Impulse drive

Category:



Date		19.4.2000

Submitted by		Norman W. Molhant

Title		Impulse drive

Source		Rodenderry, Gene, "Star Trek", unknown,unknown , ( unknown ) Page Nr. many: TV shows, films and books.

Context		Spaceship propulsion system used for sub-light-speed movement and for spaceship maoeuvering. Also known as reactionless drive, but not called so in the show. Used many times during many episodes of Star Trek (the original series), Start Trek: the next generation, Stra Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. Also used in most Star Trek movies for the big screen.

Description		In the show, the impulse drive is the usual propulsion system used for sub-light-speed movement and orbital or docking manoeuvers. Descriptions in the Star Trek books seem to hint that this propulsion system uses the gravity fields of engendered by rapid flows of electro-magnetic energy in conjunction with electro- mechanical displacement of said flows to produce a net unidirectional displacement without local reaction. The physical theories applicable to this propulsion system are (1) general relativity, (2) quantum mechanics (3) classical electromagnetic theory and also possibly (4) quantum electrodynamics, (5) the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics (Cramer's interpretation) and (6) the Mach principle. Such a drive would provide a purely electrical propulsion system requiring no reaction mass, i.e.: no propellant of any kind, which would be mostly useful to reduce the weight of space probes.

Comments		Professor James Woodward of California State University Fullerton has acknowledged to be working on one type of impulse drive based on the same principles, for a NASA long range study of promising new technologies. However, all available information on his work seem to indicate that he has made a few unhappy technological choices that will hinder his further work. It would be easy to avoid these errors.

Feasibility		Under Development

Keywords		unknown