> 1. It violates Conservation of Momentum. If the phenomena is real, a large number of basic Physics principles would need to be discarded.
Relativity didn't make us discard Newtonian physics though. It just turned out to be a good approximation of something more complex in certain conditions. Similarly, we don't discard the descriptions of macroscopic events when they turn out to be just emergent phenonema, good approximations of complex quantum events at certain scales. Why would this be any different?
> 2. It was designed based on certain principles. Those principles have been shown to be wrong. But it works anyway because reasons?
Those 'reasons' are imo more interesting than whether it really works or not. Sure, the measurements may be off, or the setup of the experiments could be flawed. But until someone can point out exactly why we're measuring what we're measuring, I think it's worth pursuing.
> 3. The results of each experiment are suspiciously close to the limits of measurement.
If nothing else, maybe it will motivate scientists to come up with more exact ways of measuring, or better experimental designs that shield from unintended effects.
I guess my point is, regardless of whether it works as a drive or not, we shouldn't discard it as a hoax or consider its study a waste of time as some scientists seem to do.
Relativity didn't make us discard Newtonian physics though. It just turned out to be a good approximation of something more complex in certain conditions. Similarly, we don't discard the descriptions of macroscopic events when they turn out to be just emergent phenonema, good approximations of complex quantum events at certain scales. Why would this be any different?
> 2. It was designed based on certain principles. Those principles have been shown to be wrong. But it works anyway because reasons?
Those 'reasons' are imo more interesting than whether it really works or not. Sure, the measurements may be off, or the setup of the experiments could be flawed. But until someone can point out exactly why we're measuring what we're measuring, I think it's worth pursuing.
> 3. The results of each experiment are suspiciously close to the limits of measurement.
If nothing else, maybe it will motivate scientists to come up with more exact ways of measuring, or better experimental designs that shield from unintended effects.
I guess my point is, regardless of whether it works as a drive or not, we shouldn't discard it as a hoax or consider its study a waste of time as some scientists seem to do.