3 ms·

> "Genergo’s system generates thrust without using any propellant and without expelling reaction mass, by directly converting electrical energy into thrust thr

> "Genergo’s system generates thrust without using any propellant and without expelling reaction mass, by directly converting electrical energy into thrust through controlled electromagnetic impulses." Anyone have a clue how this might work?

buildbot 11mo ago
Generating matter somehow via E/c^2=m? (I don't think you can do this but I'm not a physicist...)
- philipkglass 11mo ago
  Known physics permits creating matter from energy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_production https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_production If you have a source of energy on the spacecraft, like a solar panel, you could theoretically convert some of that energy to particle pairs with mass. But this is such an inefficient process (and so inherently low-mass with any practical energy source) that I doubt the claimed thruster could work this way.
  - buildbot 11mo ago
    100% this would never be practical, more wondering if that technically, it’s possible. Which it seems to be, thanks for the reference!
- jfengel 11mo ago
  You don't need to go that far. Light has momentum, and you can use that directly. It has the maximum possible specific impulse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon_rocket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon_rocket However, it requires a lot of energy and we are nowhere near a practical model. It's also not "propellant-less"; the photons are the propellant.
  - BurningFrog 11mo ago
    The practical point of being "propellant-less" is that you don't use up some finite supply of propellant. If the "propellant" is electricity that our solar panels can generate, that's functionally propellant-less!
verzali 11mo ago
Maybe its possible to generate motion using the Earth's magnetic field under the right circumstances, though I'm not sure if that's really feasible. Or they might be able to create a very small thrust by emitting photons, but that must be very very small if its actually the case.
- api 11mo ago
  AFAIK that would require very powerful superconducting magnets or long tethers. This seems to be neither.

buildbot 11mo ago

Generating matter somehow via E/c^2=m? (I don't think you can do this but I'm not a physicist...)

philipkglass 11mo ago
Known physics permits creating matter from energy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_production https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_production If you have a source of energy on the spacecraft, like a solar panel, you could theoretically convert some of that energy to particle pairs with mass. But this is such an inefficient process (and so inherently low-mass with any practical energy source) that I doubt the claimed thruster could work this way.
- buildbot 11mo ago
  100% this would never be practical, more wondering if that technically, it’s possible. Which it seems to be, thanks for the reference!
jfengel 11mo ago
You don't need to go that far. Light has momentum, and you can use that directly. It has the maximum possible specific impulse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon_rocket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon_rocket However, it requires a lot of energy and we are nowhere near a practical model. It's also not "propellant-less"; the photons are the propellant.
- BurningFrog 11mo ago
  The practical point of being "propellant-less" is that you don't use up some finite supply of propellant. If the "propellant" is electricity that our solar panels can generate, that's functionally propellant-less!

verzali 11mo ago

Maybe its possible to generate motion using the Earth's magnetic field under the right circumstances, though I'm not sure if that's really feasible. Or they might be able to create a very small thrust by emitting photons, but that must be very very small if its actually the case.

api 11mo ago
AFAIK that would require very powerful superconducting magnets or long tethers. This seems to be neither.