New types of engines with names like “Field Emission Electric Propulsion” I usually expect to see in spacefaring strategy games like Sins of a Solar Empire. But they are, in fact, reality, although they won’t be helping us conquer the galaxy just yet. This particular engine is immensely controllable in the amount of thrust it provides, although its maximum is 150 micronewtons. That means it’d take seven of these engines going at full blast to lift a small apple off the ground.
Of course, they’re not planning on loading a satellite with a million of these to shoot it to Jupiter. But they will be necessary to counteract with exactitude the effects of, for example, the sun’s photons hitting the spacecraft. The forces involved are incredibly small, but after a few million miles you start seeing the effects of minor uncorrected forces like that. Thus, this tiny engine (10cm wide) that can provide the incredibly small-scale adjustments necessary to keep precision instruments like probes on course.
Actually, I kind of like the idea of a few of these things holding my coffee mug up, adjusting dynamically to prevent it from falling. I smell a patent!
[via PhysOrg]
Has anyone heard of the Searl Effect Generator? I guess crunch gear hasn’t. I bet it would really be interesting if you can prove or disprove the validity of its claims regarding advance propulsion and alternative power source.
Although it seems unique and I don’t really understand it. I think a truly visionary would consider the prospect of focused magnetic propulsion. As far as I know it does not exist but the idea I envision is the ability to tap in to the magnetic fields that are projected from other spacial sources like planets and suns. Sort of like a big magnet and pulling a vehicle towards its magnetic field for space travel. By focusing on a distant star and then pulling the vehicle. It seems an electric motor already uses a field to pull a communtator in a circular direction by changing the magnetic field.