Is the Woodward Effect the key to propellant-less propulsion?

[sanman]

Okay, here's a different idea for "propellant-less" propulsion:

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004AIPC..699.1138M

It's based on some idea by a University of California physicist named Woodward, who himself preferred to use the term "Mach Effect"

Basically, his idea was that if you have mass moving at relativistic velocity inside another mass, then the internal moving mass can make itself heavier or lighter depending on how fast it's moving.

So then if you make the overall system oscillate (surrounding mass), and you time the movements of the inner mass with the oscillations, then you can selectively impart more momentum in one part of the oscillation than in another, for the overall system. This would create a net change in momentum for the system.

Did anybody catch what I said there?

Hmm, this one has me scratching my head.So where did the extra mass/momentum on demand come from? Well, it came from the relativistic motion of the inner mass. You can switch that motion on or off, depending on which way your overall mass-system is oscillating. If momentum is to be conserved, then where did the difference in momentum go? It went to, umm, space? It went to whatever it is that retards the motion of a relativistically-moving mass. The universe?

Hmm, tell me, if I lift up a cyclotron that's whirling particles around at extremely high speed, will it feel heavier to me than if I lifted it up while it was turned off?
Does anybody see what I'm saying here?

In that sense, is a relativistically-moving mass really a closed system? Or is it somehow interacting with space itself, where space itself can't really be described as closed?

 

[sanman]

Pardon me, while I re-post this in the Relativity forum, where it might be more appropriate.

 

[charng]

And if that's the case, could we potentially harness this interaction to create propellant-less propulsion?

These are interesting questions and theories proposed by Woodward and other scientists. However, as a scientist, it is important to approach these ideas with a critical and analytical mindset. While the concept of the Woodward Effect and Mach Effect may seem intriguing, there is currently no solid evidence or experimental results to support its feasibility.

Furthermore, even if these effects were proven to be valid, there are still many technical challenges and unknown factors that would need to be addressed in order to harness them for propulsion. It is important to continue researching and exploring new ideas, but it is also crucial to approach them with caution and skepticism until they can be backed up by scientific evidence.