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of Washington. I called those folks because Nick Cook, in The Hunt for Zero Point, mentions that UW received a NASA contract to study theories of inertia as part of its BPP program. That's a good place to start, I thought, but it took backtracking to BPP Project Director Marc Millis at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to find Dr John Cramer at the UW Physics Department. His mission was to confirm with Dr James Woodward the latter's 1996 preliminary research into the loss of gravitational mass in a targeted piece of metal from oscillating capacitors. Although Woodward's initial data appeared encouraging, NASA's Millis told me that their funding dried up before they'd completed their research. Furthermore, the entire BPP became unfunded in 2002, and now, in 2003, has become a hazy, privatised version of its former NASA subset self. little more "out there" and reliable data harder to obtain. So the technology of HIT lays a base that other research can build upon, such as not only containing other fields but also building field- effect propulsion systems, the most elementary of which is elec- trostatic propulsion—and aspects of this are already being applied by NASA. 1996 preliminary research into the loss of gravitational m na Electrostatic Propulsion Systems targeted piece of metal from oscillating capacitors. Although Electrostatic propulsion uses electrical fields differently than Woodward's initial data appeared encouraging, NASA's Millis electromagnetism does. In EM a current flows and creates a field, told me that their funding dried up before they'd completed their —_ while in electrostatic systems the current is static and a charge research. builds up in a field, such as in a capacitor or a fuel tank. Furthermore, the entire BPP became unfunded in 2002, and These theories are utilised on NASA's Deep Space I, a probe now, in 2003, has become a hazy, privatised version of its former bound for the outer reaches of our solar system. On board the NASA subset self. probe, the propellant—a tankful of xenon gas—is excited electro- statically into positive ions. The containment vessel of the engine Electromagnetic Containment of a Plasma Field has a negative charge at the exit end, so the charged xenon rushes However, the University of Washington is continuing related out the tail pipe with a greater thrust than if it was just using con- research, such as into magnetically confined fusion energy gener- ventional chemical propellants. In fact, the electrostatic propul- ators—and by using electromagnetism to contain an inner field, sion system on Deep Space I allows it to fly at 60,000 mph, or this, in my view, makes it a close cousin of antigravity and field- 10,000 mph faster than it would with a conventional rocket. In effect propulsion. addition, only 82 kg of xenon is needed for its entire mission, so I spoke with Professor Uri Shumlak with its smaller mass and weight the who told me that he and other UW robe will fly alongside its intended tar- staff from the Department of get, a comet, and drag-race on equal Aeronautics and Astronautics, along footing while filming and conducting with a bevy of their grad students, are studies. Again, not antigravity per se, building a prototype of a fusion gener- i ut electrically charging Deep Space I's ator called an HIT, which stands for The secrecy surrounding fuel field sets the stage for a closer look Helicity Injected Torus. Doughnut- antigravity research Is at electrostatic propulsion. ring shaped, the torus encloses a Taking that closer look is Tim roundish chamber. Within that cham- phenomenal. Ventura and his fellow researchers at ber a vacuum is first created, and then a volume of hydrogen gas is intro- duced and heated to a few million American Antigravity, an organisation ased in Kirkland, Washington. Ventura and his crew use electrostatic degrees Celsius, which separates the asymmetrical capacitors to create a field electrons and protons from their that levitates objects, such as their atoms, turning the whole stew into a quasi-neutral foam of plas- small, kite-like "lifters". These lifters are very light, weighing ma. Then the torus envelops the plasma with a magnetic field to only a few ounces, and have balsawood struts that support the keep it away from the sides of the chamber, enabling the plasma capacitors. When two capacitors of different size and load receive mass to stay hot and keeping the rest of Seattle cool. (While I their share of a 30,000-volt charge, the lifter lifts—with no was standing next to his little eight-foot-long gizmo, Prof. motors, no wings and no apparent source of lift. How, no one Shumlak assured me there was no danger of a couple of million really knows, in my judgement. The phenomenon is replete with degrees of heat escaping. The heat density of the plasma was "too controversy and mystery. But as one who has seen a lifter fly, let low" for me to, well, break a sweat over. His quote was, "There's me tell you what one looks like and what I saw when Tim no more heat mass inside that chamber than what's contained ina —_ Ventura's took off. cup of coffee." I sure hope you're right, Doc.) Then, once the Tim has been building lifters since he was a kid and has per- plasma field is contained, the magnetic field squeezes the plasma, fected a 4 x 4 x 4-foot triangular lifter which has flown so many fusing the nuclei of one hydrogen atom into another. As the missions in his garage that the silver aluminium foil has turned hydrogen couples combine, a helium atom is created and a neu- white. The thin, chopstick-like balsawood ribs that hold the alu- tron is released, along with lots of energy in the form of heat. minium foil in place are joined every few inches by a vertical strut One day, such a generator will give us unlimited amounts of (much like a telephone pole on an HO model railroad set) which electricity, as the heat can be transferred to other mediums to pro- sticks up and secures the copper or stainless steel wire of the duce voltage. The UW predicts lots of electrical power on the upper capacitor. The ribs are intersected every 10 inches or so by cheap, and the Department of Energy agrees—once the details of _ the strut of an interior triangle, since the whole lifter is composed building reliable magnetic field generators are solved. of interconnected isosceles triangles which give the necessary What does magnetic fusion have to do with antigravity? Two strength to the balsawood frame. All told, there is about 30 linear things: firstly, magnets. Electromagnetism seems to be one of feet of aluminum foil and a similar run of wire. the major players in antigravity, particularly the use of electro- The lower and larger capacitor is a strip of aluminium foil magnetic fields to contain other fields, such as plasma fields in the stretched between the horizontal balsawood struts. The second HIT or torsion fields in antigravity devices—but more about that capacitor is a thin strip of 50-gauge wire mounted about one inch later. Secondly, the HIT works—or is about to work. It's real, above the aluminium foil. As capacitors, they store electrical and mainstream science embraces it; while antigravity is, well, a charge but don't pass it on in a current. The secrecy surrounding antigravity research is phenomenal. 44 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2003