Here’s a very interesting development that has been brought up here on the Always Open thread, and also discussed on vortex-l. An article on Wired Uk by David Hambling reports how a US scientist named Guido Fetta has built a microwave thruster which works without any propellant and has had a NASA team conduct extensive testing on a system based on his work.
The NASA team just presented their test results at 50th Joint Propulsion Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, and have verified the claims of Guido Fetta. The results have been published in a paper titled “Anomalous Thrust Production from an RF Test Device Measured on a Low-Thrust Torsion Pendulum”. The conclusion of the abstract states:
“Test results indicate that the RF resonant cavity thruster design, which is unique as an electric propulsion device, is producing a force that is not attributable to any classical electromagnetic phenomenon and therefore is potentially demonstrating an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma. Future test plans include independent verification and validation at other test facilities.”
Guido Fetta’s research is based on the work of British Scientist Roger Shawyer who developed an invention he calls the EmDrive which he claims produces thrust “by the amplification of the radiation pressure of an electromagnetic wave propagated through a resonant waveguide assembly.”
While this technology doesn’t seem to be directly related to LENR, it’s always interesting to see breakthroughs of this nature. It would seem that this new form of propulsion would be of great interest to NASA and other organizations working in the field of space exploration. A purely microwave thruster would allow spacecraft to be powered directly from solar panels, eliminating the need for any on-board fuel supply, making possible cheaper craft that can travel much farther than is now possible.
UPDATE: Here’s a link to the full report published by the NASA team: http://www.libertariannews.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AnomalousThrustProductionFromanRFTestDevice-BradyEtAl.pdf