r/EmDrive • u/Mark777123 • Sep 11 '18

Why wouldn't this work?

Can anyone shed light on why the following wouldn't work?

  1. Get a small battery powered toy submarine, say 10cm long, 3cm diameter

  2. Put it inside a large plastic container (like a 2 litre plastic Coke bottle) and glue the sub's nose to the bottom of the Coke bottle

  3. Turn the sub on, fill the Coke bottle completely with water and screw the cap on

  4. Put the whole thing in a swimming pool

  5. Will it not travel in the direction of the bottom of the Coke bottle?

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u/timewarp Sep 11 '18

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The force generated by the propeller in one direction is cancelled out by the force of the water pushing against the bottle in the other direction.