On 4 August 2014 16:54, Peter Fairbrother <zenadsl6186@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Suppose, as has been claimed, the drive is somehow exchanging momentum
with the entire universe. The momentum of the universe may have a (?local)
velocity - which would be mathematically equivalent to a preferred frame of
reference.
If so, there need be no violation of either of the conservation laws.
Even that wouldn't be of any practical use for propulsion.
There's basically zero chance that you would moving close the preferred
frame of reference's speed. And if you're not.. .big trouble in little
china.
Let's take, for example, the NASA tests. I haven't had time to read the
paper in depth (thank you Clive), but at a skim, it appears that they are
claiming a thrust to power ratio of 2 uN/W. The required upward velocity to
violate energy conservation is 500 km/s. That's infeasible for engineering
reasons... but it's not relativistic by any stretch of the imagination.
-p