China Appears to Show its EMDrive Test Satellite
- Ken Ecott
- Nov 27, 2017
- 2 min read
After a relatively long news hiatus, the impossible EM (Electromagnetic) Drive is making a comeback. Researchers from China’s space agency have released a video through state media earlier this month showing a supposedly-functional EM Drive. Have the Chinese finally made the impossible happen? Let’s not be quick to jump to conclusions here, though — at least not as fast as China did.
Believe it or not talk about the EmDrive has been swirling around for some years and it's never far from controversy or rumour.
The video (below) recently aired on the state-owned China Central Television (CCTV2). It appears to show an interview with Dr Chen Yue, one of China’s leading researchers working on the EmDrive, and other engineers at the China Academy of Space Technology. Although most of the technicalities of the thruster are not discussed in the video, it reportedly mentions progress on their “reactionless” thruster.
EM Drive under testing at NASA Eagleworks Labs
The EmDrive is often dubbed the "impossible engine”. It’s a proposed type of electromagnetic thruster that generates thrust without needing a propellant by bouncing microwaves around in a closed container. Unlike conventional engines that expel mass to produce thrust, the EmDrive uses only electricity to generate movement. Most controversially, that means it appears to be producing a reaction without the need for an action, violating Newton’s third law.
First, let’s review where we are with the EM Drive. Prior to this month’s update, there were two supposed breakthroughs regarding the EM Drive. One was a NASA peer-reviewed paper that claimed the EM Drive can work, at least theoretically. The results, however, have been largely contested by experts and is considered controversial at best. We’ll get to why in a bit. Then, there was news that China claims to have proven that an EM Drive works and it began testing one. The latest video, presumably, shows that the tests have been successful.