magnemoe Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Because with infinite delta vee, they could fly to an asteroid and push it into a collision course with Earth. If they fly to an asteroid that turns out to be a rubble pile, they can just fly to a new one.Well you need some power too, if your burn will take 1000 year its not an very big danger. First the cubesat is unlikely to last more than 10 years, and 1000 years is optimistic its as power hungry as an ion drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozen_Heart Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Many asteroids come quite close to Earth. From far enough in advance it would only take a tiny nudge...Not to mention these are test articles that we don't even understand the physics of. A working version may be much more powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newt Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Many asteroids come quite close to Earth. From far enough in advance it would only take a tiny nudge...Not to mention these are test articles that we don't even understand the physics of. A working version may be much more powerful.A working version may not function at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotius Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Dayummmm Does it works on, dare i say - Space Magic? It's a joke of course, but it does look like we stumbled onto something astonishing. If NASA confirms fuel-less engines do work, and it is possible to scale them up to useful levels, then for space exploration it will be a true gamechanger. Can't wait to see more results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stargate525 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 A working version may not function at all.Isn't that a bit of a contradiction in terms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozen_Heart Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 A working version may not function at all.Yes we know. I said in my previous post I'm sceptical of the whole concept.We can still discuss the possibility of it working and what could be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zekes Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I did a research paper about this, and i still have no idea how it works. The closest I can get to understanding it is the light is emitted and directed out, creating solar thrust (like solar sails do). Since light can be "created" unlike a particle, it can be used as propellant that can be replenished infinitely (as long as you have electricity). I hope this gets off the ground - we can go to distant worlds on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotius Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Even if such engine can be scaled up only so far, we can always use a cluster of smaller engines. Main limiter is the power source. For probes solar panels should be enough, especially in inner system. An RTG could be used to power a probe going to outer planets. For bigger (manned) ships a small fission reactor would be a much desired option - maybe it will finally give NASA a push to develop and build one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kibble Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I did a research paper about this, and i still have no idea how it works. The closest I can get to understanding it is the light is emitted and directed out, creating solar thrust (like solar sails do). Since light can be "created" unlike a particle, it can be used as propellant that can be replenished infinitely (as long as you have electricity). I hope this gets off the ground - we can go to distant worlds on this.Thats a photon drive, which is a real thing. The reason we don't use them is the microscopically, cripplingly, insignificant thrust - its like 1 N for 300 MW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newt Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Yes we know. I said in my previous post I'm sceptical of the whole concept.We can still discuss the possibility of it working and what could be done with it.Okay, I can go with that.If you just want some pressure of some sort, you could just stick an RTG on the probe, and get thrust in the same way that the Voyagers were pushed gently off course. That might get a comparable thrust.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lajoswinkler Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Thats a photon drive, which is a real thing. The reason we don't use them is the microscopically, cripplingly, insignificant thrust - its like 1 N for 300 MW.That much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basic.syntax Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 For deflecting asteroids from Earth collision, *if detected early enough* - The Planetary Society proposes laser satellites. Vaporization at target points would cause outgassing, microscopically nudging the asteroid over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptRichardson Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 According to the article they're expecting to get more thrust/power than with ion engines if this turns out to work. I do hope so, as it would really revolutionize spaceflight, but it sounds like it's too good to be true.Earlier, it sounded too good to be true. Now, it sounds like we need to throw funding at them so that they can squeeze whatever quantum crazy fairy is doing this until they learn the dark magic secrets of this arcane SCIENCE! Seriously, it's reproducable, it works in vacuum, and they already are producing as much if not more thrust than ion engines if I'm reading this correctly (production model expected to have .4 newtons at 40 kilowatts, this model has .1; the expected production model will have 7 times the thrust of Ion Engines...)- - - Updated - - -It's not a photon drive. They ruled that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozen_Heart Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Has anyone even figured out how they work? I'd assumed that they were photon drives but evidently not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptRichardson Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Has anyone even figured out how they work? I'd assumed that they were photon drives but evidently not...Uh, no... they're kind of throwing darts at the wall to see what sticks, but there aren't any firm ideas. The front-runner is producing virtual particles to thrust off of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnemoe Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Uh, no... they're kind of throwing darts at the wall to see what sticks, but there aren't any firm ideas. The front-runner is producing virtual particles to thrust off of.Yes, they give far to much trust for photon drives, the original theory they was testing was faulty but it looks like they still get trust, this makes it very interesting as we have no knowledge of how it work or that the limits is. An good chance that finding that out would have major spin off effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptRichardson Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Yes, they give far to much trust for photon drives, the original theory they was testing was faulty but it looks like they still get trust, this makes it very interesting as we have no knowledge of how it work or that the limits is. An good chance that finding that out would have major spin off effects.STAND BACK! We're going to perform SCIENCE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozen_Heart Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I'm pretty sure that we'll find that is does comply with known science.If not then the laws of physics will be due a new edition... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technical Ben Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 STAND BACK! We're going to perform SCIENCE!If only someone had done some science first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgt_flyer Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Has anyone even figured out how they work? I'd assumed that they were photon drives but evidently not...Their current belief is that the thruster 'pushes' against a 'quantum' particle plasma - those quantum particles getting in and out of existence, a closed object would still be able to produce thrust (the particle ceasing to exist before hitting anything else in the engine which could result in a reverse reaction - now, to get proof of that and prove those theories, that's another problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Phil Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Their current belief is that the thruster 'pushes' against a 'quantum' particle plasma - those quantum particles getting in and out of existence, a closed object would still be able to produce thrust (the particle ceasing to exist before hitting anything else in the engine which could result in a reverse reaction - now, to get proof of that and prove those theories, that's another problem Thought that was a Q thruster.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnemoe Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) STAND BACK! We're going to perform SCIENCE!For some reasons I think about the Chicago pile reactor, An setting where you want to stand well back as in km.However they understood the basic physic, not just all the details, another famous experiment was a block of plutonium with a hole in the center, now drop a rod of plutonium trough the hole, if you got an massive radiation spike you have critical mass, if not add more sections to the rod. Edited February 8, 2015 by magnemoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78stonewobble Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Their current belief is that the thruster 'pushes' against a 'quantum' particle plasma - those quantum particles getting in and out of existence, a closed object would still be able to produce thrust (the particle ceasing to exist before hitting anything else in the engine which could result in a reverse reaction - now, to get proof of that and prove those theories, that's another problem Or possibly "real" particles that get in the way as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgey Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 If only someone had done some science first. What do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew123 Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) Time to inject some sci fi.The halo lore states that forerunners use 'virtual particle' engines for propulsion. Reaction drives were a form of spacecraft propulsion used by the Forerunners. Little is known about them other than the fact that they use vacuum energy to expel virtual neutrons from the ship. During their momentary existence, the virtual particles give the ship propulsion, then disappear.[1] They do require a form of on-board fuel and reaction mass to operate, however.[2]Unlike the forerunner of halo, we might not even need a reaction mass (possibly only interstellar matter, or nothing at all).It's funny how much sci fi can accidentally predict future advancements. Edited February 8, 2015 by andrew123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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