Abstracto

Experimental tests of the Mach effect thruster

H.Fearn, K.Wanser

The Mach Effect Thruster (MET) is a device which employs MachÂ’s principle and utilizes fluctuations in the internal energy of an accelerating object to produce a steady linear thrust. There are many versions of MachÂ’s principle [1], here we take the definition which states that the inertia of a body is due to the gravitational interaction with all matter and energy flow in the universe. These accelerating objects are stacks of PZT (lead zirconium titanate) crystals, which are powered by an AC voltage. The theory predicts that the thrust produced in the device is proportional to dP/dt, where P is the power supplied. In this paper we test whether a DC voltage switched on/off may generate thrust with no AC frequency present in the power supplied to the device.