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EmDrive Engine is Not Possible

In late 2016, NASA developed a rocket engine that could potentially bring humans into deep space. This engine was known as the EmDrive (pictured below).

So why is this engine so important and revolutionary? Well, it lies in the fact that scientists managed to find a way to create thrust out of just about nothing. This denies the universal law of conservation of momentum because without any velocity thrust is not possible. Thrust is the physical manifestation of momentum being transferred from a rocket engine to the rocket itself and can be modeled by the equation... 

Image result for law of conservation of momentum equation
As seen above, without any initial velocity momentum cannot be transferred and final velocity cannot be obtained. According to various studies done independently, the EmDrive did generate some thrust, however, there is no definite proof whether the engine truly creates thrust. It is believed that the science behind the EmDrive is based on the Pilot Wave Theory, or the idea that particles can push off of the vacuum of space. This would make sense as many of the experiments performed with the EmDrive were done in a simulated vacuum. 

Yet, as of late, it has been proven that the EmDrive is not the future of space exploration. Two years after the invention of the engine, it has been discovered that the EmDrive would have to completely defy the laws of physics in order to function properly. It has been realized that the "thrust" generated by the engine has been a result of interference due to the Earth's electromagnetic field, and that is why a phantom thrust was formed. 

On the bright side, it is not entirely unfeasible for the EmDrive to one day work correctly, and to provide a propellantless engine is possible. In the future, tests will be conducted in a box coated in Mu-metal, which acts as a shield to the effects of the Earth's magnetic field. Luckily for us, the propulsion systems seen in movies such as Star Wars could one day be a reality. 

Sources: 
https://www.geek.com/news/impossible-space-engine-is-actually-impossible-1740847/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325177082_The_SpaceDrive_Project_-_First_Results_on_EMDrive_and_Mach-Effect_Thrusters
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/nasa-emdrive-impossible-physics-independent-tests-magnetic-space-science/?beta=true
https://www.geek.com/tech/nasa-made-an-emdrive-and-it-works-but-we-still-dont-know-why-1681145/

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