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DRoseDARs

(6,810 posts)
51. And you'd be wrong to think that.
Fri Aug 1, 2014, 10:24 PM
Aug 2014

There's a reason I posted "Woo refers to crackpot nonsense that derives from religious, mystical, spiritual, occult ideas of how things work. There is nothing paranormal about unproven science. It is simply unproven science until it is proven science."

We don't disagree on the significance of this development should it be further verified, but I do object to the attempt to make a word mean what it does not, refer to what it does not. There were no declarations of reiki energy in cold fusion and there are no attempts to link this phenomenon to whichever star is in ascendency. There is only science rising or falling on its merits, its reproducibility, and its independent verification. Woo proponents refuse to adhere to scientific principles and be subject to the same rigors as real scientists. Woo proponents instead appeal to magic or "Because God."

This is not Woo. This is science. Science can succeed, it can fail, it can evolve from earlier and incomplete understandings, but it remains science.

Woo is woo until enlightenment Aug 2014 #1
Isn't that how science should work? nt Logical Aug 2014 #11
Of course. enlightenment Aug 2014 #12
It's like Dara O'Briain's comment about "natural medicine" backscatter712 Aug 2014 #59
Sometimes you need a leap. Rigid skeptics hate that. DirkGently Aug 2014 #86
Scientific Method. n-t Logical Aug 2014 #87
Still Often Requires a Dubious Leap. n/t DirkGently Aug 2014 #88
I'm thinking that Big Oil will thwart this somehow because of its potential for kelliekat44 Aug 2014 #55
I don't think you are. enlightenment Aug 2014 #57
I guarantee you the people working on this are scientists. Marr Aug 2014 #100
I think you responded to the wrong person, Marr! enlightenment Aug 2014 #103
the term "woo" is such silly BS -- it truly diminishes some important groundbreaking work nashville_brook Aug 2014 #2
Not at all...... Logical Aug 2014 #17
Oh for gawd's sake. crim son Aug 2014 #27
"Woo" is about the most unscientific term you can use aint_no_life_nowhere Aug 2014 #89
exactly G_j Aug 2014 #95
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Aug 2014 #3
I think this is the worst-written science article I've seen. jeff47 Aug 2014 #4
Mmmm. Not quite. Electricity is not the fuel. Satellites are not the only anticipated application. DirkGently Aug 2014 #8
The effect is caused by microwaves, generated electrically. jeff47 Aug 2014 #20
It has wider application than that ... The Traveler Aug 2014 #24
Usually when people say "long distance spaceflight" in normal media jeff47 Aug 2014 #26
Actually, low thrust is fine for long distances. DirkGently Aug 2014 #30
Low thrust doesn't get you there fast enough if you have humans on board. jeff47 Aug 2014 #32
Not necessarily jberryhill Aug 2014 #101
Could it be possible that other "particles" could be used for electricity generation as they're Uncle Joe Aug 2014 #77
No. Perpetual motion machines are impossible. jeff47 Aug 2014 #78
Except that if the article is correct, the particles appear from 'nowhere'. Sirveri Aug 2014 #96
No. jeff47 Aug 2014 #97
Fuel in this case is simply propellent, unlike in chemical rocket engines, which are... Humanist_Activist Aug 2014 #69
Einstein was nuts until the eclipse observations proved hifiguy Aug 2014 #5
I can't believe that anyone seriously thought Einstein was nuts. Orrex Aug 2014 #34
True, but his theories were thought to be either hifiguy Aug 2014 #36
Okay, I can go with that. Orrex Aug 2014 #37
"They laughed at the Wright Brothers." Frank Cannon Aug 2014 #56
Stop rewriting the history of Einstein mathematic Aug 2014 #80
K&R Go Vols Aug 2014 #6
It's not perpetual motion at all. Energy is supplied to MineralMan Aug 2014 #7
It kind of is if quantum fluctuation particles drive the engine and are created perpetually . Kablooie Aug 2014 #14
Still, energy is input into the system. MineralMan Aug 2014 #15
THANK You. Treant Aug 2014 #19
Perpetual motion. Not "perpetual energy." DirkGently Aug 2014 #35
Same difference Treant Aug 2014 #38
I know the term of art "perpetual motion" requires zero energy input. DirkGently Aug 2014 #45
Given that Treant Aug 2014 #50
It's a thruster that requires no reaction mass. backscatter712 Aug 2014 #60
Yeah, but it still takes energy (electricity) to accelerate the reaction mass.. sir pball Aug 2014 #74
Yes, but, 1000 J = 1000 N * M. joshcryer Aug 2014 #79
Call me a skeptic. hunter Aug 2014 #9
It does come off a bit like "something from nothing." DirkGently Aug 2014 #16
The Wonders That Await colsohlibgal Aug 2014 #10
Quantum Vacuum Plasma Thruster Bosonic Aug 2014 #13
I'm still holding on for the infinite improbability drive.. IDemo Aug 2014 #18
It should be any moment sarisataka Aug 2014 #21
That's already been perfected jmowreader Aug 2014 #22
You are confusing it with sarisataka Aug 2014 #28
would you like a cup of something awoke_in_2003 Aug 2014 #49
This all sounds vaguely familiar DirkGently Aug 2014 #53
when you pass through doors.. awoke_in_2003 Aug 2014 #54
Here I am, brain the size of a planet, DirkGently Aug 2014 #61
K&R DeSwiss Aug 2014 #23
''Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.''' DirkGently Aug 2014 #63
Really wish people wouldn't abuse the term "woo" DRoseDARs Aug 2014 #25
the case to use "woo" here is pretty legit, I think paulkienitz Aug 2014 #33
And you'd be wrong to think that. DRoseDARs Aug 2014 #51
Sci-Fi has had repulsive tech for decades.... Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2014 #29
I'll put $50 on it coming to nothing in the end paulkienitz Aug 2014 #31
Ditto. Treant Aug 2014 #39
I was thinking more that it would come to nothing in the sense paulkienitz Aug 2014 #43
Frankly, I'm unimpressed by a lot of NASA bleeding-edge "science" caraher Aug 2014 #40
If space is a vacuum (relative to human existence, and Eleanors38 Aug 2014 #42
one would hope that they allowed for photon momentum paulkienitz Aug 2014 #44
Their paper is pretty low on specifics caraher Aug 2014 #47
XKCD took up this topic today, and guess what: paulkienitz Aug 2014 #104
I just saw that xkcd caraher Aug 2014 #105
if 20KW is going in, it must come out somewhere paulkienitz Aug 2014 #107
True caraher Aug 2014 #108
Awesome! silverweb Aug 2014 #41
Hmm...and what happens to the spaceship and crew that enter parts of the void Rex Aug 2014 #46
Well it also runs on diesel. Or banana peels and coffee grounds, obviously. DirkGently Aug 2014 #48
Good I have an endless supply of material then. Rex Aug 2014 #52
blahahaaahahaa! nashville_brook Aug 2014 #62
Correct me if I'm wrong, but these particles are pretty much everywhere in the universe. backscatter712 Aug 2014 #58
As far as we know, we haven't actually mapped out a lot of space yet. Rex Aug 2014 #81
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. nashville_brook Aug 2014 #64
You still need to generate the electricity to run the reactor Motown_Johnny Aug 2014 #65
If any of that is true, such technology would resemble that formerly DirkGently Aug 2014 #66
I guess it depends on how you define "magic". Motown_Johnny Aug 2014 #67
God-fucking-dammit, it is NOT woo coming true, and its not a perpetual motion machine... Humanist_Activist Aug 2014 #68
It has most certainly been categorized as "woo" by many people. DirkGently Aug 2014 #71
Bullshit, if someone was claiming the quantum consciousness was driving the device... Humanist_Activist Aug 2014 #82
Nope. "“Alright!” they said. “We’ll test your stupid drive that won’t work.” DirkGently Aug 2014 #83
I have little doubt that the people working on it are "mirthless empiricists". Marr Aug 2014 #102
We've known of this phenomenon for a long time as zero-point energy or the Casimir effect derby378 Aug 2014 #70
Has it ever been demonstrated in a practical environment? DirkGently Aug 2014 #72
I believe it has, on a very small scale derby378 Aug 2014 #73
Skeptics generally call the Casimir effect "woo" do they not? DirkGently Aug 2014 #85
The Casimir effect is not considered woo, but some of the claims associated with it are derby378 Aug 2014 #90
Namely "useable energy," right. So wouldn't this be that? DirkGently Aug 2014 #91
It depends on the specific claim derby378 Aug 2014 #92
The only people I've ever heard talk about the Casimir effect are woo-peddlers Hugabear Aug 2014 #99
(1) There is no adequate theory struggle4progress Aug 2014 #75
Precisely why this story lies on the boundary of what skeptics call "woo." DirkGently Aug 2014 #84
Not perpetual motion intaglio Aug 2014 #76
It may be woo after all. backscatter712 Aug 2014 #93
Skepticism. Not arch contempt for anything unlikely or unusual. DirkGently Aug 2014 #94
This universe likes to do things that pisses off scientists. Rex Aug 2014 #98
With a flux capacitor, powered by cold fusion, the possibilities are limitless (nt) Nye Bevan Aug 2014 #106
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