Overview of Theories and Experiments on Electromagnetic Inertia Manipulation Propulsion

Experiments performed by independent research teams, suggesting that “propellantless” propulsion without external assistance is being achieved by means of electromagnetic inertia manipulation, are discussed here and compared within the framework of competing theoretical formulations. The authors’ theory relies upon the fact that the electromagnetic (EM) field can exhibit a whole non‐vanishing momentum in the “matter” frame, even for stationary regimes, provided Minkowski’s energy‐momentum tensor holds for EM fields in matter. In a closed system this EM momentum can be converted into mechanical momentum, so that electromagnetic inertia intervenes to modify the inertial properties of the generating device. Another theory, set forth by Corum and based on Slepian’s works, states that the inertia manipulation effect stems from the Heaviside force density in vacuum, which is shown to lead to a zero instantaneous volume integrated force on a closed system. Although the system momentum is not conserved in the reported experiments, the propulsion effect is shown to be consistent with an alternative formulation of Minkowski’s EM force density that correctly predicts former peer‐reviewed experimental results. A fourth theory by J. Woodward, based on “Machian” mass/inertia fluctuations due to transient mass modifications, purportedly predicts the observed results but flaws are found in the predictions which, when corrected, considerably disagree with the experimental data. Finally, recent developments in vacuum physics allows building a conceptual framework with the potential of resolving the apparent violation of momentum conservation, closely connected to Minkowski’s energy momentum tensor and its lack of symmetry.