Casimir Effect Space Propulsion Part III

Fig 3. Data for a 3m³ thruster consisting of many Casimir force generating plates assembled together.
Typical configurations for six thrusters in a small spacecraft are also shown.

A Thruster exploiting Casimir Effect

As described in Fig 2 of my previous post, I expect that a net Casimir force would be exerted on a thin metal plate covered with extremely small tapered holes on one side only. So, to create a thruster of moderate volume that could exert a usefully large force, we would just combine many such plates together, separated by spacers of very low-density, non-conducting material, as shown above. The spacers would permit a reasonable range of zero-point energy fluctuations to exist in the gaps between the plates.

Fig 4. Spacecraft — horizontal and vertical sections

As Figs 3 and 4 show, I went as far as doing a schematic design for a small "UFO" - shaped spacecraft incorporating Casimir-force thrusters. (I re-drew Figs 3 and 4 as CAD drawings for this blog, because my original pencil drawings would not scan well).