Draft:Vacuum thruster

Vacuum thruster is the concept of spacecraft propulsion where momentum of the 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. The most well-known models include EmDrive and Leonov quantum thruster.

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. 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, , and in China, two groups of researchers led by Yang and Yue Chen developed their own models.

Status of proposed EmDrive variants remains controversial, as laboratory tests indicate no significant thrust, 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.

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.

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 divisibilityof 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. 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 vacuum permittivity $\varepsilon _{0}$ in terms of vacuum energy density and cross-section of interaction of vacuum particles with substance. 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.

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 $\beta$ denotes the cone opening angle, electric field $\mathbf {E}$ is directed along the OZ axis, magnetic field $\mathbf {B}$ is directed against the OX axis, thrust force $\mathbf {F}$ 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. 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 $\mathbf {E}$ will deflect these particles upward along the OZ axis, and magnetic field $\mathbf {B}$ due to Lorentz force will deflect the particles downward against the OZ axis. Ratio of amplitudes of fields $\mathbf {E}$ and $\mathbf {B}$ 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 $\beta$ 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 $\mathbf {F}$ 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.