Vacuum thruster concepts
Vacuum thruster concepts are concepts of
spacecraft propulsion where momentum of spacecraft is changed by an interaction
of the spacecraft thruster with particles of vacuum. A convenient way to
control vacuum particles is an electromagnetic field, with the help of which
charged vacuum particles change direction of their motion in desired direction
and then transfer their momentum to the thruster. The vacuum thruster is
considered as a promising thruster for spaceships. This is due to the fact that
mass density of outer space is extremely low and does not allow propulsion to
be realized by pushing off external media as is case with car wheels, airplane
and helicopter propellers, and river and sea vessel propellers. Disadvantage of
another, jet propulsion is the need for constant replenishment of fuel, the
action of which creates jet thrust. In contrast, vacuum thruster does not
require support from any external dense environment and does not require fuel
to create jet thrust by ejecting matter. There are some concepts of vacuum
thruster which used for EmDrive
and Leonov quantum thruster. [1]
Contents
1 EmDrive
2 Quantum thruster
3 Electrogravitational vacuum
4 References
5 External
links
6 See also
EmDrive
First version of EmDrive thruster was developed
by British engineer Roger Shawyer in 1999, and second version of the thruster
was described in 2015. [2] The thruster is a cone-shaped microwave
resonator into which electromagnetic radiation from a magnetron is fed.
According to the author's assumption, thrust occurs because electromagnetic
radiation in the direction of the cone axis somehow creates a greater pressure
force on one side of the resonator than on the opposite side.
There are various modifications of EmDrive,
developed in different countries. Thus, in 2006, Guido Fetta presented Cannae
Drive in USA, [3] and in China, two groups of researchers led by
Yang [4] and Yue Chen [5] developed their own models.
Status of proposed EmDrive variants remains
controversial, as laboratory tests indicate no significant thrust, [6]
and results of claimed space tests have not been published. Based on standard
classical physics, EmDrive engine should not work, as it would violate the law
of conservation of momentum. [7]
Quantum thruster
Quantum thruster developed by a group of
researchers led by V.S. Leonov is similar in shape to the EmDrive and is a cone
truncated on both sides. Unlike the EmDrive, which uses a pulse magnetron and
produces standing electromagnetic waves with a complex distribution of electric
and magnetic fields, in quantum thruster electric and magnetic fields in
working chamber are generated by separate devices and are directed
perpendicular to each other. [8]
Presented quantum thruster operates in a pulse
mode, creating a specific thrust force of about 115 N/kW, which is two orders
of magnitude more efficient than liquid jet engines. The thruster creates a
thrust impulse without ejecting reactive mass, without using chemical fuel, and
is powered by electrical energy, eliminating electroreactive effect. Thrust
vector of the thruster can change in space in any direction.
In order to substantiate operating principle of
the quantum thruster, its authors consider space vacuum as a quantized
structure of quantons, from which one can push off using crossed electric and
magnetic fields in working chamber of thruster. It is assumed that due to
quantons, there is a super-strong electromagnetic interaction in vacuum, with
which electric and magnetic fields of the thruster can interact.
Electrogravitational
vacuum
Electrogravitational
vacuum model is a consequence of infinite
divisibility of matter and Infinite
hierarchical nesting of matter theory, and one of vacuum models, in which
vacuum contains numerous charged and uncharged particles with low mass and
charge. Some of these particles have speeds up to the speed of light and have
high energy and penetrating power. [9] Under these assumptions, the
model allows to derive Newton's law for gravity and Coulomb's law for the
interaction of electric charges, as well as to express gravitational constant G and electric
constant ε0 in terms of vacuum energy density and
cross-section of interaction of vacuum particles with substance. [10] [11]
Properties of vacuum particles are such that when they pass through an excited
atom, electromagnetic field of the atom can form a photon from these particles
as a long-term stable formation. [12]
Fig.1. Spacecraft thruster using energy of
electrogravitational vacuum. The figure shows a section of working chamber in
the form of a truncated cone. Quantity d
is thickness of the cone walls, angle β denotes
the cone opening angle, electric field E is directed along the OZ axis, magnetic field
B
is directed against the OX axis, thrust force F accelerates thruster
along the OY axis of coordinate system. Dashed line shows trajectory of a
positively charged vacuum particle, s
specifies length of the particle's path in the cone wall.
Model of electrogravitational vacuum makes it
possible to describe operating principle of quantum thruster, which uses pulsed
crossed electric and magnetic fields. [13] Let charged vacuum
particles move along the OY axis, which is the axis of truncated cone according
to Fig.1. If positively charged vacuum particles move from right to left
against the OY axis, electric field E will deflect these particles upward along the
OZ axis, and magnetic field B due to Lorentz force will deflect the
particles downward against the OZ axis. Ratio of amplitudes of fields E
and B can be chosen in such a way that total
electromagnetic force becomes equal to zero. In this case, the particles will
fly through the cone along the axis without interacting with the cone's matter.
The same will happen for negatively charged particles, which move from right to
left against the OY axis.
For vacuum particles moving from left to right
along the OY axis, situation will be different. Under action of fields,
trajectory of a positively charged particle, shown by dashed line in Fig.1, is
deflected upward toward the OZ axis so that the particle is able to pass
through substance of the cone wall. By choosing the cone opening angle β
and field amplitude, it is possible to ensure that the particle travels
the greatest distance s in substance,
which increases probability of particle interacting with electric charges in
substance of cone wall. For a negatively charged particle moving from left to
right along the OY axis, the trajectory will be deflected downward, against the
OZ axis. Thus, positively and negatively charged vacuum particles moving from
left to right along the OY axis can interact with charges in cone walls and
transfer their momentum to them. This leads to thrust force F of
the engine, directed along the OY axis.
Due to high frequency of electric and magnetic
field pulses, charging and recharging processes in upper and lower parts of
cone may not have time to achieve complete local electroneutrality. This leads
to a certain distribution of charge density in the substance. Calculations
based on parameters of vacuum particles, for case of their interaction with one
elementary charge in substance, predict a minimum thrust force equal to 724 N.
This value should be doubled to 1448 N, since when an electron is transferred
from lower part of cone to upper part of the cone, a positive charge appears in
lower part of the cone, with which vacuum particles can also interact. For
comparison, in quantum thruster, minimum thrust force, averaged over several
measurements, turned out to be equal to 1390 N. [8]
References
1.Patent RU2185526C1. Method of creating thrust
in vacuum and field engine for spacecraft. / Леонов В.С.; 2002-07-20;
Патент РФ №2185526. Способ создания тяги в
вакууме и полевой двигатель для космического корабля (варианты) / Леонов В.С.;
опубл. 20.07.2002, Бюл. № 20.
2.Shawyer R.J. Second generation EmDrive
propulsion applied to SSTO launcher and interstellar probe. Acta Astronautica, Vol. 116, pp. 166-174 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2015.07.002.
3.Fetta, Guido P. (30 August 2014). Numerical and
Experimental Results for a Novel Propulsion Technology Requiring no On-Board
Propellant. 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. https://dx.doi.org/10.2514/6.2014-3853.
4.Yang J., Wang Y.-Q., Ma Y-J., Li P.-F., Yang
L., Wang Y., and He G.-Q. Prediction and Experimental Measurement of the
Electromagnetic Thrust Generated by Microwave Thruster System. Chinese Physics
B, Vol. 22, Issue 5, article id. 050301 (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1674-1056/22/5/050301.
5.Chen Yue, Peng Weifeng,
Bai Guangming, Cai Yaxing,
Liu Yang, Yin Jiacong and Zhang Zhen.
"Electromagnetic thruster cavity based on periodic structure", CN
application 105781921A, published 2016-07-20, assigned to China Academy of
Space Technology. https://patents.google.com/patent/CN105781921A/en.
6.Tajmar M., Neunzig O.
and Weiker M. High-Accuracy Thrust Measurements of the EMDrive
and Elimination of False-Positive Effects. CEAS Space Journal, Vol. 14, pp.
31-44 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-021-00385-1.
7.C.-W. Wu. Comments on theoretical foundation of
“EM Drive” // Acta Astronautica. Vol. 144, pp.
214-215 (2018). https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.actaastro.2018.01.006.
8.0 8.1 Leonov V.S., Baklanov O.D., Sautin M.V., Kostin G.V., Kubasov A.A., Altunin S.Y., Kulakovsky O.M. Non-rocket non-reactive quantum engine:
idea, technology, results, prospects. Aerospace Sphere Journal, No 1 (98). pp.
68-75 (2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.30981/2587-7992-2019-98-1-68-75,
in Russian.
9.Fedosin S.G. On the structure of the force
field in electro gravitational vacuum. Canadian Journal of Pure and Applied
Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 5125-5131 (2021). http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4515206.
10.Fedosin S.G. The graviton field as the source
of mass and gravitational force in the modernized Le Sage’s model. Physical
Science International Journal, Vol. 8, Issue 4, pp. 1-18 (2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.9734/PSIJ/2015/22197.
11.Fedosin S.G. The charged component of the
vacuum field as the source of electric force in the modernized Le Sage’s model.
Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 971-1020
(2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jfas.v8i3.18,
https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.845357.
12.Fedosin S.G. The substantial model of the
photon. Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 411-467
(2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jfas.v9i1.25
13.Fedosin S.G. The Principle of Operation of an
Engine That Draws Energy from the Electrogravitational Vacuum. Jordan Journal
of Physics, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 87-95 (2024). https://doi.org/10.47011/17.1.8.
External links
• Vacuum
thruster concepts in Russian
See also
• Infinite hierarchical nesting of matter
• Hypothetical
technology
• Spacecraft
propulsion
Source: http://sergf.ru/kvden.htm