POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.off-topic : Quantum levitation : Re: Quantum levitation Server Time
29 Jul 2024 10:21:59 EDT (-0400)
  Re: Quantum levitation  
From: Kevin Wampler
Date: 19 Oct 2011 13:05:11
Message: <4e9f0347$1@news.povray.org>
On 10/18/2011 10:39 PM, Saul Luizaga wrote:
> In the History Channel 'UFO Files' at the end of one of the episodes a
> young man levitates a triangle induced with 50,000 volts, he said at the
> moment science can't explain it yet.

If the levitating triangle was this: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionocraft then the guy was delusional or 
flat out lying when he said that science can't explain it.  The upshot 
is that the voltage induces a slight air current through the triangle, 
and since the triangle is very lightweight this is sufficient to lift 
it. I believe it's not currently practical for "real-life" use because 
the voltage source would weigh significantly more than the lift it 
generates (which is why the demos you see are powered by an external 
voltage source).

As an aside, I believe the Mythbusters covered the ionocraft in an 
episode on levitation techniques.  If I remember correctly the craft 
worked, but took a large voltage supply to operate and, as you would 
expect, didn't operate in a vacuum.


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