Dean Drive (was Reactionless Drive Types)
Bill Bensch
ever happened to the "Dean Drive" promoted by John Campbell in
Astonishing/Analog during the early 60's. As I recall, this device
consisted of a pair of counter-rotating weights that were driven by a motor
through a variable length shaft, and constrained in a linear track in such
a way that when the force vectors from the rotating weights were pointed
up, the weights were at the top of the track so the force was applied to
move the apparatus upwards, but as the vectors turned downward, the weights
moved downward in the track, not reaching to bottom before the vectors
turned upward again. I think that there was some sort of spring
arrangement that quickly pulled the weights to top again. Of course,
expanding the springs and friction along the track would do a nice job of
transfering the force in the downward direction, but there was some
"explaination" that there was a time differential between the action and
the reaction that resulted in small net upward force.
Supposedly, if one of these devices were placed on a scale and turned on,
the weight would go to zero! Of course, the demostrations tended to be
with bathroom scales whose internal inertia prevented any readings of the
wildly vibrating device. In any case, Campbell thought that mounting one of
these drives in a submarine would make a nice spaceship! I remember a
great illustration of a sub in LEO.
There was a follow-up article several years later that stated that some
engineering companies were actually looking into this Device. Does anyone
have any further information?
Bill
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John Schilling
There really isn't much more to tell. Interest by various corporations
ended fairly quickly when Dean insisted on a lot of money up front before
he would let them either see the working drawings or test the device on
their own equipment. See, the big companies were trying to rip him off,
and his idea was obviously so valuable that any honest investor wouldn't
hesitate to pay first...
AFIK, Dean never subjected his device to the pendulum test, which is generally
considered the simplest way to see if a "reactionless" drive really works.
Hang it from a string, pointing horizontally, and see if the device can
"hover" away from the vertical axis. Capable of graphically demonstrating
even a small thrust:weight ratio and virtually impossible to fool.
He insisted on tests using bathroom scales, or pushing against someone's hand,
or the like. As you mention, such tests are next to useless for unsteady or
oscillating thrust. And he never told anyone how it supposedly worked, or
produced working drawings. WHen he died, any secrets regarding the device
died with him.
--
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Geoffrey A. Landis
> All this discussion of reactionless drives has caused me to wonder what
> ever happened to the "Dean Drive" promoted by John Campbell in
> Astonishing/Analog during the early 60's.
[...] (details left out)
> There was a follow-up article several years later that stated that some
> engineering companies were actually looking into this Device. Does
> anyone have any further information?
J. Douglas Beason was the Air Force scientist who investigated the Dean Drive
for the Air Force. He tested Dean's actual device-- not a copy made
according to Dean's plans, but the actual "working" model made by Dean. He
told me that when placed on a lineolum floor, it moved along as if by
reactionless force, but when they placed it onto a frictionless air-table, it
just stayed motionless and jiggled.
In other words, the appearance of reactionless motion came from the stick-and-
slip phenomonon, like a child sitting on a piece of cardboard scooting along
a carpeted floor.
Beason, by the way, went on to become a science fiction writer.
Geoffrey A. Landis,
Photovoltaics branch, NASA Lewis Research Center
Nyma, Incorporated, Brook Park, OH
Doug Rabson
In article <3293nq$k...@spock.usc.edu> schi...@spock.usc.edu (John Schilling) writes:
>
> WRBe...@Lilly.com (Bill Bensch) writes:
>
> >All this discussion of reactionless drives has caused me to wonder what
> >ever happened to the "Dean Drive" promoted by John Campbell in
> >Astonishing/Analog during the early 60's. As I recall, this device
> >consisted of a pair of counter-rotating weights that were driven by a motor
> >through a variable length shaft, and constrained in a linear track in such
> >a way that when the force vectors from the rotating weights were pointed
> >up, the weights were at the top of the track so the force was applied to
> >move the apparatus upwards, but as the vectors turned downward, the weights
> >moved downward in the track, not reaching to bottom before the vectors
> >turned upward again. I think that there was some sort of spring
> >arrangement that quickly pulled the weights to top again. Of course,
> >expanding the springs and friction along the track would do a nice job of
> >transfering the force in the downward direction, but there was some
> >"explaination" that there was a time differential between the action and
> >the reaction that resulted in small net upward force.
>
Sounds similar to a device which I saw on the BBC TV program
'Heretics' recently. The program was about Eric Laithwaite (the
inventor of the linear motor) who has spent the last 25 years
experimenting with gyroscopes.
Aparently, he is now patenting a device which uses gyroscopic
precession to produce lift. The program showed a (non working) model
of the thing made out of meccano.
Does anyone know about this device? Has it been subjected to the
pendulum test? Presumably, if it is being patented, plans for the
machine will be available if the patent is published.
--
Doug Rabson, RenderMorphics Ltd. Mail: d...@render.com
Phone: +44 71 251 4411
FAX: +44 71 251 0939