Thornson Inertial Engine
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The Thornson Inertial Engine (TIE) uses the force from a rotating inertial mass (centrifugal force) to produce a linear impulse. The Thornson drive is composed of eccentric masses which, according to its supporters, when rotated properly causes a cancellation of all forces except those in one direction, resulting in the movement in that direction of the engine and anything attached to it.
The effect is not accepted by professional physicists, who consider it to be pseudo-science, in direct violation of some of the most carefully tested laws of physics.
Like other inertial propulsion engines, the TIE relies on the non-linear nature of friction to operate. A large force in one direction is enough to overcome the slip friction with the surface it sits on, but the return force is spread out over time and therefore below the threshold needed. Over time the devices undergo a series of "jerks" and move forward. This effect disappears when the engine is suspended in the air, or placed in a vacuum chamber, free from surface friction.