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#2 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Relativity drive: The end of wings and wheels? » 2006-09-24 08:04:54

We're not talking "basic physics" here, this is fairly advanced stuff. Why should we listen to an engineer making wild claims about the field of physics that he doesn't understand?

Newtonian physics isn't basic physics?  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that's what you learn in high school.

#3 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Relativity drive: The end of wings and wheels? » 2006-09-24 00:55:02

The only reason I'm giving this guy any attention is because of his experience in the aerospace industry.  I think there's a piece of the puzzle we're missing.  I understand Newton's third law quite well and I myself don't see how it can work.  I just don't see how Shawyer could have worked his way up as far as he did when he didn't understand basic physics.  Just give the guy a chance before you flame him.

#5 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Warp Drive » 2006-09-09 11:53:54

I am sorry I can't offer a more detailed explanation.  I understand bits and pieces of the theory but no way do I understand the math behind it  (I suppose you would need at the least an intro to quantum mechanics as an undergrad).  I myself am curious from the observer's point of view.  Would one actually be able to see the spacecraft or would it be invisible (since its in another dimension)?  I suspect that it would be visible but I am not sure.

btw, this will give you a much better and thorough understanding: http://forum.physorg.com/index.php?showtopic=4385&st=0

#6 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Relativity drive: The end of wings and wheels? » 2006-09-08 23:16:00

Reaction-less drive, hover cars, and airplanes without wings....

(subscribers only)
September 8, 2006
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fun … heels.html

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/A … eID=295931


New Scientist quotes

...Potentially, it could pack the punch of a rocket in a box the size of a suitcase. It could one day replace the engines on almost any spacecraft. More advanced versions might allow cars to lift from the ground and hover. It could even lead to aircraft that will not need wings at all.......


(Referring to the engineer)

His credentials are certainly impressive. He worked his way up through the aerospace industry, designing and building navigation and communications equipment for military and commercial satellites, before becoming a senior aerospace engineer at Matra Marconi Space (later part of EADS Astrium) in Portsmouth, near where he now lives. He was also a consultant to the Galileo project, Europe's satellite navigation system, which engineers are now testing in orbit and for which he negotiated the use of the radio frequencies it needed.

[Shawyer] calculates that the thrust from a microwave engine could be as high as 30,000 newtons per kilowatt - enough to lift a large car.

#7 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Warp Drive » 2006-09-08 22:36:43

the so-called 'Heim drive' and the 'warp drive' are completely different concepts and each relies on different physics independently.

#8 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Warp Drive » 2006-09-08 16:27:46

[In regards to Heim theory], from the observer's point of view, the spacecraft is travelling FTL because the spacecraft is traveling in a dimension where the speed of light is 'nc' (n=integer).  Locally, the spacecraft is travel at a fraction of c.  Thus, no time travel problems or paradoxes are present.

#9 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-17 16:44:46

What you are describing reminds me of the article I read at howstuffworks.com on electromagnetic propulsion (not the stuffs that deals with ion engines and plasma).
I realize that the function of the solenoid and wire below vary greatly when compared to Heim's application to a space drive.

electromagnetic-propulsion-magnet.gif

Here is the original article - http://science.howstuffworks.com/electr … ulsion.htm

That article uses traditional physics to explain how that form of propulsion would work.

#10 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-17 14:26:41

From the link by the orginal poster:

http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/d … ersion.pdf

4.1.3 Space Device Based on Field Propulsion
The experiment by Tajmar et al. generates an azimuthal
gravitational field, and thus is not suitable for propulsion.
The lesson learned from the experiment by Tajmar et al.
is the fact that the coupling to bosons (Cooper pairs) is of
prime importance. However, employing the general
Heim-Lorentz force equations to the experimental setup
of Fig. 3, Heim-Lorentz force now produces force components
in the radial r and z- directions. These components
are given by
Fr  er=
vC
c
me v
T bz  e×  e z  (14)
F z  ez=
vC
c
v
T
c
mn v
T bz   e×  ez ×  e
(15)
where vC is the velocity of the Cooper pairs in the superconducting
solenoid (Fig. 3), v
T=10m/ s denotes the
velocity of the rotating disk or ring, and bz is the component
of the (gravitational) gravitophoton field bgp (dimension
1/s) in the z-direction. In contrast to the fermion coupling,
experimental requirements are modest. The following
assumptions were made: N=100 number of turns of
the solenoid, current of some 1-2 A (needed to calculate
bz), diameter of solenoid 0.1 m. A detailed analysis predicts
an acceleration in z-direction of some 6.0×10-5 g.
From these numbers it is clear that, if theoretical predictions
are correct, the realization of a workable space propulsion
device that can lift itself from the surface of the
Earth seems to be feasible.

The force sounds very small. I’ll read close the details later tonight and insert the necessary equations. I suspect the power requirements are enormous.

I'll admit, I myself am dubious about that  incredibly small acceleration.  It seems as though it would take an eternity for a spacecraft to lift off the surface.  There must be more to this than what meets the eye since he explicity stated that it is feasible (Although, I guess it depends on what your definition of feasible is).  What about the force vectors the radiate outward from the ring? What about that acceleration?

#11 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-16 18:46:59

I have to look closer at the conditions for a warp drive but the theory does not let us generate any kind of gravitational field we want. It doesn’t let us generate a gravitational monopole or if it does it must be an attractive gravitational monopoly and not a repulsive gravitational monopole which I think would be analogous to the negative energy required for the Huckleberry drive.

I am not saying you can’t generate a warp drive with this theory without using negative energy but the fact that you can generate gravity does not imply you can make a warp drive. The steps in between must be filled in. Also even if you could generate warp drive like conditions I suspect that the necessary fields must be produced externally from the ship. Thus it would be more like a warp tunnel that we must build to the next star and it would require that gravity generating machines be placed along the route. This sounds prohibitively expensive and not very practical.

Curiously the paper implies due to the discreteness of space Einstein’s theory or relativity breaks down at near the speed of light. This is because length contraction can not be infinite. However, once this minimum length contracting is met the ship would be unobservable. I am not sure of the implications of this in terms of paradoxes and faster then light travel but it certainly makes me scratch my head and go hmmmmmm…..

As for the propellantless propulsion application, it's like trying to predict the performance of a modern rocket with only knowledge of the first Chinese fireworks.

The paper even said that you can’t use the gravity machine as a space ship drive. I think it probably for every point it repeals the anti-gravity machines repels from the earth it attracts the earth an equal amount in other locations. To bad my electromagnetism knowledge is getting fuzzy because the math looks really similar. I’ve thought of some advantages of anti-gravity over electromagnetism. The biggest advantage I see of anti gravity is that the pilot can be accelerated without feeling the g forces because the acceleration would be uniform on every part of the body (like free fall) and would not be a push from the ship floor. I suspect you could also use this to produce artificial gravity in space ships without requiring the ship to rotate. However that might not make economic since. So essentially anti-gravity could give the ship a velocity boost with zero g forces on the pilot before the first stage kicks in. It sounds kind of cool but just because it is possible does not mean it is practical. The engineering details still must be worked out.

The Heim Drive is not a 'warp drive' at all, rather it more or less resembles a 'hyperspace drive'. It doesn't warp spacetime.  The authors of the paper state that at a certain speed (% of c), the spacecraft slips into a parallel space (NOT parallel universe, but more like a subspace) where the speed of light is n*c.

#12 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-16 00:41:22

If you looked closely, the paper did mention superluminal speeds. an integer (n)
where n>1.  The paper mentions it is an integer n*c which obviously would give superluminal speeds.

#13 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-15 22:21:00

Here is an extensively revised edition of the paper I linked on my first post in this thread:

http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/d … evised.pdf

This was published about a day ago.

#14 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-05 14:28:22

the Heim theory is and has been discussed for the past 8 months in this on-going thread at PhysOrg.  I would definitely recommend checking it out.  There's a professor by the name of hdeasy who has contributed a lot to the forum.  Many graduate students have also reported their findings. It's topping 64 pages!

http://forum.physorg.com/index.php?s=3d … 385&st=945

#15 Re: Life support systems » A novel method for energy needs on Mars » 2006-08-05 00:31:58

I have been thinking about ways that would allow astronauts on mars to produce/consume energy in an effective and efficient manner and I thought of this; If the part of the spacecraft that orbits mars has nuclear reactors onboard or solar panels, could this energy be converted into a microwave beams that could then be converted back into electricity on the surface.  This could also serve as a secondary/backup form of power given that it may not be as reliable as solar panels.  Granted, the orbiting spaceship would have to be in preferably, a geosynchronus orbit (aerosynchronus may work as well).  I have looked into the issues regarding the microwave transmission, and it seems as though the recieving end would have to be composed of a large areas of rectennas (is that correct?).  Is there any way that the beam could be confined to an area of several meters?

#16 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-04 17:04:48

Did you bother to read the actual paper?

#17 Re: Interplanetary transportation » Followup on the Heim Drive » 2006-08-04 15:28:15

For a while now I have been keeping note of developments on the Heim Quantum Theory and its implications regarding a revolutionary form of space travel.  Here is a letter released this past July.

http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/d … ersion.pdf

This update includes Droscher's remarks on the recent experiment involving spinning superconductors performed by Martin Tajmar.  At the end of the letter, Droscher concluded that it would be feasible to use his proposed technology(graviphoton field I believe) not only to traverse the vast distances between stars but also as a method to lift a 150 ton spacecraft off the surface of Earth.

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