Lifeboat Foundation News Blog: Lorentz-Fitzgerald Transformations

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Jun 23, 2015

Is Photon Based Propulsion, the Future?

Posted by Benjamin T. Solomon in categories: anti-gravity, defense, general relativity, gravity, innovation, particle physics, physics, quantum physics, science, space travel

I first met Dr. Young Bae, NIAC Fellow, at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored 2011, 100 Year Starship Study (100YSS) at Orlando, Fla. Many of us who were there had responded to the NASA/DARPA Tactical Technology Office’s RFP to set up an organization “… to develop a viable and sustainable non-governmental organization for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make long-distance space travel viable …”

Yes, both DARPA and NASA are at some level interested in interstellar propulsion. Mine was one of approximately 35 (rumored number) teams from around the world vying for this DARPA grant, and Dr. Bae was with a competing team. I presented the paper “Non-Gaussian Photon Probability Distributions”, and Dr. Bae presented “A Sustainable Developmental Pathway of Photon Propulsion towards Interstellar Flight”. These were early days, the ground zero of interstellar propulsion, if you would.

Dr. Bae has been researching Photon Laser Thrust (PLT) for many years. A video of his latest experiment is available at the NASA website or on YouTube. This PLT uses light photons to move an object by colliding with (i.e. transferring momentum to) the object. The expectation is that this technology will eventually be used to propel space crafts. His most recent experiments demonstrate the horizontal movement of a 1-pound weight. This is impressive. I expect to see much more progress in the coming years.

At one level, Dr. Bae’s experiments are confirmation that Bill Nye’s Light Sail (which very unfortunately lost communications with Earth) will work.

Continue reading “Is Photon Based Propulsion, the Future?” »

Tags: 100YSS, Bill Nye, Conservation of Energy, Conservation of Momentum, DARPA, EmDrive, Gravity Modification, interstellar propulsion, Light Sail, Lorentz-Fitzgerald transformations, NASA, Photon Laser Thrust, Q Thruster, Quantum Vacuum Plasma Effects, Roger Shawyer, Young Bae

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Oct 21, 2012

The Kline Directive: Theoretical-Empirical Relationship (Part 4)

Posted by Benjamin T. Solomon in categories: business, cosmology, defense, economics, education, engineering, nuclear weapons, particle physics, philosophy, physics, policy, scientific freedom, space

To achieve interstellar travel, the Kline Directive instructs us to be bold, to explore what others have not, to seek what others will not, to change what others dare not. To extend the boundaries of our knowledge, to advocate new methods, techniques and research, to sponsor change not status quo, on 5 fronts, Legal Standing, Safety Awareness, Economic Viability, Theoretical-Empirical Relationship, & Technological Feasibility.

In this post I have updated the Interstellar Challenge Matrix (ICM) to guide us through the issues so that we can arrive at interstellar travel sooner, rather than later:

Interstellar Challenge Matrix (Partial Matrix)

*Propulsion Mechanism*	*Relatively Safe?*	*Theoretical-Empirical Relationship?*
Conventional Fuel Rockets:	Yes, but susceptible to human error.	Known. Theoretical foundations are based on Engineering Feasible Theories, and have been evolving since Robert Goddard invented the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926.
Antimatter Propulsion:	No. Extensive gamma ray production (Carl Sagan). Issue is how does one protect the Earth? Capable of an End of Humanity (EOH) event.	Dependent on Millennium Theories. John Eades states in no uncertain terms that antimatter is impossible to handle and create.
Atomic Bomb Pulse Detonation:	No, because (Project Orion) one needs to be able to manage between 300,000 and 30,000,000 atomic bombs per trip.	Known and based on Engineering Feasible Theories.
Time Travel:	Do Not Know. Depends on how safely exotic matter can be contained.	Dependent on a Millennium Theory. Exotic matter hypotheses are untested. No experimental evidence to show that Nature allows for a breakdown in causality.
String / Quantum Foam Based Propulsion:	Do Not Know. Depends on how safely exotic matter can be contained.	Dependent on a Millennium Theory. String theories have not been experimentally verified. Exotic matter hypotheses are untested. Existence of Quantum Foam now suspect (Robert Nemiroff).
Small Black Hole Propulsion:	No. Capable of an End Of Humanity (EOH) event	Don’t know if small black holes really do exist in Nature. Their theoretical basis should be considered a Millennium Theory.

It is quite obvious that the major impediments to interstellar travel are the Millennium Theories. Let us review. Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize 1965) & Sheldon Lee Glashow (Nobel Prize 1979) have criticized string theory for not providing novel experimental predictions at accessible energy scales, but other theoretical physicists (Stephen Hawking, Edward Witten, Juan Maldacena and Leonard Susskind) believe that string theory is a step towards the correct fundamental description of nature. The Wikipedia article String Theory gives a good overview, and notes other critics and criticisms of string theories. In What is String Theory? Alberto Güijosa explains why string theories have come to dominate theoretical physics. It is about forces, and especially about unifying gravity with the other three forces.

Continue reading “The Kline Directive: Theoretical-Empirical Relationship (Part 4)” »

Tags: Alberto Güijosa, Antimatter Propulsion, Atomic Bomb, Atomic Bomb Propulsion, Atomic Bomb Pulse Detonation, Carl Sagan, Edward Witten, Electromagnetism, End of Humanity, Engineering Feasible Theories, Exotic Matter, g=(tau)c^2, g=τc^2, Gaussian function, gravitational field, ICM, Interstellar Challenge Matrix, Interstellar Travel, John Eades, Juan Maldacena, laws of conservation, Left Hand Rule, Leonard Susskind, liquid-fueled rocket, Lorentz-Fitzgerald transformations, mass-energy, massless formula for gravitational acceleration, Millennium Theories, momentum, Ni Field, Non Inertia Field, Project Orion, Quantum Foam, quark interaction, Richard Feynman, Right Hand Rule, Robert Goddard, Robert Nemiroff, Sheldon Lee Glashow, Small Black Holes, Standard Model, Stephen Hawking, String Theory, The Kline Directive, Theory of Everything, Time Travel, Var-Gamma distribution, virtual particles