Thanks for addressing those loose ends. In the case of an inertial drive
you are correct in stating that it is considered impossible based on
Newton's third law.
Laithwaite and Dawson found that the centripital force exerted by a
precessing gyroscope (flywheel) was less than that expected by calculation.
This was qualified by experiment where they report centripital forces of
only 1/10 of that which would be traditionally expected. They then went on
to create a simple mechanism which takes advantage of this effect,
producing a device which is capable of translating itself from one spacial
position to another without reaction with the surrounding medium (gas,
liquid, vacuum, etc.). Laithwaite stresses that the device does not
contravene any of Newton's laws and that the system is inherently
conservative. This paper does not appear to be readily available which I
find perplexing as IMHO it represents a fundimental breakthrough in mechanics.
Bill.
>snip<
>> What you need is an inertial drive that does not rely on thrust from an
>> expendable reaction mass. You should read Eric Laithwaite's paper on "Mass
>> Transfer".
>
>Such an inertial drive is considered to be impossible based on Newtons
>third law.
>snip<
>Cheers,
>Gerald O'