First of all, there are only a few ways to break free from gravity. In a
nutshell, here they are.
Generally accepted ways to defy gravity for an appreciable amount of
time:
1. Explosive propulsion (rocketry)
2. Directed air-flow (Harrier in hover mode)
3. Aerodynamics (gliders)
4. Combination of #1 or #2 with #3 (almost every airplane)
5. Magnetic levitation (mag-lev trains of Japan and Germany)
6. Lighter-than-air craft (baloons, blimps, etc.)
Generally unaccepted ways to defy gravity, but which do have some degree
of credibility (ranging from myth to cutting edge mainstream science).
1. Telekinesis (personal levitation as in Yoga et all)
2. Mass reduction/Gravity shielding (?)
3. Laser levitation (ground to orbit research)
4. Antigravity (anything that repulses gravity)
5. Aether effects (Keely's flying machine)
6. Inertial drive (tweaking with centrifugal force)
Ok, the first list is a good overview of what is currently fairly well
understood by good ol conventional scientific thought. We can toss out
all the airplane stuff, as airplanes require speed and runways (most of
them) or VERY expensive hovering systems (like the Harrier). Also,
planes are expensive to build (usually) and require a lot of work to
keep them in good shape. They also consume a lot of fuel.
Gliders, well they are pretty much useless for any sort of serious
transportation.
Magnetic levitation is nice for fixed mass transit systems, but it
requires the building of a repulsive surface, thus it is not really
better than roads.
Lighter than air craft are intriguing. They are simple, and fuel
efficient. Alas, their awkward size to payload ratio makes them less
practical than conventional airplanes. Also, their shapes are usually
not well suited to high speeds or storms. It should be noted, however,
that materials science keeps marching forward. As ever stronger/lighter
materials are found, lighter than air crafts will almost certainly be
profitably revisited in the 21'st century.
Now, on to the fun stuff, the less than mainstream approaches to flight.
Telekinesis has a special spot in my heart. I have spent a lot of time
researching esoteric martial arts, and other internal disciplines, and
there are MANY fascinating tales across many diverse cultures that claim
that some people can defy gravity without any external help. Of course,
the fact that it takes decades of practice, and the fact that it seems
that even then most are still not able, makes this a less than ideal
candidate to replace personal vehicles.
Mass reduction (also called gravity shielding), on the other hand, is a
very promising way of cheating gravity. The concept is simple, make the
apparent mass of the object in question lower, and it takes less power
to move it. This approach could (in theory) have many of the benefits
of lighter than air travel, with none of the drawbacks. There are some
interesting tales that indicate that a superconductor will, under the
right conditions (spinning?), shield items above it from gravity (2%
reductions have been reported). Very interesting stuff, but still a
long way from any practical application in this area.
Laser levitation is an experimental area of space flight research, where
a laser is shone at a light reflective craft. The photonic bombardment
is able to move the craft. The thing really works! The main problem
with this, though, is that it really only makes sense for putting stuff
into space, not for a replacement for cars.
Antigravity is mostly a catchall term for anything that "repells"
gravity. Most of the interesting work in this field is probably Aether
related anyway, so...
Aether effects are fascinating, yet elusive. Some people are, no doubt,
going to stone me for my vast oversimplification of Aether, but in a
nutshell, the concept goes like this. There is no "empty space".
Instead, there is this frictionless stuff "Aether" that fills the
universe. Although it is frictionless, it does exert pressure (thus
explaining the expanding universe), but in such a way that when you get
close to a large object (planet) you get pushed towards that object
(gravity). Aether's effects can be (presumably) lessened, or nullified,
or reversed, most likely via some sort of frequency resonance.
Basically, Aether effects are another way to accomplish mass reduction
or gravity shielding (in fact, I suspect that the breakthroughs in those
areas are actually accidental Aether effects).
Inertial drive is the idea that one can use centrifugal force to produce
a thrust vector. Basically, you build a centerfuge with several
variable length shafts, and by letting the shafts out on one side, and
pulling them in on the other (or many analogous schemes) you create a
"pull" in the direction of the lengthened shaft. This system works.
The main problem is that its mechanical nature makes it difficult to
produce an efficent long lasting unit that is large enough to move
something like a car.
In my opinion, the smart money is on Aether effects/mass reduction. If
you can get the functional mass of the vehicle down, an inertial drive
or even a conventional thruster would be able to move it, in three
space!
Ok, so what are we looking for? A cheap, room temp superconductor. The
magic frequency and or technique to nullify the push of Aether. Get
either of those things, and you can begin experimenting. Phase one is
simply to build a fair sized box that can reduce its apparent mass by an
impressive amount (more than 50%). Once you get that far, the rest is
(fairly) easy.
Sorry for the lecture,
-Matt
Paul.Buchanan@att-unisource.com wrote:
>
> I'm very interested in this flight idea. I have for many years
> considered the thought that if you can get a car to float that single
> man 'motorbike' transportation is very acheivable. Everyone should
> remember the James Bond Jet Pack (also recently seen at the opening of a
> recent Olympic games ceremony. Unfortunately it only lasts for 23
> seconds flying time. Surely there is an alternate methods of power for
> flight generation. Any ideas out there?? Replies gratefully received and
> discussed...
>
> Paul
>
> >----------
> >From: izone@joymail.com[SMTP:izone@joymail.com]
> >Sent: 22 June 1999 03:13
> >To: interact@keelynet.com
> >Subject: Flight
> >
> >To all,
> >Does anybody out there on this list have any enlightening ideas or thoughts
> >on ways to use zpe, aether engineering, gravity-control, freenergy(all of the
> >above labels probably are describing the same thing?)to maybe convert our
> >everyday common road vehicles(cars, boats, trucks, motorcycles, bikes,
> >sailboats, personal watercraft, bus, rvs)so we wont need to use roads
> >anymore. I am talking of teleportation or flight!!
> >Maybe also some ideas on transmutation. If from what I have been hearing, we
> >can obtain hydrogen from the ocean, lakes, rivers or faucets then maybe there
> >is a way to transmutate a simple but sturdy strong and effective metal or
> >alloy so we can home build the hull body structure of modern day vimanas or
> >hulls-bodies for the hardware that might make conventional road vehicle(s)
> >fly efficiently like a black smith did 100
> >+ years ago!!
> >Edward Webber
> >----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >Get your FREE email at http://www.joymail.com
> >
> >VoiceMail over the Internet and Sending email by a regular phone:
> >http://firstgate.joymail.com
> >
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------
> > To leave this list, email <listserver@keelynet.com>
> > with the body text: leave Interact
> > list archives and on line subscription forms are at
> > http://keelynet.com/interact/
> > -------------------------------------------------------------
> >
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> To leave this list, email <listserver@keelynet.com>
> with the body text: leave Interact
> list archives and on line subscription forms are at
> http://keelynet.com/interact/
> -------------------------------------------------------------