The theory being tested is Mike McCulloch’s “Quantised Inertia”, which he summarises as follows:
Quantised inertia explains inertia, for the first time, by combining relativity and quantum mechanics.
- According to relativity, an accelerating object will see a Rindler horizon in the direction opposite to that of its acceleration vector. This is because information travels at the speed of light.
- An accelerating object will see itself surrounded by so-called Unruh radiation. The horizon splits virtual particles, so that they become real radiation.
Quantized Inertia combines these two predictions by saying that the horizon damps (reduces) the Unruh radiation on one side of the object. The resulting gradient in the quantum vacuum pushes the object back against it acceleration, explaining inertia.
Quantized Inertia further predicts that for objects with very low accelerations, such as stars at the edges of galaxies, the Rindler horizon moves so far back that it is close to the cosmic horizon so the waves of Unruh radiation are now damped equally all around, and the mechanism of inertia collapses. This explains why stars at the edge of galaxies can orbit faster than expected but still remain bound to the galaxy. As a result, Quantised Inertia predicts galaxy rotation perfectly without the need for dark matter or any adjustment.
More practically, quantized inertia also predicts that we can get thrust and energy from the vacuum.
The theory thus claims both to explain the rotation curves of galaxies without resorting to dark matter or modified gravity and to allow generation of thrust without propellant.
Here is a twenty-minute talk to the Interstellar Research Group describing the theory and potential propulsion applications.
