I'm exploring a concept for a new type of propulsion system. In this system, the hull of the spacecraft is constructed of a special metamaterial and is itself the "engine" that propels the craft. The concept is explained in more detail in the following paragraphs. I am seeking critical feedback.
The metamaterial is essentially a "stack" of Casimir cavities. Each cavity consists of a tunable dielectric material sandwiched between two conductive layers. The stack would contain as many cavities as is practical with existing semiconductor manufacturing techniques.
I realize, of course, that a Casimir cavity produces a very, very small force (microscopic), but we're not interested in the force produced. Instead, we're interested in the suppression of vacuum fluctuations inside the cavity.
This region of suppressed vacuum fluctuations will have a much lower entropy than the surrounding space. By "stacking" or "layering" of these cavities we can greatly increase the size of this low entropy zone.
The low entropy region will not extend very far beyond the hull, but will form a thin boundary layer much like the low pressure region formed on the top of an airfoil as described by Bernoulli's Principal.
According to Erik Verlinde's theory of emergent gravity, the surrounding high entropy space will "push" on the low entropy region of the spacecraft in an attempt to equalize the entropy of space-time.
Another way to think of it is the spacecraft "falls" into the low entropy trough created by the region of suppressed vacuum fluctuations. This is an entirely new concept of propulsion that does not require thrust or a reactionary force as described by Newton's third law. As such, conventional equations to calculate force based on mass do not apply here.
The craft is "steered" or "controlled" by moving this region of low entropy around the hull of the craft. The craft will move in the direction of the low entropy zone.
This control is accomplished with a pulsed magnetic fields. The dielectric layer of the Casimir cavity is made from a material whose permittivity is tunable by the magnetic field. By changing the permittivity of this layer, the suppression of vacuum fluctuations in the Casimir cavities may be increased or decreased as needed.
That's the concept in a nutshell.
I know it's highly speculative, but I have researched suitable dielectric materials with permittivity that respond well to magnetic fields and the metamaterial could be constructed using existing semiconductor manufacturing techniques. Power requirements to drive the electromagnetic coils would be in the kilowatt range.
I am hoping for some constructive feedback from a technically literate community. I would love to hear your thoughts.
From the linked publication: "A localized suppression of vacuum entropy near the hull creates dS/dx > 0 outward".
I don't understand this part. My naive view is that localized suppression means S<S0 (surrounding entropy), or some local minimum. S0 is the same on both sides far away from this minimum. This means the gradient dS/dx is positive on one side of this localized suppression region, and negative on the other side, possibly in an asymmetrical way. But after you integrate dS/dx over x to calculate the total force acting on the region, it will be exactly 0. The same reasoning applies to the other side of the craft, where you have a local peak of vacuum entropy. The total "push" will be 0 + 0.
Mike, thank you so much for catching that error! You are absolutely right. That is describing the situation where a "static" magnetic field is used to suppress vacuum fluctuations in both the front and the back of the craft at the same time and that is not what we want. As you point out, that will not result in the asymmetry we require.
In order to get an asymmetric dS/dx profile we would only suppress the vacuum fluctuations in the front of the craft and leave the back "off". We'd also need to apply a "pulsed" magnetic field to the front -- not a "static" ... (read more)
I'm exploring a concept for a new type of propulsion system. In this system, the hull of the spacecraft is constructed of a special metamaterial and is itself the "engine" that propels the craft. The concept is explained in more detail in the following paragraphs. I am seeking critical feedback.
The metamaterial is essentially a "stack" of Casimir cavities. Each cavity consists of a tunable dielectric material sandwiched between two conductive layers. The stack would contain as many cavities as is practical with existing semiconductor manufacturing techniques.
I realize, of course, that a Casimir cavity produces a very, very small force (microscopic), but we're not interested in the force produced. Instead, we're interested in the suppression of vacuum fluctuations inside the cavity.
This region of suppressed vacuum fluctuations will have a much lower entropy than the surrounding space. By "stacking" or "layering" of these cavities we can greatly increase the size of this low entropy zone.
The low entropy region will not extend very far beyond the hull, but will form a thin boundary layer much like the low pressure region formed on the top of an airfoil as described by Bernoulli's Principal.
According to Erik Verlinde's theory of emergent gravity, the surrounding high entropy space will "push" on the low entropy region of the spacecraft in an attempt to equalize the entropy of space-time.
Another way to think of it is the spacecraft "falls" into the low entropy trough created by the region of suppressed vacuum fluctuations. This is an entirely new concept of propulsion that does not require thrust or a reactionary force as described by Newton's third law. As such, conventional equations to calculate force based on mass do not apply here.
The craft is "steered" or "controlled" by moving this region of low entropy around the hull of the craft. The craft will move in the direction of the low entropy zone.
This control is accomplished with a pulsed magnetic fields. The dielectric layer of the Casimir cavity is made from a material whose permittivity is tunable by the magnetic field. By changing the permittivity of this layer, the suppression of vacuum fluctuations in the Casimir cavities may be increased or decreased as needed.
That's the concept in a nutshell.
I know it's highly speculative, but I have researched suitable dielectric materials with permittivity that respond well to magnetic fields and the metamaterial could be constructed using existing semiconductor manufacturing techniques. Power requirements to drive the electromagnetic coils would be in the kilowatt range.
I am hoping for some constructive feedback from a technically literate community. I would love to hear your thoughts.