Ken Carrigan writes:
<<Going to make this short response...
Don't accept ANYTHING and EVERYTHING someone says about
experiments... as they too can be scams. To that thought
and my aid see what Bill Beaty and John Bedini state on
about this website...
http://www.amasci.com/caps/capnotes.txt
>>
I agree, one must always have good sense of discrimination, to weed out the
bizarre, or hoax, or fraud; from what may be legitimate. And a healthy dose
of skepticism is part of that sense. And indeed this same skepticism should
be applied to any anomalous result, to be as certain as possible one is not
overlooking an error in experiment, or measurement.
So a critical, and skeptical approach is a useful tool - The trick as I see
it is to keep it in balance, or not allow it to go too far.
With regard to the comments by Bill B. noted at the above link: He suggested
a possible hoax, and this comment was written some time ago, before this new
report of a serious thrust from a device built to the specifications. Bill
stated in this old comment that it may be something new, or it may be a hoax,
and that he was not sure if the considerable effort to build this device
(very tedious, time consuming, by hand, or moderatly expensive to have the
"plates" die cut by machine) was justified.
However, in light of this report of success, and a serious success at that (
14 pounds of thrust, apparently) - It would seem to me to have tipped the
balance on this device - from a possible hoax, toward something to take note
of.
And in Bill B. new comments, regarding the actual voltage delivered to the
"capacitor" - he has considerable actual experience with VDG - when one reads
through the VDG section on his site - he points out that the potential
generated by a VDG machine, is self limited by the leakage currents (any
sharp points, or edges). His estimate of the actual voltage delivered to the
capacitor is on the order of a few thousand volts!
If this is true, and the experiment can be replicated with a well filtered DC
supply, at such a low voltage, compared to the output of a VDG electrode
proper, then there really is something to take note of!
Also there is another similar, and potentially (pun intended) important
effect from the output of a Van De Graaf - notably the Morton Effect:
http://www.amasci.com/freenrg/morton1.html
<<VANDEGRAAFF GENERATOR EFFECT
In the early 1960s, science and government were begging for a new method of
space propulsion. This is an account of one man's attempt to solve the
problem.
In the year 1966 I discovered that a VandeGraaff generator gave off an
explosive-like effect when it discharged. The explosion passed through
plastic boxes but was reflected from metal
......One amateur told me it reminded him of a discovery called "the
Brown-Biefield effect", but I was never able to find any more information on
the subject.
VELOCITY ALTERS ELECTRIC FIELD
The one day I set up an experiment in which the VandeGraaff was set in motion
and I made another discovery. An electric field is altered by velocity.
Theoretically this is not possible except near the speed of light, yet this
effect took place at a velocity of about 1 meter per second.
The effect was to increase repulsion electric force ahead of the moving
charge but to decrease attraction. Behind the moving charges, attraction
increased but repulsion decreased. At right angels, charges seemed to move in
the opposite direction to motion. Once again science failed to give me any
answer as to what was happening.
.....In order to concentrate the force, I set up an experiment in which the
spark fired at a grounded metal target.
The spark fired through a glass tube toward a metal plate with a hole in it.