Claims about the health of the EmDrive engine, which allegedly violates Newton's third law, may be hasty. Brice Cassenti, an engineer and specialist in the field of advanced propulsion systems, spoke about this in an interview with Phys.org. In his opinion, the device, which was tested by NASA experts, could move due to thermal expansion.
On November 17, NASA scientists presented an article reporting the successful test of the EmDrive engine. The scientific work has been peer reviewed and published in the specialized journal Journal of Propulsion and Power. The material reports that the EmDrive in a vacuum develops a thrust of 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt, while there is no oppositely directed force, which should be present according to the law of conservation of momentum.
According to Cassenti, since there is no mass escaping from the engine, it is likely that a successful experiment could be the result of simple error. Violation of Newton's third law would mean that most of the modern scientific understanding in the field of physics is wrong. Doubts among experts also arise from the fact that there are no plausible explanations for the engine's performance. Cassenti himself believes that the motor displacement recorded in the tests was due to the heating of the EmDrive parts by electric currents.
“Throughout my professional career, I have come across exciting theoretical and experimental evidence presented in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Until now, only the existence of black holes has been confirmed. Therefore, based on my experience, the likelihood that it (the engine - approx. "Lenta.ru") will withstand further tests and analyzes are small. But they are not equal to zero,”the expert notes.
The EmDrive motor is a device consisting of a magnetron (generating microwaves) and a resonator (storing the energy of their vibrations). Outwardly, the unit resembles a bucket laid on its side. This design allows, according to its inventor Roger Scheuer, to convert radiation into thrust.