CA2731783A1

CA2731783A1 - The first practical interstellar propulsion engine

Info

Publication number: CA2731783A1
Application number: CA2731783A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Hossein Nabipour
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-02-22
Filing date: 2011-02-22
Publication date: 2011-05-26

Abstract

This novel engine is capable of steadily pushing a spacecraft through the vacuum of space without the need for any fuel burned or any high-velocity gases expelled to propel the vehicle forward. In each cycle, a moving ball comes to a stop and reverses its direction of movement; this cycle then repeats itself through impact collision, meaning the ball keeps bouncing off the engine's frame. In physics, this is called an elastic collision, whereby the ball transfers its momentum to the engine's frame and re-gains it by bouncing back. Akin to a "Newton's cradle", a set of stationary solid spheres/balls arranged symmetrically and held in place by wire ropes in the shape of a semi-circle (180 degrees) or a quarter-circle (90 degrees) act as the medium, through which the instantaneous energy of impact (impulse) of one dynamic ball is transferred to the other. For this closed cycle to continue to work indefinitely, two electromagnets are used to add enough kinetic energy to the dynamic balls in order to account for the energy losses in each cycle. By creating a perfectly elastic 'collision' between the dynamic ball and the engine's frame, both the momentum and kinetic energy of the ball are conserved. As a result, a net impulse (force applied over a period of time) is repeatedly added to the engine's frame and subsequently to the spacecraft, causing it to gradually gain momentum and accelerate.

Description

Application for patent in Canada Feb. 22, 2011 Invention: The first practical interstellar propulsion engine Inventor: Hossein Nabipour Background:
Over the last decades, many attempts have been made to come up with a space propulsion system or engine, fully capable of traversing the vacuum of outer space without burning and expelling any gases. Inventions or ideas in this field are known as `reaction-less drive' or `reaction-less thrust' systems. According to the known laws of nature, no one object can start to move from rest and accelerate in one direction without pushing another object in the opposite direction. As Newton discovered, for every action force in one direction, there is an equal reaction force in the opposite direction. Therefore for a spacecraft (a mass) to accelerate forward there has to be a second external mass pushed backward, and that is how present space rockets and shuttles propel themselves by ejecting high-speed gases. Similarly, ships and submarines push against the water, cars push against the ground, airplanes push air backwards... all move forward by pushing an external mass backward. The law of conservation of momentum applies to such interactions of masses, whether on earth or out there in the vacuum of space, far away from any gravitational sources.

Physics of the collision phenomenon:

This engine is a practical application and utilization of a very basic yet fundamental phenomenon, in which two solid spheres/balls collide with each other in an elastic manner, i.e. the combined kinetic energies of the two objects and their combined momentum is the same before and after the collision. In an inelastic collision, however, only the momentum part stays the same, but the kinetic energy will not be the same, since some of it is dissipated or lost during the impact. A
`Newton's cradle' shows exactly the elastic collision between the balls and that how energy of impact or impulse travels linearly through the balls and out from the other end. This engine draws upon such an amazing phenomenon and puts it into a useful and practical application- generating instantaneous linear force or thrust.

Description and specifications:

Figure A shows a 3-D view of the engine's concept. A rigid U-shape or L-shape frame, a few solid balls, two spiral springs, some wire ropes, and two electromagnets comprise the main and basic mechanical components of the engine. In this engine, the energy of impact passes through a set of balls, almost linearly, but in a circular pattern. As the number of stationary balls/spheres increases, the angle of each segment of the quadrant or a semi-circle decreases. Having 45 or more balls installed on the perimeter of a quadrant, the radial angle from centre to centre of each ball reduces to only 2 degrees or smaller. By doing so, a curve is divided up into smaller linear segments, and starts to show linear characteristics, thereby minimizing the outward radial reaction forces to almost zero. Once this is achieved, a ball moving in one direction can be brought to rest by colliding it against one side of the stationary balls, passing its energy (impulse) through the stationary balls, and finally transferring it to the ball on the other side, causing almost no unwanted radial reaction on the balls installed on the perimeter. Balls are arranged and installed on the perimeter of the quadrant or semi-circle to only have one degree of freedom, i.e. in both X and Y
directions they are restrained by wire ropes, Z is the axis passing through center to center of the balls and tangent to the circle, along which the balls are free to move and vibrate.

The semi-circle engine illustrated in Figures A, B, C, and D, does not show the actual number of stationary balls. In order for the engine to work and generate thrust, at least 45-50 stationary balls are required to be assembled on a quadrant design, and 90-100 balls on a semi-circle design. The quadrant or semi-circle styles are two different designs of the same concept. There are only two dynamic/colliding balls in either semi-circle or quadrant design, as in a Newton's cradle when only one ball is raised and released. The electromagnets are used to pull or push the dynamic balls at the exact moment they come to a stop and reverse direction. And the chassis or frame acts as the second mass, to which balls collide elastically and rebound, thereby no energy is lost. A typical wire rope attachment to the stationary balls is shown in Fig. A (note: all stationary balls should have the same restraints, however not shown in Fig. A). Wire ropes or similar flexible light-weight materials are used since there should be no significant masses attached to the stationary balls as any unwanted extra mass attached or connected to them would dissipate energy, resulting in substantial loss of energy and rendering the engine completely ineffective. As for the material the balls are made out of, the harder and the tougher, the better. Tungsten Carbide, for instance, is approximately 3 times tougher and stiffer than stainless steel, making it a good choice of material for the manufacturing of the balls.

Claims

1- This engine with its basic mechanical components and its unique design and configuration as illustrated in different views in figures A, B, C, and D is the semi-circle style capable of generating linear thrust and force. A quadrant style of the same concept (not shown in the drawings) would generate equal linear thrust and force in two perpendicular directions.

2- That such a novel design has never been patented or invented before anywhere in the world and is solely the result of my own observations and unrelenting experiments.

3- That other than space/interstellar propulsion applications, this engine could primarily be used for power generation purposes on a larger scale in a green and environmentally friendly way.