The Thornson Inertial Engine (TIE) uses the force from a rotating inertial mass (the centrifugal force) for producing 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 in one direction.
The effect is not accepted by professional physicists, considering them to be pseudo-science, in direct violation of some of the most measured physical laws known. Like other inertial propulsion engines, the TIE relies on the non-linear nature of friction to operation. 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, an effect that disappears when they are hung in the air, or placed in a vacuum chamber, free from surface friction.
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