Alright, I made a little animation of the system I was describing.
So where does your angular momentum go?
Keeping a constant spin on the device and firing the LEDs at either end when theyâre pointing âbackwardsâ would indeed be a valid form of propulsion (if keeping a constant spin in the way shown is possible), but simply having 1 LED shining constantly backwards, possibly rotating around the direct vector for spin stabilization, would work better.
LED is not the primary propulsion method here, itâs not even considered in the animation, itâs there, yes, but the primary propulsion comes from the shifting of the mass/energy and rotating the system around that mass point. The rest of the system is assumed to have zero mass for the purposes of animation.
As you canât move a closed system by shifting its bits around, I suppose it is a type of open system. But I canât figure what it is (Iâm not at my brightest right now, mind you).
Is it something akin to David Brinâs Tank-farm Dynamo?
(The important plot point here if you donât want to read the novella)
It uses the same effect of what was posted in the opening post. It is an open system where energy is moving trough. The led releases the energy out of the system.
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