Torque vs. Thrust: Understanding mobility in Space #StarTrekNOW!
Last edited Wed Feb 26, 2025, 05:05 PM - Edit history (2)
Ever wonder why Star Trek is impossible? Why can't we have those shuttles that just go in any direction we want? You flash a blue light and away you go! Well, to be able to do that, we first have to understand the physics of how that could be possible.
This video shows the difference between torquing something away from you or thrusting something away from you. What's great is I'm using a free physics simulator that anyone can download and try on their own. No skepticism required. You can look at the designs and easily... well, it wasn't easy for me but it's definitely doable.. but you can build your own and see what works and what doesn't.
You can definitely model these in physics engines like Blender or the Unreal engine and get a much more visceral look at the mechanics but this 2d simulator is more than sufficient to explore the basics. I also encourage you to talk to AI about Closed Loop Pulse Propulsion, the Lewis Ratchet and all sorts of systems that use Inertial propulsion.
In this video, I think I've finally figured out how to explain the physics of Closed Loop Pulse Propulsion using a very simple and straightforward method. A while ago, I created this physics script using Vpython which models basic physics. https://www.glowscript.org/#/user/fifth.grade.physics/folder/perletutchmallotion/program/Good-Bye-Norma-Jean
While that was mostly accurate, the script could use a great deal of polish but it does explain the concept. I recently discovered a simpler sandbox physics platform called Algodoo. It's actually very challenging to get the physics correct but once you do you can see exactly what I'm talking about with Closed Loop Pulse Propulsion.
In this video, I make it very clear. You can see how it works and why it works.
--------------------------------------------
In the first video, I deleted the braces that held the springs so I wanted to be certain that there was no inadvertent expulsion of mass to account for any movement so I did a follow-up video that just reconfigures the system and acts more like a simple latch.
There's a lot more videos on my youtube channel
On a side project: I've been working on trying to see all the possible ways alien extremophiles could move in space with this idea and that has led to some crazy designs and interesting outcomes. So there's some fun videos to explore on that!
https://qmichaellewis.blogspot.com/2025/02/exploring-momentum-redirection.html
This Blog Post explain's Momentum Redirection in several systems. It looks at NASA's Helix Drive, the Lewis Ratchet, Closed Loop Pulse Propulsion and the Thornson Propulsion System. I explore the math of each system to ensure they're mathematically aligned with the conservation of energy and momentum.
Quantum Consepts - that can be wrong-but Usually ain't
https://qmichaellewis.blogspot.com/
Two more as I just think this is fun as hell...
#StarTrekNOW!