Cal State Fullerton Professor Developing Radical New Space Propulsion System

Hello reader!

It follows a note published on the day (11/24) in the website “Parabolic Arc” noting that Cal State Fullerton Professor developing radical new Space Propulsion System.

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Cal State Fullerton Professor Developing

Radical New Space Propulsion System

By Douglas Messier

November 24, 2014, at 1:35 pm

How thrust is hypothesized to be produced by the

Woodward effect. The C represents a capacitor element,

L represents an inductor element.

Over at Boing Boing, Charles Platt has a story about a new space propulsion system being developed at California State University at Fullerton:

Ever since H. G. Wells imagined a gravity-shielding material in “The First Men in the Moon,” space enthusiasts have fantasized about ways to achieve thrust without any need for reaction mass. Unfortunately, it seems impossible.

Or is it?

Personally, I’m not so willing to use the word “impossible” anymore. In October of this year, at the laboratory of Dr. James Woodward in California State University at Fullerton, I watched a very small-scale experiment that was surprisingly persuasive.

Unlike all the “free energy” scams that you see online, Woodward’s device does not violate basic physical laws (it does not produce more energy than it consumes, and does not violate Newton’s third law). Nor is Woodward withholding any information about his methods. He has written a book, published by Springer, that explains in relentless detail exactly how his equipment works–assuming that it does, indeed, work. He published his theory in Foundations of Physics Letters, vol. 3, no. 5, 1990, and he even managed to get a US patent — number 5,280,864, issued January 25, 1994.

I first heard about him in 1997, when I interviewed him for Wired magazine. His results were tentative, then, and he was cautious about making claims. “I have biweekly paranoia attacks,” he told me, “and then I try something else to see if I can make this effect go away.”

Almost twenty years later, the situation has changed. Dr. Heidi Fearn, a theoretical physicist who specializes in quantum optics at Fullerton, has done the math that she believes can justify Woodward’s experimental evidence. Wikipedia now has a substantial entry about the Woodward Effect. The Space Studies Institute is championing the cause, inviting tax-deductible donations*.

If a small amount of thrust really can be created using a power input but no reaction mass, the principle could be applied to correct orbital variations in satellites. If the effect turned out to be scalable, it would be a major game-changer for human spaceflight. Of course, this is a big “if”; but I think Woodward’s idea shows more promise than any other alternate systems of propulsion. It would be infinitely more attractive than rocket motors.

The concept is based on the possibility of changing the mass of an object. Changing mass? How can that make sense? The answer is linked with the general theory of relativity.

* As mentioned in the story, SSI is accepting tax-deductible donations that will go to support this work. Please give generously if you are able.

Source: Website Parabolic Arc - http://www.parabolicarc.com/

Comentário: Pois é leitor, trago aqui esta notícia, pois pode ser do interesse dos grupos que trabalham com propulsão espacial no Brasil. Note aqui caro amigo leitor o que diferencia uma sociedade que gera pessoas inovadoras como o Dr. James Woodward (a maioria o chamaria de louco, mas Julio Verne também foi chamado de louco em sua época e hoje é visto como um visionário) e uma sociedade que tem o potencial inovador de seus pesquisadores prejudicados por debiloides irresponsáveis motivados por estupidez generalizada e por outros motivos não tão nobres. Como se pode notar nesta notícia, no momento mesmo vivendo numa sociedade bem diferente da sofrível Sociedade Brasileira, o Dr. James Woodward não obteve ainda do governo americano o apoio necessário, mas se conseguir convencer a comunidade científica de seu país da viabilidade do seu novo sistema de propulsão espacial, certamente será uma questão de tempo para obter o apoio da NASA ou do próprio governo de seu país. Vale ressaltar aqui também o fato do Space Studies Institute (organização sem fins lucrativos fundada em 1977 pelo falecido Prof. Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill da Universidade Princeton ) capitanear uma campanha de doação dedutível de taxa para arrecadar recursos para este projeto junto à Sociedade Americana. Honestamente alguém de sã consciência entre nossos leitores consegue imaginar algo assim dando certo no Brasil? Como exemplo temos a nossa campanha de manutenção do BLOG que até hoje, quase dois anos depois de lançada, ainda nem sequer atingiu a metade do que precisamos para o sonhado Portal Espacial. É como eu digo, sem compromisso não se constrói nada na vida. A Sociedade Americana já descobriu isto ha muito tempo, já a Brasileira só quer ser beneficiada, e o resultado é o país de merda que temos e continuaremos tendo por muito tempo.