Electro-gravitic propulsion
Encyclopedia
Electrogravitics is a hypothesis proposed by Thomas Townsend Brown
and Brown's subsequent extensive experimentation and demonstrations of the effect. The term was in widespread use by 1956. The effects of electrogravity have been searched for extensively in countless experiments since the beginning of the 20th century; to date, other than Brown's experiments and the more recent ones reported by R. L. Talley, Eugene Podkletnov
, and Giovanni Modanese
, no conclusive evidence of electrogravitic signatures has been found. Recently, some investigation has begun in electrohydrodynamics
(EHD) or sometimes electro-fluid-dynamics, a counterpart to the well-known magnetohydrodynamics
, but these do not seem a priori to be related to Brown's "electrogravitics" .
Electrokinetics is the term used by Brown for the electrically generated propulsive force. No widely accepted experimental data yet supports these calculations.
and spacecraft
. The field became popular in the mid-1950s, but rapidly declined in popularity within mainstream science thereafter. Electrogravitic processes use an electric field
to charge
or, more properly, polarize
an object. Electrostatic levitation is used, for instance, in Robert Millikan
's oil drop experiment and is used to suspend the gyroscopes in Gravity Probe B
during launch. Due to Earnshaw's theorem
, no static arrangement of classical electrostatic fields can be used to stably levitate an object. There is a point where the two fields cancel, but it is unstable. However, it is possible to design a feedback control system that uses dynamically changing electric fields to hold an object in position.
The Biefeld–Brown effect
was initially investigated by Thomas Townsend Brown (USA) and Dr. Paul Alfred Biefeld (Germany) in the 1920s. Research continued through the 1950s and 1960s by Brown and other researchers. The use of this electrogravitic propulsion effect was further explored during the publicized era of gravity control propulsion research, which included the United States gravity control propulsion initiative. During 1964, Alexander P. de Seversky had in fact published a lot of his own work in . Unlike Brown, he believed that what he was seeing was a strictly electrostatic effect. To forestall any possible misunderstanding about his devices, he termed these flying machines as ionocraft
s.
Byron Preiss
considered electrogravitics development to be "much ado about nothing, started by a bunch of engineers who didn't know enough physics". Preiss stated that electrogravitics, like exobiology, is "a science without a single specimen for study".
In May, 1991, the U.S. Air Force Systems Command, Propulsion Directorate, published a Final Report on a project by Veritay Technology, Inc., led by Principal Investigator R. L. Talley, entitled "Twenty First Century Propulsion Concept". The Abstract summarizes as follows: "This Phase II SBIR contract was concerned with exploring the Biefield-Brown effect which allegedly converts electrostatic energy directly into a propulsive force in a vacuum environment." ... "...no detectable propulsive force was electrostatically induced by applying a static potential difference up to 19 kV between the electrodes of test devices under conditions in which electrical breakdowns did not occur. Near the conclusion of this program, force generation effects were examined using a high dielectric constant, ceramic piezoelectric material between electrodes of an asymmetric test device under voltage conditions which caused repetitive electrical breakdowns to occur. Very limited test results of this type suggest that anomalous forces were produced, and these may warrant further consideration in the future." The report concludes by recommending that no further experiments be done with static DC voltages, but that further experiments should be done using pulsed excitation to "piezoelectric and/or select dielectric materials". It should be noted in this context that a 1956 article in InterAvia Magazine reported that high dielectric constants had been found, according to their sources, to be important, and that voltages of not just 15 kV but perhaps as high as 15 Megavolts were thought to be needed to obtain dramatic effects.
More recently, Bernard Haisch
, Harold E. Puthoff
, and several other physicists have shown intriguing connections between electromagnetics, notably the electromagnetic zero-point field, and inertia, and have speculated about possible further connections with gravity. Physicist Ning Li and engineer Eugene Podkletnov
have, respectively, shown theoretically, and reported observing experimentally, anomalous gravitic attenuation effects above a superconducting disk spinning in a strong magnetic field such as is produced in a Meissner effect
demonstration apparatus. Giovanni Modanese
has conducted further experiments on the phenomena seen by Podkletnov, and has reported some additional much stronger, but transient, anomalous gravitational effects.
American
Thomas Townsend Brown
Thomas Townsend Brown was an American physicist.-Early and middle years:Brown was born in Zanesville, Ohio; his parents were Lewis K. and Mary Townsend Brown. In 1921, Brown discovered what was later called the Biefeld-Brown effect while experimenting with a Coolidge X-ray tube. This is a vacuum...
and Brown's subsequent extensive experimentation and demonstrations of the effect. The term was in widespread use by 1956. The effects of electrogravity have been searched for extensively in countless experiments since the beginning of the 20th century; to date, other than Brown's experiments and the more recent ones reported by R. L. Talley, Eugene Podkletnov
Eugene Podkletnov
Dr Yevgeny Podkletnov is a Russian engineer, formerly affiliated with the Materials Science Department at the Tampere University of Technology, Finland, who is best known for his controversial work on a so-called gravity shielding device...
, and Giovanni Modanese
Giovanni Modanese
Giovanni Modanese is a professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.He is the author of several publications in General Relativity and Quantum Gravity....
, no conclusive evidence of electrogravitic signatures has been found. Recently, some investigation has begun in electrohydrodynamics
Electrohydrodynamics
Electrohydrodynamics , also known as electro-fluid-dynamics or electrokinetics, is the study of the dynamics of electrically charged fluids. It is the study of the motions of ionised particles or molecules and their interactions with electric fields and the surrounding fluid...
(EHD) or sometimes electro-fluid-dynamics, a counterpart to the well-known magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics is an academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such fluids include plasmas, liquid metals, and salt water or electrolytes...
, but these do not seem a priori to be related to Brown's "electrogravitics" .
Electrokinetics is the term used by Brown for the electrically generated propulsive force. No widely accepted experimental data yet supports these calculations.
Description
The research, based upon Thomas Townsend Brown's hypotheses, includes the idea that electrogravitics could be used as a means of propulsion for aircraftAircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
. The field became popular in the mid-1950s, but rapidly declined in popularity within mainstream science thereafter. Electrogravitic processes use an electric field
Electric field
In physics, an electric field surrounds electrically charged particles and time-varying magnetic fields. The electric field depicts the force exerted on other electrically charged objects by the electrically charged particle the field is surrounding...
to charge
Electric charge
Electric charge is a physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when near other electrically charged matter. Electric charge comes in two types, called positive and negative. Two positively charged substances, or objects, experience a mutual repulsive force, as do two...
or, more properly, polarize
Polarization
Polarization is a property of certain types of waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations. Electromagnetic waves, such as light, and gravitational waves exhibit polarization; acoustic waves in a gas or liquid do not have polarization because the direction of vibration and...
an object. Electrostatic levitation is used, for instance, in Robert Millikan
Robert Millikan
Robert A. Millikan was an American experimental physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect. He served as president of Caltech from 1921 to 1945...
's oil drop experiment and is used to suspend the gyroscopes in Gravity Probe B
Gravity Probe B
Gravity Probe B is a satellite-based mission which launched on 20 April 2004 on a Delta II rocket. The spaceflight phase lasted until 2005; its aim was to measure spacetime curvature near Earth, and thereby the stress–energy tensor in and near Earth...
during launch. Due to Earnshaw's theorem
Earnshaw's theorem
Earnshaw's theorem states that a collection of point charges cannot be maintained in a stable stationary equilibrium configuration solely by the electrostatic interaction of the charges. This was first proven by British mathematician Samuel Earnshaw in 1842. It is usually referenced to magnetic...
, no static arrangement of classical electrostatic fields can be used to stably levitate an object. There is a point where the two fields cancel, but it is unstable. However, it is possible to design a feedback control system that uses dynamically changing electric fields to hold an object in position.
The Biefeld–Brown effect
Biefeld–Brown effect
The Biefeld–Brown effect is an electrical effect that produces an ionic wind that transfers its momentum to surrounding neutral particles, first discovered by Paul Alfred Biefeld and Thomas Townsend Brown . The effect is more widely referred to as electrohydrodynamics or sometimes...
was initially investigated by Thomas Townsend Brown (USA) and Dr. Paul Alfred Biefeld (Germany) in the 1920s. Research continued through the 1950s and 1960s by Brown and other researchers. The use of this electrogravitic propulsion effect was further explored during the publicized era of gravity control propulsion research, which included the United States gravity control propulsion initiative. During 1964, Alexander P. de Seversky had in fact published a lot of his own work in . Unlike Brown, he believed that what he was seeing was a strictly electrostatic effect. To forestall any possible misunderstanding about his devices, he termed these flying machines as ionocraft
Ionocraft
An ionocraft or ion-propelled aircraft, commonly known as a lifter or hexalifter, is an electrohydrodynamic device to produce thrust in the air, without requiring any combustion or moving parts. The term "Ionocraft" dates back to the 1960s, an era in which EHD experiments were at their peak...
s.
Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss was an American writer, editor, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of iBooks.-Early life and career:...
considered electrogravitics development to be "much ado about nothing, started by a bunch of engineers who didn't know enough physics". Preiss stated that electrogravitics, like exobiology, is "a science without a single specimen for study".
In May, 1991, the U.S. Air Force Systems Command, Propulsion Directorate, published a Final Report on a project by Veritay Technology, Inc., led by Principal Investigator R. L. Talley, entitled "Twenty First Century Propulsion Concept". The Abstract summarizes as follows: "This Phase II SBIR contract was concerned with exploring the Biefield-Brown effect which allegedly converts electrostatic energy directly into a propulsive force in a vacuum environment." ... "...no detectable propulsive force was electrostatically induced by applying a static potential difference up to 19 kV between the electrodes of test devices under conditions in which electrical breakdowns did not occur. Near the conclusion of this program, force generation effects were examined using a high dielectric constant, ceramic piezoelectric material between electrodes of an asymmetric test device under voltage conditions which caused repetitive electrical breakdowns to occur. Very limited test results of this type suggest that anomalous forces were produced, and these may warrant further consideration in the future." The report concludes by recommending that no further experiments be done with static DC voltages, but that further experiments should be done using pulsed excitation to "piezoelectric and/or select dielectric materials". It should be noted in this context that a 1956 article in InterAvia Magazine reported that high dielectric constants had been found, according to their sources, to be important, and that voltages of not just 15 kV but perhaps as high as 15 Megavolts were thought to be needed to obtain dramatic effects.
More recently, Bernard Haisch
Bernard Haisch
Bernard Haisch is a German-born American astrophysicist who has done research in solar-stellar astrophysics and stochastic electrodynamics. He has developed with Alfonso Rueda a speculative theory that the non-zero lowest energy state of the vacuum, as predicted by quantum mechanics, might provide...
, Harold E. Puthoff
Harold E. Puthoff
Harold E. Puthoff is an American physicist who, earlier in his career was involved in research on paranormal topics. In 1967, Puthoff earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University...
, and several other physicists have shown intriguing connections between electromagnetics, notably the electromagnetic zero-point field, and inertia, and have speculated about possible further connections with gravity. Physicist Ning Li and engineer Eugene Podkletnov
Eugene Podkletnov
Dr Yevgeny Podkletnov is a Russian engineer, formerly affiliated with the Materials Science Department at the Tampere University of Technology, Finland, who is best known for his controversial work on a so-called gravity shielding device...
have, respectively, shown theoretically, and reported observing experimentally, anomalous gravitic attenuation effects above a superconducting disk spinning in a strong magnetic field such as is produced in a Meissner effect
Meissner effect
The Meissner effect is the expulsion of a magnetic field from a superconductor during its transition to the superconducting state. The German physicists Walther Meissner and Robert Ochsenfeld discovered the phenomenon in 1933 by measuring the magnetic field distribution outside superconducting tin...
demonstration apparatus. Giovanni Modanese
Giovanni Modanese
Giovanni Modanese is a professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.He is the author of several publications in General Relativity and Quantum Gravity....
has conducted further experiments on the phenomena seen by Podkletnov, and has reported some additional much stronger, but transient, anomalous gravitational effects.
Video
Patents
Non-American- GB300311 - A method of and an apparatus or machine for producing force or motion (accepted 1928-11-15)
American