In reply to Kyle Mcallister's message of Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:02:18 -0700 (PDT): Hi, [snip] >Laithwaite's trolley? Precess a mass one way, drag it >back nonprecessing the other way, slinky your way >through space. The only problem seems to be, from >reading the patent (Laithwaite & Dawson) and from a >little thought experimenting, that the device does not >accelerate; merely ratchets its way through space. > >Precess mass to right, no force generated (what >Laithwaite etc. claim) >Stop the precession, no counterforce. >Drag mass back inertially, reaction force on device. >Stop the mass, reaction force cancels first >acceleration, halting device's motion. You've moved a >bit to the right. >Repeat. [snip] Since a = f/m, and m is constant, if there is a force in one direction only, then that force should accelerate the mass while it operates. That acceleration should increase the speed, which should then remain constant until the next acceleration pulse. IOW the speed should increase in steps.
Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/Project.html
