NASA ENGINEER SAYS NEW THRUSTER COULD REACH 99% SPEED OF LIGHT
New Scientist is reporting that NASA engineer David Burns is making some bold claims about a conceptual new spaceship thruster he calls the “helical engine†— a concept the magazine admits “may violate the laws of physics.â€
“The engine itself would be able to get to 99 per cent the speed of light if you had enough time and power,†Burns told New Scientist.
The engine, described in a recent paper Burns posted to a NASA server, takes advantage of a weird glitch in Einsteinian physics.
By accelerating a loop of ions to nearly light speed and then manipulating their velocity — and hence, because of the laws of relativity, their mass — the engine achieves the ultimate space travel free lunch: forward thrust without shooting anything out behind.
Even if the engine works in practice, it’ll have other disadvantages. According to New Scientist, a helical engine that was 200 meters long would generate about as much force as typing on a keyboard — so, while Burns may be right that it could accelerate to near-light speed, it would take a very long time.
“I’m comfortable with throwing it out there,†Burns told the magazine. “If someone says it doesn’t work, I’ll be the first to say, it was worth a shot.â€
Category: thruster
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