When one hears of inventions that alleged violate the fundamental laws of physics, scientists generally dismiss such claims as being by “cranks”.
Yet the EMDrive which breaks one fundamental law of physics has been tested by NASA and found to work one team believes: H. White (et al.), “Measurement of Impulsive Thrust from a Closed Radio-Frequency Cavity in Vacuum,” Journal of Propulsion and Power (2016).
The EMDrive consists of a box that is propelled without fuel used to cause a chemical reaction, by virtue of electro-magnet waves bouncing inside the box. Newton’s law of the conservation of movement holds that the box should not move without an external force being applied, as does Newton’s third law of motion: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” But propulsion of a craft without a reaction would be impossible, but according to NASA, seems to occur.
This leads the way open to advanced space travel and possible new forms of transportation on earth, if this is true. The physics community seems to be highly sceptical and no doubt the NASA experiments need to be replicated by many other labs. It will be interesting to see how this develops: it could revolutionise travel and really send man to the stars!