[Rhys]

It's no FTL engine, but assuming this is technologically and financially feasible, it could have drastic effects on the future of space travel. Imagine cutting the time it takes to reach Mars by nearly 75%.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-07/31/nasa-validates-impossible-space-drive

[Thisisaverylongusername]

Wow. Could this mean it's possible to reach the moon in less than a day?

[Akalabeth Angel]

So,

a British guy made the thing, and people said he's wrong.

Then chinese guys made the thing, and people didn't care.

Then some american makes it,  NASA finally looks at it and says "oh **** this works" and gets the credit? Man, screw off america.

[AdmiralRalwood]

Reactionless drives? Now  we just need some General Products hulls to put them in...

[Nuke]

yay, another quack drive that is really just a wannabe photon drive.

and we could get to mars really ****ing fast if we do a brachistochrone trajectory and a 5g aerocapture maneuver. time this so it gets us there early, spend a week on the surface and we can do a hohmann transfer on the return. make fuel from the atmo while you are on the surface, and you might leave the same way you showed up. in other words it worked in kerbal space program.

[Bobboau]

first thought when I read this was quantum thruster. there is mention in the article that this may be that and that Shawyer stumbled upon a way to make one.

[Dragon]

Well, if this actually works, this is really strange. Propulsion is one thing, but that might mean a revolution in our understanding of physics. Conversation of momentum is an important concept, so there's either something that the ship "pushes off" and we don't know about it, or there's a major revision of physics coming. I'd place my bets on the former.

So,

a British guy made the thing, and people said he's wrong.

Then chinese guys made the thing, and people didn't care.

Then some american makes it,  NASA finally looks at it and says "oh **** this works" and gets the credit? Man, screw off america.

The British guy didn't look like a serious scientist. Remember, there are many "reactionless drive" and "perpetuum mobile" inventions popping up, this was thought to be one of them. As for Chinese, well, that should've raised a few eyebrows (and it did), but they're not exactly known for their credibility. Remember, extraordinary evidence like this needs to be very thoroughly checked for any interference. It might turn out to be just another FTL neutrinos case. Perhaps there's a systematic error inherent in the testing method, which would explain why Chinese (and that British guy before them) got the same results. That said, if it works, then it'd be much more than a propulsion system. It'd certainly make a stir in vacuum physics, perhaps also in other related fields.

What I wonder about is how much power they fed to it. 720mN is a mighty big thrust for a photon drive (which this probably is some form of, if it's gonna be "reactionless" like this, the exhaust has to have no rest mass), and using a big ol' laser for that would require a ridiculous amount of power (as well as an impractically enormous laser). 50 micronewtons seem somewhat more likely, but would still require considerable power to generate with a normal laser.

[watsisname]

it worked in kerbal space program

Guiding principles for future astronauts

[Nuke]

it worked in kerbal space program

Guiding principles for future astronauts

it worked in orbiter too.

[Aardwolf]

Hey guys, I was able to get from earth to mars in just a few seconds in Celestia

 

[Nuke]

didnt know celestia was a space flight simulator.

[Bobboau]

Well, if this actually works, this is really strange. Propulsion is one thing, but that might mean a revolution in our understanding of physics. Conversation of momentum is an important concept, so there's either something that the ship "pushes off" and we don't know about it, or there's a major revision of physics coming. I'd place my bets on the former.

if it's a quantum thruster then it's pushing off of virtual particles.

[watsisname]

it worked in orbiter too.

Oh I know.   I just wanted to quote that out of context because it's a great line.

[Nuke]

some videos:

http://vimeo.com/cannae/videos

still seems quackish.

[666maslo666]

Well, if this actually works, this is really strange. Propulsion is one thing, but that might mean a revolution in our understanding of physics. Conversation of momentum is an important concept, so there's either something that the ship "pushes off" and we don't know about it, or there's a major revision of physics coming. I'd place my bets on the former.

if it's a quantum thruster then it's pushing off of virtual particles.

Woudnt that require somehow converting them to real particles and exhausting them (forming a detectable exhaust)?

[Wobble73]

Or drawing them from Species 8472's universe, exhausting them and sending them back to their universe, thus polluting their universe and not ours. Hence them attacking us!   

[Aardwolf]

didnt know celestia was a space flight simulator.

It's not. That was the point.

[DarkBasilisk]

It uses energy to push against space-time, clearly.

But in all seriousness I'm both incredibly suspicious but also amused if it turns out this is actually a real thing.

[Nuke]

didnt know celestia was a space flight simulator.

It's not. That was the point.

why u no skill?

[castor]

Nice, now we can finally launch all our radioactive waste to space.