QuoteNASA veteran's propellantless propulsion drive defies laws of physics
This is the second article in a row on 'tech' you found which does not describe the physical principles underlying what is being talked about.
A long time ago I realized everything people do involves 'burning' of something. Modern civilization is only a hundred different ways to make fire. Burning is energy extraction, I have a broad definition. Changing a small about of rest energy into motion one way or another. Harnessing the heat release from E = MC^2.
Everything we do is uses electromagnetic energy on the atomic scale. A thousand different ways to do it disguises that any underlying tech is always brain dead simple. Fancy and different behavior emerges on a macro scale, but reduce whatever it is down to basics, and simple processes are revealed. But hopium tech articles never talk about any underlying physical principles involved. It would destroy the bullshit.
New car engines that blow away the performance of everything we have are published every few years. But how much can you improve expanding gasses in a metal tube against a piston really? Car engine articles always use a hat trick of some kind to get around the fact that that all you do is expand gasses in a metal tube.
The Carnot cycle describes the maximum possible performance of expanding gasses in a metal tube no matter what engine you are talking about. Steam, Diesel, Gasoline, or Sterling engines which use expanding air. All these engines expand gas in a metal tube against a piston resulting from something being burned. None of these engines can do magic. The Carnot cycle puts hard limits on what can be done.
The whole is more than the sum of its parts. A robot can dance. A robot can walk. But all that happens is electric motors move things. Electric current in magnetic fields making a force. Ask how any robot works and 'electric current in a magnetic field creating a force' describes the basic principle.
My point is that the principles behind all modern tech are simple, not mysterious, easily understood, and there are not so many principles to understand. Tech is related to art. Engineers are artists who use the physical properties of the universe as their color palette. Scientists discover the principles, and when they are not discovering they teach to others. The discovering part of the job can turn into into mental masturbation and discovering new stuff is hard work. Consequently teaching has to be part of the job. Peak oil in America was in the 70's. Peak scientific discovery of new physical principles was in the 1700's. Teaching has to be part of the job of scientists or the process of discovering can turn into a process of useless eating.
From this to this.
Both are pigments on a surface. The sailboat is 'more' because we make it so. But on the atomic level all we have are collections of atoms on a pallet, that are transferred to a canvas.
What is the underlying principle of repulsor tech. What new color is on the palette? Current through wires in a magnetic field? Spinning wheels that go round and round? Love potion number nine? Kinky sex with Robert Downey Jr? What is it? Where is the secret sauce.
Inquiring minds want to know so bad, that I think someone who would write an article without describing the underlying physics is an asshole.
Hopium must pay well.