DEFICIENCIES IN TIDAL FRICTION WITH CORRELATIONS TO THE PIONEER ANOMALY
J.B. Hohner
Abstract
The Pioneer anomaly has presented us with an unexplained variance in momentum under conditions that are close to a controlled laboratory experiment. Extensive analysis by Turyshev, et. al. has yielded no definitive explanation for the near identical slowing of these two spacecraft. Continued efforts to explain this anomaly may be served by comparison to other observed momentum anomalies such as the Earth’s slowing rotation and the anomalous rotation of galaxies. While we trust that Newton’s first law stands, a simple gyro test could be conducted to detect and measure a possible, very minimal, unaccounted slowing of the gyro’s rotational velocity. The minuscule momentum variance, in the range of the Pioneer anomaly, would likely have been dismissed in prior gyro tests as system friction. An updated experiment, with special attention to friction, would unveil if momentum does also vary in the laboratory. The results, whether positive or negative, may be a powerful guide in the path to resolving Pioneer and other momentum anomalies.
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