A 19-year-old Egyptian university student called Aisha Mustafa has invented a futuristic propulsion system for spacecraft, the Daily Mail reported.
The invention ‘leapfrogs’ Nasa research, and uses a hi-tech quantum effect to drive satellites through space, rather than ordinary rocket engines.
Mustafa’s invention generates energy using the Casimir-Polder force, an obscure quantum effect using two surfaces and objects in a vacuum.
The force is described as an ‘invisible rubber band’ between bulky objects and atoms that arises from the ever-present random fluctuation of microscopic electric fields in empty space.
The fluctuations get stronger near a surface and an isolated neutral atom nearby feels the force as a ‘pull’.
Mustafa’s drive isn’t exactly Warp Factor Ten material, but it provides enough energy for satellites to maneouver gracefully through space.
She has patented her invention Egyptian Academy of scientific Research and Technology (ASRT).
The 19-year-old says she aims to test her invention in future space missions.