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| Version | Summary | Created by | Modification | Content Size | Created at | Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dean Liu | -- | 2144 | 2022-11-16 01:34:15 |
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An ionocraft or ion-propelled aircraft (commonly known as a lifter or hexalifter) is a device that uses an electrical electrohydrodynamic (EHD) phenomenon 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. In its basic form, it simply consists of two parallel conductive electrodes, one in the form of a fine wire and another which may be formed out of wire grid, tubes or foil skirts with a smooth round surface. When such an arrangement is powered by high voltage (in the range of a few kilovolts), it produces thrust. The ionocraft forms part of the EHD thruster family, but is a special case in which the ionisation and accelerating stages are combined into a single stage. The device is a popular science fair project for students. It is also popular among anti-gravity or so-called "electrogravitics" proponents, due to the research of Thomas Townsend Brown, who built these devices in the 1920s and incorrectly believed that he had found a way to modify gravity using electric fields. The term "lifter" is an accurate description because it is not an anti-gravity device; rather, it produces lift using the same basic principle as a rocket, i.e. from the equal but opposite force upward generated by the driving force downward, specifically by driving the ionized air downward in the case of the ionocraft. Much like a rocket or a jet engine (it can actually be much more thrust efficient than a jet engine), the force that an ionocraft generates is consistently oriented along its own axis, regardless of the surrounding gravitational field. Claims of the device also working in a vacuum have been disproved. Ionocraft require many safety precautions due to the high voltage required for their operation; nevertheless, a large subculture has grown up around this simple EHD thrusting device and its physics are now known to a much better extent.
References
- Thompson, Clive (August 2003). "The Antigravity Underground". Wired Magazine. https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/pwr_antigravity.html
- Tajmar, M. (2004). "Biefeld-Brown Effect: Misinterpretation of Corona Wind Phenomena". AIAA Journal 42 (2): 315. doi:10.2514/1.9095. Bibcode: 2004AIAAJ..42..315T. https://dx.doi.org/10.2514%2F1.9095
- "Electrokinetic devices in air". http://rimstar.org/sdprop/lifter/ltcalcs/Electrokinetic_devices_in_air.pdf. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
- H Tammett, "Reduction of Air Ion Mobility to Standard Conditions", J. Geophys Res., Vol 103,, D 12, pp. 13933-13939, June 27, 1988 (Accessed 1 March 2018). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1029/97JD01429/asset/jgrd5470.pdf
- Lifter efficiency relation to ion velocity "J L Naudin’s Lifter-3 pulsed HV 1.13g/Watt" http://www.benreuven.com/lifter-efficency
- Full analysis & design solutions for EHD Thrusters at saturated corona current conditions http://www.blazelabs.com/ionocraftdesign.pdf
- Granados, Victor H.; Pinheiro, Mario J.; Sa, Paulo A. (July 2016). "Electrostatic propulsion device for aerodynamics applications". Physics of Plasmas. doi:10.1063/1.4958815. Bibcode: 2016PhPl...23g3514G. http://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/1.4958815. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- Barrett, Stephen R.H.; Masuyama, Kento (5 March 2013). "On the performance of electrohydrodynamic propulsion". Proceedings of the Royal Society. http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/469/2154/20120623.abstract?sid=9494059d-0ba7-4d99-b219-73ca7fe837be. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
