Before you get excited about the possibility of seeing an aircraft from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in real life, you should know that there is a good possibility that a perfect EM drive wouldn’t be possible to make at the moment. One of the main reasons being that it completely seems to violate our understanding of physics.
An EM drive uses microwave photons bouncing in a chamber to generate thrust. The microwaves are generated using electricity. So there won’t be a propellant exhaust emitting flames. This completely violates Newton’s Third Law of Motion. A very common analogy that explains EM drives is that it would be akin to moving a car by banging on the windshield from the inside.
But it has been demonstrated. At least according to a paper published by NASA on EM Drives. That is a fact worth sitting up and taking notice. If this research holds up (and that is a big if), we will see a lot of space exploration missions since this thing can supposedly take us to Mars in just 70 odd days. Further tests will reveal more.
Sources
- Measurement of Impulsive Thrust from a Closed Radio-Frequency Cavity in Vacuum – American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
