Re: starship-design: Re: Mystery force tugs

[Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>]

Ben Franchuk writes:
 > Gene & James Marlin wrote:
 > > This "news" is getting to be two or three years old now, and yet it still
 > > circulates. The solution was found a long time ago- IR photon pressure from
 > > the RTG power supplies aboard all four probes causes the (extremely minute)
 > > deltaV. After many years of flight, that minute deltaV becomes readily
 > > detectable.
 > 
 > I don't buy that idea, with out more details.

Well, I don't buy your idea without more details either.  If you claim
to be so familiar with autodynamics and that it explains the
discrepancy, why don't you just describe how?

It makes a lot more sense to me that the discrepancy results from an
overlooked known physical effect than that it's proof for an untested
and unconventional physical theory.

I would like to see a more detailed description of how the infrared
radiation from the RTGs on those probes would account for the velocity
discrepancy, but it's not a physically untenable explanation on the
surface.

 > > I'm very surprised this made it to the list. Now, what is this about
 > > rewriting physics on four data points that are not readily reproducible?
 > > Really now.