
Leaked from NASA: A Rocket Propulsion System That Ejects No Mass - danm07
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/09/em_drive_tested_by_nasa_works/
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JumpCrisscross
Paper [1] quotes the system's efficiency at 1.2 mN/kW.

Hall thrusters, a propellant-throwing electric engine, perform at 60 mN/kW.
Non-propellant systems like light sails, laser propulsion and photon rockets
perform around 0.0033 to 0.0067 mN/kW.

If it works, this isn't how you get people to Mars. It's how you move cheaply
freight (and probes) around (and out of) the Solar System.

[1]
[https://regmedia.co.uk/2016/11/09/q_thruster.pdf](https://regmedia.co.uk/2016/11/09/q_thruster.pdf)

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kyriakos
Considering the physics behind this is new we can safely assume there's room
for improvement.

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JumpCrisscross
Point is it's already an order of magnitude above other non-propellant
systems.

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kyriakos
Oups I actually read the values in reverse...

My point still stands though even if not relevant to your statement.

