 kN lift for 1 kW power... what would it do with a 10 MW reactor??? If it's legit where is the kinetic energy coming from???

Hmmm...

Adam

Adam