Wikipedia asks not to be confused and not to call this mechanism an engine. An inertioid (inorzoid) is a mover, a mechanism that does not interact with the environment, but is capable of translational motion due to the movement of the working fluid inside it. Sounds confusing? Let's try to consider this paradoxical mechanism in more detail.
In the 30s of the twentieth century, engineer V. N. Tolchin built a mechanism, now called "Tolchin's Cart". The design was simple - moving weights were installed on the levers on a frame with wheels. They moved faster in one direction, slower in the other. To move them, an ordinary spring mechanism from a clockwork toy was used. Surprisingly, without applying any force transfer to the wheels, the cart nevertheless jerked in a given direction.
Tolchin's cart. Illustration from the magazine "Technology of Youth".
Since the inertial propeller contradicts the law of conservation of momentum, it is not recognized by modern official science. However, this does not prevent the authors of inertiodides from creating all new operating models, which, however, are also not accepted by the scientific community. In general, in the seventies of the twentieth century, inercioids were very popular - and magazines and television programs talked about them quite a lot.
Single-cycle inertsoid scheme.
The following principle of operation is considered official: movement causes a difference in the friction force in the support during the forward and reverse half-cycle of work. Note also that in liquids, this effect has a different explanation, which is fundamentally different. There it is justified by viscous friction forces.
A shot from the 60s film about Tolchin and his invention.
But the authors-creators of inerzoids, in turn, do not recognize these explanations. They have their own theories based on the well-known laws of physics with unrecognized (yet) properties of the interaction of inertial masses and gravitational fields.
Promotional video:
Inertsoid Shipova G. I.
The most famous, controversial and controversial experiment with an inercoid (developed by GI Shipov) can be considered its launch on board the Yubileiny small spacecraft in the spring of 2008. Experiments with a "propeller without jet mass release" were carried out in the summer of the same year, and, more extensively, in the winter of 2010. Unfortunately for the enthusiasts and the triumph of scientists, the inotioid was unable to change the orbit of the Yubileiny.
But many are sure that the data obtained is deliberately distorted, because it is impossible to verify the data of scientists by independent experts. In the journalistic environment, by the way, this mover was immediately dubbed "gravity".
Today this invention is forgotten. Little is remembered and little is said about him. But the topic is interesting, continues to excite and occupy a lot of minds, and there are many scientific works on it. After all, they could not have been created from scratch. And, perhaps, soon we will again hear and talk about this amazing mechanism.