A Proposal for a Novel Space-Propulsion System
By Dr. Azriel Lorber
I. Introduction
Currently, spacecraft designed for long range missions are lifted into orbit, accelerated to the desired speed by chemical rockets and then "coast" to their destination. Since the fuel for such journeys must also be lifted into orbit and then accelerated, the maximum velocity of such spacecraft is limited, resulting in extremely long-duration voyages. A one-way trip to Mars for example, will take several months and such time-tables will cause enormous difficulties for manned expeditions.
Nuclear-powered rockets which work by heating and ejecting stored Hydrogen and various electric thrusters were investigated too. Although more efficient than chemical rockets, none matured to a working system.
A novel propulsion system, which will not depend on mass discharge, and which will enable very long duration acceleration of useful magnitude was developed and tested.
II. Previous Work
There are hundreds of patents, patent applications and other proposals for non-rocket propulsion devices, but all suffer from two deficiencies: Firstly, they are based on overly complicated arrays of gears, pulleys, springs and cables, which probably make them difficult to construct and unreliable to operate.
Secondly, up to now, none of these present or depict actual working models. In view of the potential of such a development, it is surprising that none were pursued further, at least to the proof-of-concept level.
Part of the reason for this is the resistance of part of the scientific community, possibly troubled by the novelty or possible repercussions of such a technology. It is often claimed, wrongly it may be added, that such concepts violate certain laws of physics and some non-technical issues were also raised. It is possible that this attitude dissuades researchers from further work on such concepts.
Despite such objections, a working model of such a system was designed and successfully tested. This paper describes the device's construction and operation.
III. System's Design
The current proposal is based on creating a controllable unbalanced centrifugal force, generated by lead masses, rotating inside a circular wall with varying radii. The magnitude of the forces generated by this movement will depend on the angular position of the masses. (See Figure 1).
F - Centrifugal force, exerted by moving mass m on the wall
F1 - Centrifugal force F in sector A - B
F2 - Centrifugal force F in sector C - D
M - Lead masses mounted on arms, which can freely slide in and out
N - Number of turns of the system per second
R1 - Longer radius, sector A - B
R2 - Shorter radius, sector C - D
V - Linear velocity of the masses along the wall
ω - Angular velocity of rotating masses
This system is based on the following equations:
Centrifugal force equation: F = mv2/R (1)
and V = 2nΠR (2)
resulting in F = m4n2Π2R (3)
and so F1 = m4Π2n2R1 (4)
and F2 = m4Π2n2R2 (5)
Figure 1: A Schematic of a Twin-Armed System (See Also Figure 2.)
Figure 2: Layout of the Test Model with Two Masses. (It was planned to use all six arms but the motors were not up to the task.) The double contrarotating system serves to cancel the rotational moments of the motors.
IV. The Platform's Thrust Generation
The lead masses (m) are mounted at the ends of telescoping (but free to slide in and out) arms. When these masses move along the wall, they exert a continuous centrifugal force (F) on it, and specifically forces F1 and F2, between sectors A-B and C-D, respectively. The magnitude of these forces (F1 and F2) is determined by the weight of the masses and their linear velocity (V) along the wall. V in turn is determined by the angular velocity (ω) of the masses and the lengths R1 and R2, and because R1 is bigger than R2, F1 will always be bigger than F2.
This manipulation of the centrifugal forces along the wall, (or rather their "North" and "South" pointing components), generates the unidirectional, controllable force (thrust) which moves the platform.
V. Test Results
The movement tests were carried out with one operating arm (with a mass at its end) or with two diametrically opposed ones, as depicted in Figures 1 and 2. As can be seen in the 3rd movie the increase in the number of operating arms smoothed out the movement of the platform. The maximum "North" and "South" pointing components of F1 and F2 (see Figure 1) that the masses m exerted on the wall, were measured and the results are presented in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Maximum Measured F1 and F2 Vs. RPM
VI. Discussion
1. The forces generated in the system depend on the angular velocity of the masses. Increasing this velocity to the likes of internal combustion engines, and using more arms to "fill the gaps", so to speak, will increase the generated forces by orders of magnitude, even in a similarly sized model.
2. Power for the system can be provided by batteries, RTGs (Radio-Isotope Thermal Generators), fuel cells, or for "big" missions, by nuclear reactors.
3. As pointed above, the novelty of the concept, and its application to space travel, raised numerous objections. Several of these, and their refutation, are listed below.
A. The proposed system violates the Law of Conservation of Momentum.
Since the platform does move (see the movies) this argument is invalid from the start.
The explanation however is as follows: the momentum of the moving platform is not generated out of thin air, as that claim implies. It is created by the conversion of the centrifugal force (of the rotating masses which are powered by electrical motors) into a controllable linear force, which in turn moves the platform and hence its momentum.
B. The platform's motion will be impossible without ground friction.
This argument is based on a comparison of this system's movement to a car's movement, which indeed does need friction with the road. See figure 4. However, Newton's 2nd Law states that a force will always cause acceleration, and this is true in space too. Since a force is generated, invoking ground friction is a mistake.
Figure 4. Car's Wheel Movement (Left) Vs. Current System (Right)
C. Movement in free space is attained as reaction to ejected mass (Newton's 3rd Law) which is absent here.
True, but there is no law that says that mass ejection is a prerequisite for movement. The current system generates forces, and movement, by another mechanism, which has nothing to do with Newton's 3rd law.
VII. Conclusions
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There is a widely accepted belief that a purely mechanical system (without mass ejection) will just wobble in place, without actually advancing. The results of the above-described tests, as seen in the movies, and explained in sections IV and VI, prove the fallacy of that contention.
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The current work is intended to serve only as a proof of concept so no optimization of various performance parameters was performed. But the tests do prove that a Reaction-Less-Space-Drive is feasible, and will enable long-duration acceleration, leading to high velocities.
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Because of its simplicity, this system will be amenable to easy up or down-scaling, depending on mission.
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Next step should be the construction of a model able to withstand higher ω, in order to optimize various performance parameters.
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In view of the potential effect of this technology on future space operations, the necessary investment in such work is justified.
VIII. Movie Clips of Tests
