Friday, May 1, 2015

Chinese, NASA teams say physics-defying, solar-powered 63 million MPH space engine works!

NASA just announced a new test of an engine based on an invention by British scientist Roger Sawyer. One account says a spaceship powered by the solar-powered microwave engine would top out at 9.4% of the speed of light on a trip to nearby Alpha Centari (which, interestingly, has not one but two aliases),
     BTW, 9.4% of the speed of light is, by AKSARBENT's rough calculations, 63 million MPH — wonderful news if you, like Sammy Hagar, just can't drive 55.
Sawyer's engine
     Such a jaunt would take 92 years, by which time you would probably look even older than the admittedly well-preserved Harrison Ford, even allowing for the youth-preserving effects of going really fast.
     Deceleration performance is absolutely terrible, although you probably wouldn't want grabby brakes when traveling 17,000+ miles per second: Add another 38 years if your astronaut descendents want to stop to admire the view.
     Full disclosure: some scientists are still quite skeptical.

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