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his illusion. What would happen if it was possible to propagate a field which could weaken or eliminate gravity? Consider a mass placed within such a field. Obviously, if the object was on Earth, one effect would be The big rubber band pulling it toward the Earth would be cut or weakened. But by the Principle of (physical) Equivalence, something else would occur. If inertia is the gravitational influence of the universe, the billions of other links connecting the object with the rest of the universe would also be cut or weakened. Thus, in addition to losing weight, the object would lose its inertial properties, or as It is very difficult to speculate a priori on how mass will behave under such circumstances. Until the late 1940s, we had no observational data on the point. Then came the flying saucers, and they behave as if they were without inertia, or at least as if their inertial mass has been substantially reduced. They must be ponderous, but on many occasions people have reported aerodynamic qualities indicating they are very light. Typical behavior is the so-called "falling leaf descent. kinematic of a light, flat dropping mass is a side-to-side oscillation. The key word is light, yet the extraterrestrial craft presumably contain heavy equipment. It is thus likely that their mass has been artificially reduced, and this accounts for their aerodynamic performance. Again, saucers are frequently seen to rotate on axis while hovering. This is just what would be expected of a very light craft, or a craft whose weight is subjected to artificial reduction. There is in such circumstances a A light, or weight-reduced, mass would be subject to tumbling. Even the slightest breeze would cause it. In order to stabilize such a controlled mass, gyroscopic motion might be introduced. Such motion - while still inertial in origin - has the effect of maintaining the plane of rotation against outside forces, While "inertialessness" is hypothetical in a way weightlessness has not been since the astronauts, we may still try to deduce some of its characteristics. These speculations fit well the actual performance of the extraterrestrial craft. For example, the reason an object disintegrates if forced from its direction of movement is because its inertial tendency to go in a straight line had been violently counteracted. A craft might be torn apart by such an opposition of powerful forces. However, in a world where inertia does not apply, and thus where there is no tendency to go in a straight line, 90° turns, dead stops, and instantaneous starts would very likely be possible without any appreciable strain upon the structure of the aircraft or damage to its occupants and contents. Similarly, the very high speed attained and the absence of any conventional propulsion system may be explained. will never be aware of the contrary forces at work on him. He will, think he is at rest; but this is only weightlessness or, at least, weight reduction. the physicist would say, its inertial mass. As anyone knows who has flown a kite, or watched a leaf fall or a flat stone sink in water, the stabilization problem. such as air currents.