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Feb
5
Written by:
admin
2/5/2010 7:35 AM
Later this month (February 23-25), Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory will host the Space, Propulsion, and Energy Sciences International Forum (SPESIF). During the three days of this conference, there will be a sizeable number of presentations of interest for Getting There From Here. The range of these talks is broad, from the near-term scale of technologies for improved thermodynamic materials for use in space exploration, to more economical means of reaching orbit, to theoretical means of travelling and communicating faster than the speed of light. In this series, we examine some of the abstracts of talks that will be presented at this conference.
Gravity - So far, the greatest obstacle to humans leaving the Earth has been the Earth itself, or rather the Earth's gravity. The following abstracts discuss alternative theories of gravity, and theoretical means of manipulating gravity to allow us to more easily leave the planet's surface and become a truly spacefaring civilization.
Emerging physics for novel field propulsion science
All space vehicles in use today need some kind of fuel for operation. The basic physics underlying this propulsion principle severely limits the specific impulse and/or available thrust. Launch capabilities from the surface of the Earth require huge amounts of fuel. Hence, space flight, as envisaged by von Braun in the early 50s of the last century, will not be possible using this concept. Only if novel physical principles are found can these limits be overcome. Gravitational field propulsion is based on the generation of gravitational (gravity-like) fields by manmade devices. In other words, gravity-like fields should be experimentally controllable. Present physics believes that there are four fundamental interactions: strong (nuclei), weak (radioactive decay), electromagnetism and Newtonian gravitation. As experience has shown for the last six decades, none of these physical interactions is suitable as a basis for novel space propulsion. None of the advanced physical theories like string theory or quantum gravity, go beyond these four known interactions. On the contrary, recent results from causal dynamical triangulation simulations indicate that wormholes in spacetime do not seem to exist, and thus even this type of exotic space travel may well be impossible. Recently, novel physical concepts were published that might lead to advanced space propulsion technology, represented by two additional long range gravitational-like force fields that would be both attractive and repulsive, resulting from interaction of gravity with electromagnetism. A propulsion technology, based on these novel long range fields, would be working without propellant.
If we could create gravity-like fields, we could theoretically counteract the gravity that is holding us firmly to the Earth and more easily get into space. In this presentation, Jochem Hauser of Ostfalia University of Applied sciences and Walter Dröscher of the Institut fur Grenzgebiete der Wissenschaft discuss their theory that there are actually six fundamental forces in the universe, with three different gravitational fields, and what it might mean for gravity-based propulsion methods.
Dynamic Weighing Experiments - the Way to New Physics of Gravitation
Dynamic weighing is a measuring of size of the average gravity force acting on a test body which is in the state of accelerated movement. The acceleration of a body, or its microparticles, can be caused both by forces of gravitation, and by a direct, electromagnetic in nature, influence on the part of other bodies. It is just dynamic weighing of bodies which is informative in studying the features of electromagnetic and gravitational forces interaction. The report gives a brief review of results of experiments with weighing of accelerated moving bodies – in case of shock phenomena, in state of rotation, and in heating. Special attention is given to measurements of free fall accelerations of a mechanical rotor. In majority of the laboratory experiments executed with the purpose of checking the equivalence principle, the axis of a rotor was oriented verticallly. In our experiment we measured the free fall accelerations of the closed container inside which a mechanical rotor (gyroscope) with a horizontal axis of rotation was installed. There was observed an appreciable, essentially exceeding errors of measurements increase of acceleration of free falling of the container at angular speed of rotation of a rotor up to 20 000 rev/min. The physical conditions of free vertical falling of a body essentially differ from conditions of rotary (orbital) movement of a body in the field of gravity and the result obtained by us does not contradict the results of measurements of a gyroscope precession on satellites. Experiments with dynamic weighing of bodies give useful information on complex properties of the gravity force which are beyond the scope of well-known theories. Their careful analysis will allow to expand and supplement the concepts based on the general theory of relativity, and probably to open a way to new physics of gravitation and to new principles of movement.
Based on experiments with spinning gyroscopes in a test chamber, A.L. Dmitriev, E.M. Nikuschchenko, and S.A. Bulgakova of the St. Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics propose the use of gyroscopes for the manipulation of gravity. They are not the first to make such claims, but most such experiments have been disproven in attempts to independently repeat them. In this case, the abstract does not make clear whether the "closed chamber" is a vacuum chamber; if not, the increased downward acceleration could have been the result of a vortex created within the gas of the chamber. Still, this research bears scrutiny for its potential to allow easier escape from the Earth's gravity well.
Fiber-Optic-Gyroscope Measurements Close to Rotating Liquid Helium
We previously reported anomalous fiber-optic gyroscope signals observed above spinning rings at temperatures close to liquid helium. Our results suggested that the liquid helium itself may be the source of our observed phenomenon. We constructed a new cryostat experiment that allows rotating a large quantity of liquid helium together with a superconducting niobium tube. The facility is built in such a way that our gyroscope can be placed directly in the center of rotation along the axis; however, the cryostat is built around the gyroscope to allow measuring without interference of helium liquid or gas. This paper summarizes the measurements from this new setup.
This abstract makes no claims about gravity, but it's "spinning ring of liquid helium" is sufficiently similar to spinning gyroscope models for manipulating gravity that we are including it here. In previous experiments conducted by the authors—M. Tajmar and F. Plesescu of the Department of Space Propulsion and Advanced Concepts at the Austrian Institute of Technology—observed anomalous gyroscopic signals above spinning rings cooled with liquid helium. Further analysis suggested that the source of the anomalies might be the liquid helium itself, and at SPESIF they will summarize the results from a follow-up experiment.
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