Supposed reactionless drive

From: hal@finney.org
Date: Thu Dec 07 2000 - 12:57:46 MST


Slashdot has an article at
http://slashdot.org/articles/00/12/07/0435211.shtml pointing to this
New Scientist article http://www.newscientist.com/nlf/1209/wing.html
about a supposed reactionless drive. It seems that when you turn on a
superconducting magnet, and there is some metal in the magnetic field,
the magnet shakes with a "jolt".

   Goodwin says the metal objects create the judder effect by inducing
   a "brief asymmetry in the magnetic field" as it is set up when the
   magnet is turned on. This initial disturbance of the magnetic field,
   he says, creates a repulsive force on the magnet and pushes it away.

Isn't it obvious that this is just action and reaction? Whatever force
the magnet fields, the metal which induces the force will feel an equal
reaction.

Somehow they think this means they can have a reactionless drive.
It doesn't make any sense to me.

Shades of the Lorrey drive....

Hal



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