Thrust Force Analysis of a Rotating Ionocraft Under High Voltage Author: Rae-Zan Belen

Faculty Advisor: Hervé Collin, Ph.D.

Kapi‘olani Community College, Honolulu, Hawai‘i

References: [1] Brown, Thomas T.. “How I Control Gravity”. Science and Invention. August 1929.

[2] Brown, Thomas T. “Electrokinetic Apparatus”. “U.S. Patent No. 2,949,550’. August 16,1960.

[3] Bahder ,Thomas B. & Chris Fozi, “Force on an Asymmetric Capacitor,” Army Research Laboratory, March 2003

[4] Miller,William M., Paul B. Miller, Timothy J Drummond., “Force Characteristics of Asymmetrical Capacitor Thrusters in Air,” Army Research Lab-TR-3005, Dec 2002

[5] United State Department of Labor, “Ozone Chemical Sampling Information” http://www.osha.gov/dts/chemicalsampling/data/CH_259300.html

[6] “Is ablation responsible for Asymmetric Capacitor Thrust in Vacuum?,” Proposal by Quantum Potential Corporation in response to 2011 NASA SBIR Solicitation, Web pdf

[7] Martins, Alexandre A., “Modeling of an EHD Corona Flow in Nitrogen Gas Using an Asymmetric Capacitor for Propulsion,” Journal of Electrostatics, Vol 69, Issue 2, 133–138, April 2011

Introduction In the early 1920s, Brown and Biefeld [1] [2] discovered that when a very high voltage

is applied to an asymmetric capacitor, a force is produced parallel to the electrodes

and causes a thrust in the direction of the positive one. Modifying the geometry of the

asymmetric capacitor results in a lightweight ionocraft or “lifter,” that may represent a

candidate for an alternative novel propulsion system with no moving parts. The

potential of this ionocraft to revolutionize future transports with a novel technology has

piqued the interest of the US Army [3], [4], the US Navy [5], NASA [6], as well as

private companies such as the Honda Corporation [7].

Since the discovery of this thrust force in the nineteen twenties, its origin has been

highly speculated upon, and is still poorly understood. There have been several

theories proposed to predict the magnitude and origin of this force. The leading theory

involves the ionic wind effect (Biefeld-Brown), which describes the polarization of air

molecules as the source of propulsion. Other speculative theories also include

electrogravitics, which consider antigravity as a possible source. None of these

theories however are able to predict the correct magnitude of the thrust force (three

order of magnitude lower) [3]. An additional difficulty arises when attempting to

experimentally measure the thrust force through kinematic variables due to the high

variation of motion of the ionocraft’s lift. If the kinematic variables prove to be a

reliable method to infer the dynamics of the system, it is essential to control its

motion. Therefore, in this experiment, we decided to constraint the ionocraft into a

controlled rotational configuration in order to analyze the ionocraft’s motion on a fixed

flight path.

Sequence of data acquisition

1)Frictional force

2) Powered system

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation for the funding they have provided to support my research, my

advisor Dr. Hervé Collin, our STEM Coordinator Mrs. Keolani Noa, the Kapi`olani Community College STEM Program, Logan

Tamayo, Michelle Chu, James Bynes, and Lisa Kotowski. Much mahalo to my family and friends for their support towards the

completion of this project.

A nonlinear regression was performed again between the above equation and the

experimental data of our powered system to adjust the optimum value of the thrust

force F in order to obtained the best possible fit.

Figure 3: Linear Regression using Equation (1)

Figure 1: Nonlinear Regression using Figure 2: Nonlinear Regression using

Figure 1: Design of the ionocraft rotating setup

Figure 2: Experimental setup