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A Search for
Artificial Gravity
Martin Gottschall, PhD ©
Summary
This paper presents a hypothesis about how artificial gravity might
be produced, in the form of an equation. A large number of
hypotheses are conceivable, and contactee information as well
as the Finnish disclosure were used to select one which
hopefully had a higher probability of helping us to discover
artificial gravity. Contactee statements inferred
unequivocally, that certain electromagnetic procedures were
capable of producing artificial gravity, and that these
procedures most probably involved the acceleration of charges.
The Finnish apparatus did indeed involve significant levels of
charge acceleration, but a residual effect was deemed possible
only if charge mobility was made a controlling property in the
gravity equation. The paper presents a relatively simple
apparatus using readily available components with which
artificial gravity might be demonstrated if the proposed
hypothesis is correct.
Introduction
An understanding of the physics and technology of UFO's is
essential in our efforts to understand the phenomenon as a
whole. Only a small part of the available UFO literature is
devoted to this field of study, perhaps because scientists and
engineers have tended stay away from this subject.
When we
understand how difficult or easy it might be to traverse
interstellar and intergalactic space, we can also make some
intelligent guesses about the motives which UFO occupants from
other solar systems might have for coming to our planet; what
they might need and want.
Likewise, if we
have a rational basis for accepting the possibility of the
existence of other dimensions or levels of physical existence,
and the means which might be employed in moving from one to
another, we are again in a better position to interpret the
behaviour of UFO occupants who might have come here via
dimensional travel.
A greater
understanding of UFO physics and technology will also give us
a better understanding of some of the possibilities which
might be part of our future destiny. It might also throw some
light on the driving force(s) behind the abduction phenomenon.
There is therefore, a "practical" application for the results
of this branch of UFO research other than the application of
such technology, which might be further away in our future.
This paper
addresses only one of the technical issues which the writer
considers to be part of the UFO phenomenon - artificial
gravity. However it is possible, even likely, that if we make
real progress here, what we learn will help us to make
progress with some of the other issues as well.
Historical
Development
The extraordinary nature of UFO technology was
recognized by 1947, and very likely decades earlier. The
reason why it did not become common knowledge is probably that
with the policy of silence pursued by virtually every
terrestrial government, those who knew kept quiet, while the
majority of the scientific and technical community rejected
the entire phenomenon out of hand as ridiculous or impossible
as soon as they perceived that it was very difficult or totally
impossible to understand UFO physics in terms of ours.
Although the
authorities maintained a UFO cover-up, it is inconceivable that
they would not have pursued secret research into UFO science
and technology. Any progress made which was intended to be
brought into the public domain would have been introduced in
such a way as to seem to be a natural part of the evolution of
terrestrial science and technology. It is also likely that
some of "fringe" science like the so-called scalar waves,
contains elements of secret research. It is conceivable that
scientists involved in secret work might want to see some of
this enter the public domain, and have embedded important
ideas in a context of science nonsense, hoping that someone
would recognize the good part. Such a practice is analogous to
disseminating fact as fiction.
As indicated,
UFO literature on UFO science and technology is relatively
sparse, and is sometimes produced by individuals having only
limited qualifications in the relevant fields of science.
Thus, Plantier (1) proposed a field theory of UFO propulsion,
without defining the nature of the field, or the manner in
which it might be produced explicitly enough explain anything
other than the survival of UFO occupants during moments of
very high acceleration.
Later Cramp (2)
proposed another field theory in which the gravitational field
envisaged emanates from highly localised, massless centres.
Although Cramp discussed the likely effect of such fields on
UFO's and their occupants in some detail, he neglected the
interaction of these field centres with each other and other
gravitational bodies, most especially the Earth. Had he done
so he would have discovered very powerful forces acting on
these field centres, tending to separate them, or collapse
them or to rotate their axis, as with a compass.
There is
emerging a well defined school of thought along the lines of
Friedman (3) and Hill (4) which proposes that UFO physics is
not really so far removed from our physics, and that we have
overrated the strangeness of UFO technology. They argue that
with a technology which lies within the boundaries of our
science, the exploration of nearby solar systems is feasible,
and with near speed of light travel, the passage of time on
the spacecraft can be slowed so much that for the travellers
at least a journey of many light years can take only months or
weeks. They argue, and rightly, that since our galaxy is
billions of years old, and a mere hundred thousand light years
across, it could have been colonized thousands of times over
from any of the solar systems in it, and that life would
therefore be widely dispersed throughout it.
The work of
Friedman et al is useful for demonstrating that the idea of ET
visitations from solar systems from up to say a hundred light
years away is really quite reasonable to anyone who needs that
persuasion, and it helps us to understand at least some ET
visitation. However, in addition to UFO sightings, there is a
long record of encounters with UFO occupants which are known
as 'contacts', during which there was an exchange of
information, and the human party may have been taken for a
trip in the UFO. Information from this source tends to
emphasize the high strangeness of the UFO phenomenon, and its
associated technology. For example, one of the claims
explicitly made by contactees is that journeys of many light
years are made in times that are not only brief to the vehicle
occupants, but to non travellers as well.
The Finnish
Gravity Discovery
In 1996 a British newspaper (5), published
an account of the alleged discovery by a group of Finnish
scientists of artificial gravity. They were carrying out some
routine work on superconductivity when they noticed that air
was inexplicably rising above their apparatus which was
cryogenic and should have had cooled air falling from it.
Further measurements revealed a 2% reduction in the weight of
objects directly above the device, which could not be
attributed to wind effects, electric, magnetic or
electromagnetic forces. Their apparatus is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The
Apparatus Disclosed by the Finnish Researchers. A more
detailed discussion of this discovery was published by the
author elsewhere (6,7). The scientists gave sufficient
information to allow us to form a fairly clear picture of the
physical processes which were taking place while this
gravitational effect was being observed. A paper based on
initial observations was accepted for publication by a
recognised British Journal, and this tends to support the
impression conveyed by the original newspaper account and
similar ones later, that this was a genuine discovery.
The paper was
subsequently withdrawn from publication by its main author and
the matter seems to have receded from public view amid
considerable controversy. Those familiar with the cover-up will
be very aware, that the obvious inference - that the entire
story was a hoax - is not the only probable explanation.
Contactee
Sources
To assist us, we will also draw on sources of
information which have been with us for almost half a century.
In July of 1950, Daniel Fry, an Electronics Engineer, working
under contract at White Sands Proving Ground, saw a disk land
on the desert at night, conversed with a distant ET and went
for a half hour ride to New York and back in the otherwise
unoccupied craft. Fry was technically well qualified and
intensely interested in things to do with space travel, so it
is not surprising that his book (8) contains the most explicit
discussions of gravitational propulsion obtained from
contactees, as quoted below;
"You are
familiar enough with electrodynamics to know that a moving
electron creates a magnetic field. The tremendous surge of
electrons through the force rings produces a very strong
magnetic field. Since the direction and amplitude of flow can
be controlled through either ring, and in several paths
through a 'single' ring, we can produce a field which
oscillates in a pattern of precisely controlled modes. In this
way we can create magnetic resonance between the two rings, or
between the several segments of a single ring.
"As you also
know, any magnetic field which is changing in intensity, will
create an electric field which, at any given instant is equal
in amplitude, opposite in sign, and perpendicular to the
magnetic field. If the two fields become mutually resonant, a
vector force will be generated. Unless the amplitude and the
frequency of the resonance is quite high, the vector field
will be very small, and may pass unnoticed. However, the
amplitude of the vector field increases at a greater rate than
the two fields which generate it and, at high resonance
levels, becomes very strong. The vector field, whose direction
is perpendicular to each of the other two, creates an effect
similar to, and in fact, identical with a gravitational
field."
Williamson (9)
is an independent source which gives us similar though less
detailed information:
"We do not fly
as you think of flying, but we drift or glide on magnetic
lines of force. We need no fuel. We operate in a Resonating
Electromagnetic Field just like planetary bodies do." (page
59).
"The Four Great
Primary Forces are: Static Magnetic Field; Electro-Static
Field; Electro-Magnetic Wave; Resonating Electro-Magnetic
Field. Your scientists do not understand the last one
mentioned." (page 83).
We can
immediately draw two inferences from these quotations - that
some kind of electromagnetic procedure can produce a
gravitational field and that the directions of the various
elements of this process have to be accounted for accurately
if we are going to understand it. In our attempt to extract
the fundamental physical process involved here, we will use
the methods of vector algebra to ensure that we get our
directions right every time.
Three Vector
Operators
The reader is no doubt familiar with the addition
and multiplication of numbers. Many physical properties have
both size and direction. For example the location of Sydney in
relation to Brisbane is about one thousand km in a Southerly
direction. We will only get to Sydney if we travel the
required distance in the correct direction. Such properties
are said to be vectors. Positions, forces, motion,
acceleration, electric displacement, electric and magnetic
fields, are all vectors. To deal with these properties
precisely, we find it convenient to use the methods of vector
algebra.
When two or
more different physical properties combine to produce a new
effect, then in the equations which describe such processes,
these properties are always combined by multiplying them
together (division is really multiplication and will not be
treated separately). For every effect discovered so far, there
is a unique equation defining exactly how the properties
causing it must be multiplied together. We therefore expect
that a unique equation will also be discovered for artificial
gravity.
When a number
of separate effects of the same kind combine, the end result
of this combination is obtained by an addition process (here
too, subtraction is just a special form of addition and will
not be considered further), in the equations describing them.
We are concerned here with discovering a heretofore unknown
combination of known processes to produce a known effect
(gravity). These will combine by multiplication (and division)
in a unique equation, and we will now define the three types
of multiplication of vector algebra.
1. Changing the
Size of a Vector but not its Direction
This kind of
multiplication is akin to ordinary multiplication of numbers.
If we multiplied the distance to Sydney by the number 1.1 we
would get 1,100 km. If we move this distance in the direction
of Sydney from Brisbane, we might end up in Woollongong. The
vector keeps its direction but its size is changed by this
operation.
2. The
Multiplication of two Vectors which results in a Non-Vector
This operation
is usually represented by a dot and is called "scalar"
multiplication. Non-vectors are called scalars. Energy, for
example is a scalar. If a force F acts on a body while it
undergoes a displacement D, the energy e expended is given by:
e = F . D
Here, capital
letters represent vectors, and lower case letters represent
scalars.
3. The
Multiplication of two Vectors which results in another Vector
This operation
is represented by a cross and is called vector multiplication.
Like force (F), torque or turning effort (T) is also a vector
that is directed along the axis of rotation which the torque
tends to produce. Spanners are used to tighten and loosen nuts
on car wheels and many other devices. The force F applied to
the handle of the spanner together with the position (D) of
the nut in relation to the handle (the leverage) determine the
turning effort actually applied, and this can be calculated
with vector multiplication as indicated below:
T = F x D
Not only is T a
vector, but its direction is perpendicular to the plane
containing F and D.
What is the
Resonating Electro-Magnetic Field?
In attempting to discover this new field, we will consider individual charged particles
only. In any real situation vast numbers of charged particles,
usually electrons act, but their combined effect is obtained
by addition, which does not created a new effect. We will
consider only the interactions which require multiplication.
By considering individual charges only, we can most readily
understand and describe the effects under consideration.
A charged
particle such as an electron is surrounded by an electric
displacement field, for which we will use the symbol ED,
reserving E for the electric field. The displacement field
vector of a charge q at a position R is given by:
ED =
q*R/(4*pi*r*r*r) . . . . . . . (1)
Here '*' is
ordinary numeric multiplication, r is the length of R and 'pi'
is the number 3.14156... . This formula tells us that the
direction of ED is everywhere the same as R. The formula also
tells us how to calculate the strength of ED at any point. ED
radiates away from the charge equally in all directions and
the intensity of ED varies inversely as the square of r. Like
gravity it is recognised as an inverse square field. The
electric field E associated with ED has the same direction as
ED and is calculated by:
E = k*ED . . .
. . . . . . . . (2)
where k
represents the electric property of space. These two formulas
represent the electrostatic field, and could be combined into
one. Since we intend to regard ED as identical with 'space' it
is convenient to separate ED and E. E is a field of force. Any
charge q in a field E experiences a force F according to:
F = q*E . . . .
. . . . . . . (3)
When an
electric charge moves through the space associated with
another charge, a new field called 'magnetic' is experienced
in the latter space which is taken as our reference point, and
we imagine ourselves at rest in it. If the charge moves with
velocity V and has a displacement field ED at our point of
observation, the magnetic field we measure is calculated by:
H = VxED . . .
. . . . . . . . (4)
The magnetic
flux density B associated with H is:
B = u*H . . . .
. . . . . . . (5)
where u
represents the magnetic property of space. The field B is
associated with the moving charge, and is moving past our
point of observation. A charge q at rest experiences a
magnetic force in addition to any electric forces that may be
acting, which is calculated by:
F = q*VxB . . .
. . . . . . . . (6)
Thus far we
have looked at the interaction of two charged bodies. Now we
will look at the interaction of a charge with its own field.
We have considered moving charges and their associated fields,
without considering how that motion came about. Any steady
motion is preceded by a period of acceleration. Suppose a
charge at rest was struck by an uncharged particle and so set
in motion. The particle may be moving, but its surrounding
field, which has inertia, is still at rest. The field (both ED
and E) acquires a distortion in the direction of the speed
change which creates new electic and magnetic fields, which
act to bring the field up to speed. There are possibly three
effects associated with the acceleration of charges, of which
two are known to our science.
One of these
was discovered by Faraday, with low values of acceleration of
relatively long duration. There arises in the space
surrounding the accelerated charge an electric field which
acts opposite to the direction of acceleration, and may be
calculated with the formula:
E = - u*q*A/r .
. . . . . . . . (7)
where A is the
acceleration (a vector) and r is the distance from the
accelerated charge to the point where E is measured. The
electrical transformer is based on this discovery.
The second
effect was predicted by Maxwell and discovered by Hertz late
last century. During the acceleration a disturbance is being
constantly sent out by the accelerating charge into the
surrounding space as radiation, as for example radio waves.
With this effect there exist in the same space an electric
field and a magnetic field each having the same energy
intensity. These fields are at right angles to each other, and
to the direction of propagation of the radiating energy. The
intensity of radiation is not uniform in all directions, and
can be calculated with the formula in which c is the speed of
light:
I = (q*AxR).(q*AxR)*R/(c*c*c*r*r*r*r*r)
. . (8)
Note that the
term (AxR) appears twice. In a different rendering of this
formula, one of these represents the electrical field, and the
other the magnetic field. Our rendering emphasizes the
equality of energy density of the two fields, and the fact
that they are multiplied together shows that they are
combining to produce a new effect.
The third
effect is the "Resonating Electromagnetic Field" as given by
Williamson and the "Magnetic Resonance" of Fry. Fry speaks of
an electric field and a perpendicular magnetic field of equal
amplitude (which can only mean equal energy intensity) but of
opposite sign (which is interpreted here to mean that the one
is energised by the other), which are in "resonance" with each
other. When the same fields propagate through space, we do not
speak of them as being in resonance with each other. If we
followed any portion of this field, it would always have the
same intensity (except as the wave spreads in space) and there
would also be a constant, perpendicular magnetic field of
equal intensity in the same space.
Examples of
Resonance
"Resonance" is associated with some kind of
oscillation. We are particularly interested in electrical
oscillations. At "low" frequencies, where the wavelength of
the associated electromagnetic radiation is much larger than
the size of the oscillating circuit, the two components needed
are a coil and a condenser. Magnetic fields are created in and
around the coil, and electric fields in the condenser. Since
these fields occupy different spaces, and have no particular
directional relationship, this type of oscillator does not
meet the specification given by Fry, and will not be
considered further.
At "high"
frequencies, where the size of the oscillator is of the same
order as the associated wavelength, or bigger, we can obtain a
different kind of resonance. Electromagnetic radiation can not
only propagate through space like sunlight, it can also follow
a carrier, like a wire. This wave can be reflected so that it
propagates back and forth along the wire and create "standing
waves". The word "modes" as used by Fry suggests such standing
waves.
When standing
waves are created between a pair of closely spaced parallel
wires, very little of the associated energy surging back and
forth is radiated away into space. If these wires are closed
on themselves, forming closed loops or rings, we can also send
energy around that loop or ring in one direction only. Instead
of a standing wave, we then have a wave which is propagating
around the loop or ring, like race cars around a track. Such
arrangements are usually called wave guides. We can also send
energy around a loop in both directions, and create standing
waves.
An early
example of standing waves in an open helical coil is the
so-called Tesla coil. Tesla worked at frequencies of around 1
MHz, where the wavelength is 300 meters. In his coil, 150
meters of wire would be wound on a cylindrical former in a
helical pattern as shown in Figure 2. Oscillation would then
be excited in this helix by a few turns of primary winding.
The helix oscillator had relatively low losses, and Tesla was
able to obtain alternating current voltages of about a million
at what was then a high frequency, and perform many unusual
experiments.
Figure 2. The
"Tesla Coil". The type of resonance which seems to fit Fry's
description of "magnetic resonance" is the standing wave
created in loops of conductor or portions thereof.
A Possible
Gravitational Effect
We postulate here, in accordance with the
quoted contactee statements, that accelerated charges produce
a gravitational field having a certain resemblance to the
radiation field. The gravitational field is assumed to have an
inverse square character, like the radiation field, and like
natural gravitational fields. Like the power of a radiation
field, the intensity of the gravitational field is
proportional to the square of the acceleration, and does not
reverse its direction when the direction of acceleration
reverses (when two identical entities are multiplied together,
the answer is always positive).
We must also
examine the question of whether the accelerated charges must
be in phase (all accelerating in the same sense at any
instant), or if phase is unimportant. Fry's wording seems to
imply that the charges must move in phase. In plasmas there
are many charges moving at very high speeds, colliding with
each other, and undergoing very intense accelerations. These
are not in phase. If phase did not matter, the gravitational
effect of a nuclear fireball (an intense and large plasma)
might well be more devastating than the explosion itself.
Since no one seems to have noticed a gravitational effect
associated with plasmas, we assume that the accelerating
charges must be in phase to produce a cumulative gravitational
effect.
Radiation from
two sources can interfere (cancel out) in some places and
reinforce in others. The total energy radiated out is not
changed, but the intensity is less in places of interference,
and greater where there is reinforcement. We can not say at
present, if a similar effect arises with gravitational fields
from two sources.
For the past
century especially, all kinds of electromagnetic effects have
been produced in the public domain, apart from secret
research, and a gravitational effect, while claimed by some,
has not been verified by the scientific community in general.
We assume from this that gravitational effects are produced in
a way that is unique, and tends not to arise in ordinary
electromagnetic machinery, or to be very small.
We therefore
postulate that the acceleration of charges and the value of
the charge appear in the gravity equation as q*a*a rather than
q*a*q*a, as in equation (8), for radiation. In the case of
radiation, a large amount of charge having a small
acceleration has the same effect as a small amount of charge
having a proportionately larger acceleration. However in the
formula:
G = - s*q*(AxR).(AxR)*R/r*r*r*r*r
. . . (9)
where G is the
gravitational field at a point located from the accelerating
charge q by the vector R, A the acceleration, and s is a
constant presently unknown, A is much more important than q. A
is limited by the mobility of the charge carriers in any
conductor, while q is determined by the number of such
carriers present. The minus sign indicates attraction towards
the charge.
In equation
(9), charge and acceleration are not directly interchangeable,
as with the radiation formula. While acceleration is
multiplied twice, charge only once. Thus, if a given material
offered us a million-fold increase in the value of A, we would
need a million million times less charge carriers to produce
the same effect. The rationale for maximizing the
gravitational effect of equation (9) is therefore very
different from that used to maximize radiation, and this might
explain why we have not yet discovered it. We will consider
this in more detail below.
Conduction
Media for Producing Gravitational Fields
In the transmission
of electrical power, and the production of radio waves, the
important property is conductivity or lack of resistance. In
maximizing the effect of equation (9), the mobility of the
charge carriers is the governing property. Thus, the entire
logic associated with the production of gravitational waves is
different.
In ordinary
metals like copper, the electron densities are very high and
electrons move with speeds of only about 1 cm/s even at the
highest practical currents. In superconductors and
semiconductors the speeds can be about a million times faster,
although the charge densities in semiconductors are usually
more than a million times less. This also means that
correspondingly higher values of acceleration are possible
with such materials. Consider an alternating current of
frequency f in a conductor in which the highest practical
speed for the conducting charges is v. The peak acceleration
of charges can be calculated with the formula:
a = v*f/(2*pi)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (10)
Note that the
attainable acceleration increases with frequency, and if we
have a maximum practical frequency, then we search for
materials offering higher values of v in order to increase a.
Superconductors and semiconductors have already been mentioned
as contenders. Others are dielectrics and plasmas.
Dielectrics are
insulating materials in which the electrical charges present
are fixed in the solid, but can be displaced from a normal
position. They can also be made to vibrate about this
position. If an amplitude of vibration d is practicable, the
associated velocity may be calculated as:
v = d*f/(2*pi)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (11)
With ordinary
dielectrics, we need microwave frequencies to do better than
metals, but some modern piezoelectric materials can do several
orders better, and give us the advantage that the necessary
electrical action might be initiated mechanically, such as by
a vigorous blow. Such dielectrics can function as wave guides
just as well as metallic conductors, and would do much better
in producing a gravitational effect.
Plasmas are
electrified gases. In air at sea level, the space between
molecules is about ten times their size, and they can move a
distance of about a thousand diameters before colliding
(called the mean free path, about .1 micrometer). For our
purpose of creating large charge accelerations, plasmas give
us a high charge mobility, especially if free electrons are
available.
In fluorescent
tubes the gas (mercury vapour) is at a highly reduced
pressure, and the mean free path is about a thousand times
greater. Actually, electrons move about 25 mm between
"inelastic" collisions, but they undergo some tens of elastic
collisions in that distance. For our purpose, the distance
between elastic collisions governs. The humble fluorescent
tube might therefore be a most useful component in gravity
experiments.
In summary, we
have assumed a gravity formula of a particular kind which
requires high charge mobility, and examined some media of
charge conduction with which intense effects of the desired
kind might be produced. It is apparent that the kind of
apparatus this leads us to is unusual enough to explain why
such an effect has not yet been discovered, at least in the
public domain.
Acceleration
of Charges in the Finnish Experiment
We have assumed that
accelerated charges are involved in the production of
gravitational fields. In the Finnish Experiment, a ring with a
superconducting coating was made to spin about a vertical
axis, and an electric current was then induced by means of
stationary coils through which the ring was moving. The flow
of current in the superconducting coating was induced in the
manner shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Sectional View Showing Induced Ring Supercurrent. There is a
centripetal acceleration associated with the spinning motion
of the ring. When no current is flowing, the positive and
negative charges in the ring undergo exactly the same
accelerations, and no effect is noted. If there was any
appreciable effect due to pure rotation, it would surely have
been noticed by now.
However, with
the induced current of Figure 3, there are now effects
associated with the moving charges that are absent from the
charges fixed in the ring. There are two such effects. The
ring is shown having a rectangular cross section. At the
corners the charges follow a steep curve as the direction of
flow changes. On the flat faces of the ring, the charges are
moving to a larger or a smaller radius. This motion has an
associated acceleration which is due to motion to places of
higher or lower acceleration in part, and to the change in
direction of radial motion as the disk turns. The combined
effect is known as Coriolis acceleration.
Although
charges undergo acceleration, and can therefore be expected to
radiate energy, for each element of radiated energy there is
an equal and almost exactly opposed radiation from another
charge which causes virtually all radiation to be cancelled
out or suppressed. Hence the radiating elements are in
"resonance" with each other. The coriolis accelerations on
opposite sides of the ring are in opposition and so their
gravity effect tends to cancel. The accelerations at the four
corners also tend to cancel.
To obtain a
residual effect with coriolis acceleration we have to assume
that the charge mobility on opposite faces of the ring differs
significantly, say by a factor of two. By a similar line of
argument, we can obtain an uncancelled result with
acceleration of charge carriers at the corners. Although
different mobility can produce a nett effect, the two coils in
which coriolis accelerations arise can still cancel, unless
the direction of current in each coil is such that the
residual effects from each coil reinforce.
When we
consider the conditions under which a residual charge
acceleration can arise, it is apparent that these conditions
are more likely to be a matter of accident than deliberation.
A more uniform superconducting layer, for example would
eliminate such a residual effect. It also means that attempts
to replicate the results with other apparatus may have failed
- unless the role of charge mobility was appreciated.
If we take the
charges to have a speed of 100 m/s, and the disk to have a
rotating speed of 100 revs/s, and a radius of .1 meter, the
Coriolis acceleration is 120,000 m/s/s, and if the corners
have a radius of 1 mm, the corner accelerations are about ten
million m/s/s. Although only a small fraction of the charge
carriers are undergoing corner acceleration, this would be the
most prominent cause of a gravitational field, at least two
orders greater than the coriolis effect. However, with two
coils on opposite ends of the same diameter, the corner
effects tend to cancel out. To get a residual effect, the
current in one coil would have to be switched off or reduced.
We can
therefore conclude that if charge mobility is indeed a
governing property in the production of gravitational fields,
the Finnish apparatus might well have produced the effect
claimed, because it would have been about a million times
stronger in their case than with materials of ordinary
mobility, like that of metals.
Experiments
to Demonstrate Artificial Gravity
For those who have ready access
to superconducting materials, especially those with a high
carrier mobility, replicating the Finnish experiment is a
practical option. In the absence of additional information
about the Finnish apparatus, it seems reasonable to assume the
central role of charge mobility, and design the equipment
accordingly. If that leads to a null result (ie no detectable
gravity effect), then we are back to square one, and need to
explore other hypotheses.
Those without
ready access to superconductors or semiconductors (which may be
as difficult to get), fluorescent discharge tubes and a
resonating set-up might be a good starting point. It is
noteworthy in this connection, that Tesla did a great deal of
work with standing wave systems, and discharges through gases
over a wide range of pressures. There are claims that he made
advanced discoveries, and of his association with the
"Philadelphia Experiment", which, in the present context,
merit careful attention, and may furnish useful clues as to
directions for further experimentation.
Figure 4 shows
a possible apparatus for detecting a gravity effect. It
comprises a flat open loop connected to a high frequency
transformer. The two legs of the loop radiate in opposite
phase so that their radiation largely cancels out and there is
little loss of power by this means. One of the legs is made of
copper and has low mobility carriers. The other contains one
of more fluorescent tubes, which are high mobility carriers.
Figure 4.
Apparatus for Discovering Gravity. With resonance, opposite
accelerations arise in the two members, and the q*a*q*a
product of the entire assembly is zero. However, because of
the different mobility of charges in the two members, the
q*a*a product is many orders higher with the fluorescent tube
than with the metal rod. Although these products have
anti-phase values in the two members, they can not cancel out
because of their great disparity of magnitude, and a residual
effect remains.
If this
residual effect has a gravitational effect of the kind
described in equation (9) then it will be strongest transverse
to the loop and zero along its axis. To perform the
experiment, we need a source of high frequency power, which
can be a considerable challenge in itself. Figure 5 shows a
set-up in which the oscillations are produced in the apparatus
itself. We have a capacitor C which is being charged by a
steady DC current. When the voltage reaches a certain value,
the fluorescent tube becomes conducting, and an electric
oscillation takes place. After a number of cycles, the
oscillation ceases and the capacitor charges up again.
Figure 5.
Arrangement Utilizing Electric Breakdown. We assume that the
proposed gravitational effect is present only when the
oscillation is in progress. The average effect is therefore
much smaller than the instantaneous effect. To improve
sensitivity, a test mass is mounted on a spring to give it a
frequency of vibration equal to the frequency of discharges.
When the discharges begin, the mass should be set in
vibration, building up to a steady amplitude. A resonant
sensing system can be a hundred times more sensitive than a
static one.
It goes without
saying that care must be taken to prevent the action of forces
other than gravity on the sensing mass. The frequency of the
sensing mass is likely to be in the audible range, and hence,
a gramophone pick-up can be used to sense its vibration, and
ordinary audio equipment can be used to amplify the signal
obtained.
It is
noteworthy, that before the advent of valves and transistors,
spark discharge was a common way of creating high frequency
electrical oscillations, and that Tesla did a great deal of
work on and with this apparatus. The Tesla coil, for example
was usually driven by a spark discharge set-up.
Conclusions
We have examined two sources of information about artificial
gravity which are in the public domain, and postulated a
gravitational effect in which the mobility of charge carriers
is a governing parameter. Since we are looking for a well
defined effect, we were able to assess the Finnish experiment,
and conclude that it might have produced artificial gravity at
a detectable level. We were also able to propose other
experimental set-up's which could be expected to yield measurable fields. It remains for us to perform such
experiments and hence discover artificial gravity.
In arriving at
our postulated gravitational effect we relied on UFO contactee
information, and on the observation that when new physical
effects are produced from known ones, the effects which are
the cause are associated in the describing equations by
multiplication, and where directions are important, by scalar
and vector multiplication, as well as arithmetical
multiplication. This practice is well established in Science
and Engineering as "Dimensional Analysis".
We have only
explored one postulated gravity mechanism. A number of others
are also possible, but this number is infinitely smaller than
the number of ways in which experimental apparatus might be
combined. It is therefore presented as a more rational way of
searching for artificial gravity, than arbitrary experimental
procedures.
References
1. Aime Michel, "The Truth About Flying Saucers", Corgi, 1958, pp 208-224.
2. Leonard G. Cramp, PIECE FOR A JIGSAW, Somerton, 1966.
3. Stanton T. Friedman, INTERNATIONAL UFO SYMPOSIUM, Brisbane 1966.
4. Paul R. Hill, UNCONVENTIONAL FLYING OBJECTS, Hampton Roads, 1995.
5. SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (UK), Sept. 1, 1996, page 3.
6. NEXUS Magazine, Mar/Apr 1997, page 47.
7. UFO ENCOUNTER (Qld), Mar/Apr 1997, page 10.
8. Daniel W. Fry, THE WHITE SANDS INCIDENT, Best Books, 1956, page 51; Horus House Press, 1992, page 75.
9. George Hunt Williamson, THE SAUCERS SPEAK, Neville Spearman, 1963.
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