When it comes to space, there's a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It's, well, space.

一提到太空，人类想去所有地方看所有事物的欲望就会遇到一个问题，而且是个大问题，那就是“太空”。

It's way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.

太空太大了，即使以宇宙允许的最快速度行驶，我们也要花几年时间才能到达离我们最近的恒星。

But another human drive is finding solutions to big problems. And that's what NASA engineer David Burns has been doing in his spare time.

但人类的另一个欲望是找到解决大问题的办法，NASA工程师David Burns就一直利用业余时间研究这个。

He's produced an engine concept that, he says, could theoretically accelerate to 99 percent of the speed of light - all without using propellant.

他提出了一个引擎概念，他说理论上可以加速到光速的99%，而且完全不用推进剂。

图片来源：视觉中国

He's posted it to the NASA Technical Reports Server under the heading "Helical Engine", and, on paper, it works by exploiting the way mass can change at relativistic speeds - those close to the speed of light in a vacuum. It has not yet been reviewed by an expert.

他将其发表在NASA技术报告服务器上，标题是“螺旋引擎”。理论上来说它的工作原理是利用相对论性速度（即与真空中光速接近的速度）下质量变化的方式。至今还没有专家对此做出评论。

Understandably this paper has caused buzz approaching levels seen in the early days of the EM Drive. And yes, even some headlines claiming the engine could 'violate the laws of physics'.

可以理解的是这个论文已经引发关注，其热度可以媲美无燃料引擎早期的关注度。甚至有些新闻声称该引擎可能“违反物理定律”。

But while this concept is fascinating, it's definitely not going to break physics anytime soon.

虽然这个概念很吸引人，但短期内绝对不会打破物理规律。

As a thought experiment to explain his concept, Burns describes a box with a weight inside, threaded on a line, with a spring at each end bouncing the weight back and forth.

Burns利用一个思维实验解释他的概念，他描述说一个盒子里面有一个重物，穿在一条线上，两端用弹簧来回弹起重物。

In a vacuum - such as space - the effect of this would be to wiggle the entire box, with the weight seeming to stand still, like a gif stabilised around the weight.

在真空状态，比如太空中，这样做的结果是整个盒子都会动，重物似乎静止不动，就像放置在重物周围的动图。

Overall, the box would stay wiggling in the same spot - but if the mass of the weight were to increase in only one direction, it would generate a greater push in that direction, and therefore thrust.

总的来说，这个盒子会在同一个地方摆动，但如果重物质量只向一个方向增加，那个方向推动力更大，因而产生推力。

 

翻译：菲菲