Editing 1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | This comic is a reference to the [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jscs-stealthy-s.html recent news] of a {{w|Quantum vacuum plasma thruster|microwave thruster}} which allegedly produces thrust without expelling any propellant or microwaves, a violation of {{w|Momentum#Conservation|conservation of momentum}}. This type of thruster would provide delta velocity without conventional limits. | + | This comic is a reference to the [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jscs-stealthy-s.html recent news] of a {{w|Quantum vacuum plasma thruster|microwave thruster}} which allegedly produces thrust without expelling any propellant or microwaves, a violation of {{w|Momentum#Conservation|conservation of momentum}}. This type of thruster would provide delta velocity without conventional limits according to the {{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}} since the initial mass and final mass are the same. And indeed, the authors of a recent presentation at a [http://rghost.net/57230791 conference (PDF)] spoke about the space applications of such a device if it worked as claimed. But while they hooked it up to a measurement apparatus, applied RF input and measured changes in the apparatus, their interpretation of the experiment conducted in an air-filled stainless-steel chamber as a tiny ''thrust'' explainable under the moniker of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma". An official statement by NASA's {{w|Johnson Space Center}} is still [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jsc-is-still-si.html missing]. |
| − | The title of the comic directly refers to this hypothetical new physics mechanism of interacting with the "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," a [ | + | The title of the comic directly refers to this hypothetical new physics mechanism of interacting with the "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," a [https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/WfFtJ8bYVya combination of] [http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/08/04/impossible-thruster-probably-impossible/ physics words] that don't normally go together. |
| − | The first part of the comic has Megan commenting on how the engine was, in layman's terms, "twitching, | + | The first part of the comic has Megan commenting on how the engine was, in layman's terms, "twitching", and states that with that much power she'd expect something more forceful. |
| − | The title text suggests that the authors of the NASA paper subscribe to the principle that unexpected behaviors of complex systems should best be explained by invoking new physics rather than by making a detailed study of the complexities of the system. This runs contrary to generally accepted approach in science. | + | The final frame is all jokes based on {{w|quantum mechanics}} and {{w|uncertainty principle}} which is famously exemplified through {{w|Schrödinger's Cat}} which is both alive and dead at the same time -- a reference to the {{w|Copenhagen interpretation}} of {{w|quantum mechanics}} where two opposite outcomes simultaneously exist until such a time where they are actually {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}. The observation that "twitching" is an expected outcome for various complex systems, including biological ones, when arbitrarily large electric or microwave power is injected. The equivalence between twitching and the hypothetical new physics is pooh-poohed because Megan was not previously revealed to operate by the principle of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," to which Megan responds that she is a complex entity and very well might have new physics inside her -- a misappropriation of the uncertainty principle suggesting it may be true since not observed. The last panel is also a joke about quantum supposition, since Megan "may or may not be pushing on the quantum vacuum" and Cueball concedes that until he sees the conclusion, he supposes Megan to be both and neither and "can't be sure" since not yet {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}. |
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| + | The title text suggests that the authors of the NASA paper subscribe to the principle that unexpected behaviors of complex systems should best be explained by invoking new physics rather than by making a detailed study of the complexities of the system. This runs contrary to generally accepted approach in science. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
