In a comprehensive new test, the EmDrive fails to generate any thrust

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Grumalg
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 5:11 pm

In a comprehensive new test, the EmDrive fails to generate any thrust

Post by Grumalg »

Seems thermal errors led to a false indication of thrust...
https://phys.org/news/2021-04-comprehen ... drive.html

.....
The results of the Eagleworks experiment were not very strong. While the team claimed to measure a thrust, it wasn't statistically significant, and appeared to be a result of "cherry-picking"—the authors watching random fluctuations and waiting for the right time to report their results.

But in the spirit of scientific replication, a team at the Dresden University of Technology led by Prof. Martin Tajmar rebuilt the Eagleworks experimental setup.

And they found squat.

Reporting their results in the Proceedings of Space Propulsion Conference 2020, Prof. Tajmar said, "We found out that the cause of the 'thrust' was a thermal effect. For our tests, we used NASAs EmDrive configuration from White et al. (which was used at the Eagleworks laboratories, because it is best documented and the results were published in the Journal of Propulsion and Power.)

With the aid of a new measuring scale structure and different suspension points of the same engine, we were able to reproduce apparent thrust forces similar to those measured by the NASA team, but also to make them disappear by means of a point suspension."

In essence, the Eagleworks EmDrive apparent thrust came from a heating of the scale they used to measure the thrust, not from any movement of the drive itself.

"When power flows into the EmDrive, the engine warms up. This also causes the fastening elements on the scale to warp, causing the scale to move to a new zero point. We were able to prevent that in an improved structure," Prof. Tajmar continued.

His conclusion puts the final nail in the coffin for EmDrive dreams: "Our measurements refute all EmDrive claims by at least three orders of magnitude."

Giorgio
Posts: 3061
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:15 pm
Location: China, Italy

Re: In a comprehensive new test, the EmDrive fails to generate any thrust

Post by Giorgio »

There was already plenty of hints in the past that was shaking the base of EmDrive theory.
Still is always nice to appreciate the ability of Tajmar of digging into the tiny details of these experimental setups to actually identify from where the measured forces are really coming from. He did (yet again) a great job.
A society of dogmas is a dead society.

Skipjack
Posts: 6805
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:29 pm

Re: In a comprehensive new test, the EmDrive fails to generate any thrust

Post by Skipjack »

Yeah, except for Shawyer himself, pretty much everyone else has given up on this now, I think.
Would have been great, but yes, the writing was on the wall.

Giorgio
Posts: 3061
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:15 pm
Location: China, Italy

Re: In a comprehensive new test, the EmDrive fails to generate any thrust

Post by Giorgio »

Their website link in my bookmark file was modified from "SPR Ltd." to "BLP 2" since 2008 :mrgreen:
A society of dogmas is a dead society.

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