Lifter Airflow Enhancement To demonstrate the effects of the airflow present from the ion-wind component of Lifter thrust, smoke-tests have been performed by American Antigravity to provide a more clear understanding of Lifter airflow dynamics in the high-voltage air-gap.

Field Effect Propulsion

Ion-Wind -This type of propulsion obeys the current laws of physics in that ions that are accelerated by the electric-field between the wire and the foil create a movement of air producing thrust. This would create thrust in a manner similar to the way that an aircraft creates lift by displacing air, except that the Lifter requires no moving parts to accomplish this.

Biefeld-Brown -This type of propulsion requires no moving parts, and is believed to be created solely on the basis of an interaction between the high-voltage components of the Lifter and the surrounding vacuum-properties of the environment.

In other words, the Biefeld-Brown effect would create thrust by pushing against the fabric of space itself, and as a result would require no propellant to function -- making it a highly-interesting potential method of creating thrust.

Mixed-Effect -This type of propulsion would consist of the Biefeld-Brown effect acting as an enhancer on existing ion-wind effects to create a more efficient methd of displacing air by changing the dynamics of the ion-wind interaction. This field of study is currently very tentative, but may offer an approach to enhancing the efficiency of conventional aircraft in the future.

Smoke Test Video

In this video clip, the smoke can be seen accelerating through the center of the Lifter 1. This test demonstrates the airflow modified by HV-current.

15 Seconds

Notice how the EM field from the Lifter confines the cloud of smoke, and accelerates it through the middle of the Lifter. click here

20 Seconds

The Lifter 4 responds similarly to the smaller Lifter in smoke testing, however, the effect is less easily shown in this photo. click here

Why Smoke-Testing?

Smoke testing for the Lifter technology demonstrates a pronounced effect on nearby air-molecules by the electric-fields present in the LIfter's air-gap during flight. These fields and associated high-voltage charge transfer through the air create an airflow in which the direction of air-movement is down through the vertical axis of the Lifter, creating an upward thrust along the center axis.

The presence of smoke particles allows the movement of the air to be easily observed and documented in order to better understand the operation of Lifter technology.

Biefeld-Brown versus Ion-Wind

While the movement of the air due to high-voltage charge transfer in the LIfter does demonstrate that an atmospheric effect is producing some measure of thrust, the Biefeld-Brown effect may still be producing a considerable amount of thrust in the Lifter as a method of pure "Field-Effect Propulsion". The only manner in which to truly measure this type of propulsion would be to operate the Lifter in an environment of "perfect vacuum", as partial-vacuum experiments still show considerable ion-wind effects.

Atmospheric Charge-Transfer

Atmospheric charge-transfer occurs between the high-voltage emitter and the ground-potential voltage of the collector in the Lifter. In this method of operation, the emitter collects electrons from nearby air-molecules, after which they become ionized and seek a ground potential to regain their neutral charge.

As ionized molecules, the charged air molecules are attracted to the collector as a source of electrons to become neutral, and actually flow through the air from the emitter to the collector. This travel of ions through the air is what creates the air-movement between the emitter and collector.

Enhancing the Ion-Wind Effect

By enhancing the effectiveness of ion-travel through the air from the emitter to the collector, it may be possible to obtain higher-levels of efficiency from Lifter technology using the same amount of electrical power. Different methods involved in this approach may include possible enhancements to the surrounding atmosphere (such as electrical pre-ionization), or could alternatively include a method of modifying the emitter to emit electrons at a lower voltage. This second method of low-power ion-emission could be achieved through a variety of means, one of which being the use of very a thin carbon-fiber electron emitter.