Fly by light
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Fly by light
The UK govt. has funded research by Roger Shawyer to develop an electromagnetic drive. Microwaves trapped inside an ice-cream cone shaped cavity resonate and exert a greater force on the larger end than the small, due to radiation pressure and relativistic effects. It just needs a power supply for the magnetron, but has no moving parts or fuel. Apparently it works, and has produced thrust 100 times greater than what Cosmos 1 could achieve. The USAF and NASA are interested. At the moment, it is only suitable for spacecraft propulsion as a replacement for the ion drive ( of Dr. Spock fame!) By using superconducting materials for the cavity, however, the thrust could be dramatically increased and used for terrestrial purposes, e.g. powered flight.
Last edited by Re-entry; 16th Oct 2006 at 05:32.
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I read the story in NS. Apparently it's capable of generating very high thrust forces per watt (per horsepower if you prefer). The problem is it can't maintain those forces when moving. In other words it might be great as a replacement for a helicopter rotor or to make a kind of hover craft or perhaps even to replace wings... but perhaps not for generating the forward thrust needed to propel an airplane. I believe they said the power drains off quickly as it starts to move.
