Ion drive for aircraft imminent.

Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to
the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:

Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".
Clark R*
Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA
Review Article
Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:
October 20, 2016
Abstract
Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying cars,
and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the
long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than
propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as
electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using
electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus producing
thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has
been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,
the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both
themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power
supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the
equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for
thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this
important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the
craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the
power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note
that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.
Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD
craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,
replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space
propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the
nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be
important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.
This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that
use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now, the
ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to
reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the satellite
companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce
the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.
Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires; Ionic
wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive
https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/vo...=23&issueId=63

Bob Clark

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, nanotechnology can now fulfill its potential to revolutionize
21st-century technology, from the space elevator, to private, orbital
launchers, to 'flying cars'.
This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:

Nanotech: from air to space.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/n...ce/x/13319568/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Tue, 1 Nov 2016 11:09:13 -0400, "Robert Clark"
wrote:

Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to
the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:

Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".
Clark R*
Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA
Review Article
Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:
October 20, 2016
Abstract
Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying cars,
and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the
long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than
propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as
electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using
electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus producing
thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has
been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,
the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both
themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power
supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the
equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for
thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this
important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the
craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the
power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note
that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.
Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD
craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,
replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space
propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the
nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be
important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.
This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that
use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now, the
ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to
reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the satellite
companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce
the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.
Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires; Ionic
wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive
https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/vo...=23&issueId=63

Bob Clark


Post again when Chevy dealerships are selling flying cars.

Carbon nanotubes are the idiotic craze of the day, and are pretty much
useless so far. As electron or ion emitters, they quickly destroy
themselves.

And they still don't violate conservation of energy. Where is all the
zero-pollution power going to come from?



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, nanotechnology can now fulfill its potential to revolutionize
21st-century technology, from the space elevator, to private, orbital
launchers, to 'flying cars'.
This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:

Nanotech: from air to space.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/n...ce/x/13319568/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's hilarious, tying tiny nanotubes together with fancy knots.

The nanotech bubble popped roughly 10 years ago. I was involved with
academics and inventors and slimy VCs all hoping to cash in on the
upside of the Next Big Thing.


--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

lunatic fringe electronics

On 11/01/2016 11:51 AM, John Larkin wrote:
On Tue, 1 Nov 2016 11:09:13 -0400, "Robert Clark"
wrote:

Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to
the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:

Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".
Clark R*
Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA
Review Article
Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:
October 20, 2016
Abstract
Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying cars,
and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the
long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than
propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as
electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using
electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus producing
thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has
been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,
the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both
themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power
supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the
equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for
thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this
important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the
craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the
power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note
that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.
Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD
craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,
replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space
propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the
nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be
important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.
This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that
use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now, the
ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to
reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the satellite
companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce
the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.
Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires; Ionic
wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive
https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/vo...=23&issueId=63

Bob Clark


Post again when Chevy dealerships are selling flying cars.

Carbon nanotubes are the idiotic craze of the day, and are pretty much
useless so far. As electron or ion emitters, they quickly destroy
themselves.

And they still don't violate conservation of energy. Where is all the
zero-pollution power going to come from?

There will be several plug-in prime movers available, initially you'll
have your choice of H2O hydrogen booster, Hendershot generator, or
zero-point reactor at product launch.

On Tue, 1 Nov 2016 14:27:51 -0400, bitrex
wrote:

On 11/01/2016 11:51 AM, John Larkin wrote:
On Tue, 1 Nov 2016 11:09:13 -0400, "Robert Clark"
wrote:

Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to
the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:

Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".
Clark R*
Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA
Review Article
Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:
October 20, 2016
Abstract
Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying cars,
and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the
long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than
propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as
electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using
electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus producing
thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has
been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,
the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both
themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power
supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the
equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for
thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this
important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the
craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the
power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note
that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.
Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD
craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,
replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space
propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the
nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be
important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.
This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that
use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now, the
ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to
reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the satellite
companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce
the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.
Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires; Ionic
wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive
https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/vo...=23&issueId=63

Bob Clark


Post again when Chevy dealerships are selling flying cars.

Carbon nanotubes are the idiotic craze of the day, and are pretty much
useless so far. As electron or ion emitters, they quickly destroy
themselves.

And they still don't violate conservation of energy. Where is all the
zero-pollution power going to come from?

There will be several plug-in prime movers available, initially you'll
have your choice of H2O hydrogen booster, Hendershot generator, or
zero-point reactor at product launch.

I've been waiting for someone to start selling nano-technology
Hendershot generators. Sounds like a good business.

The nanotubes may become longer lasting by using bundles of nanotubes:

Arrays of Bundles of Carbon Nanotubes as Field Emitters.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Thursday, 01 February 2007
Area-averaged current densities exceed those of arrays of single nanotubes.
"Experiments have shown that with suitable choices of critical dimensions,
planar arrays of bundles of carbon nanotubes (see figure) can serve as
high-current-density field emitter (cold-cathode) electron sources. Whereas
some hot-cathode electron sources must be operated at supply potentials of
thousands of volts, these cold-cathode sources generate comparable current
densities when operated at tens of volts. Consequently, arrays of bundles of
carbon nanotubes might prove useful as cold-cathode sources in miniature,
lightweight electron-beam devices (e.g., nanoklystrons) soon to be
developed."
http://www.techbriefs.com/component/...-sciences/1206

And in any case you don't need to use the nanowires as electron emitters to
get the ionization effect. You get it as well from the intense electric
fields generated by wires at the nanoscale in accordance with Peek's Law:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peek%27s_law

Note it may be the nanoscale wires might not even need to be carbon
nanotubes. According to Peek's Law simply being at nanoscale diameters is
sufficient to generate the intense fields. Since there is much research
ongoing with metallic nanowires they as well could be used to confirm the
better efficiency of ionic propulsion with wires at the nanoscale.

In regards to getting longer nanotubes by tying them together, that has
already been confirmed experimentally by a team at Rice University, the
leading center for nanotechnology in the U.S. That research was published in
Nature Materials, the associated journal in materials science to Nature, the
leading science journal in the world. The Rice team was able to show simply
tying nanotubes together produced longer nanotubes of greater current
capacity than the copper or aluminum wires now in use and at lighter weight.

About the power requirements, the ionic propulsion with ionizing wires,
called corona wires, at the nanoscale has improved power-to-thrust ratio.
Then the needed power can be supplied by onboard batteries.

Bob Clark

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, nanotechnology can now fulfill its potential to revolutionize
21st-century technology, from the space elevator, to private, orbital
launchers, to 'flying cars'.
This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:

Nanotech: from air to space.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/n...ce/x/13319568/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"John Larkin" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 1 Nov 2016 11:09:13 -0400, "Robert Clark"
wrote:

Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to
the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:

Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".
Clark R*
Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA
Review Article
Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:
October 20, 2016
Abstract
Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying
cars,
and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the
long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than
propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as
electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using
electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus
producing
thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has
been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,
the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both
themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power
supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the
equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for
thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this
important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the
craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the
power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note
that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.
Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD
craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,
replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space
propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the
nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be
important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.
This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that
use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now,
the
ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to
reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the
satellite
companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce
the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.
Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires;
Ionic
wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive
https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/vo...=23&issueId=63

Bob Clark


Post again when Chevy dealerships are selling flying cars.

Carbon nanotubes are the idiotic craze of the day, and are pretty much
useless so far. As electron or ion emitters, they quickly destroy
themselves.

And they still don't violate conservation of energy. Where is all the
zero-pollution power going to come from?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, nanotechnology can now fulfill its potential to revolutionize
21st-century technology, from the space elevator, to private, orbital
launchers, to 'flying cars'.
This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:

Nanotech: from air to space.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/n...ce/x/13319568/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's hilarious, tying tiny nanotubes together with fancy knots.

The nanotech bubble popped roughly 10 years ago. I was involved with
academics and inventors and slimy VCs all hoping to cash in on the
upside of the Next Big Thing.

--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

lunatic fringe electronics

---

On Thu, 3 Nov 2016 09:16:52 -0400, "Robert Clark"
wrote:

The nanotubes may become longer lasting by using bundles of nanotubes:

Arrays of Bundles of Carbon Nanotubes as Field Emitters.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Thursday, 01 February 2007
Area-averaged current densities exceed those of arrays of single nanotubes.
"Experiments have shown that with suitable choices of critical dimensions,
planar arrays of bundles of carbon nanotubes (see figure) can serve as
high-current-density field emitter (cold-cathode) electron sources. Whereas
some hot-cathode electron sources must be operated at supply potentials of
thousands of volts, these cold-cathode sources generate comparable current
densities when operated at tens of volts. Consequently, arrays of bundles of
carbon nanotubes might prove useful as cold-cathode sources in miniature,
lightweight electron-beam devices (e.g., nanoklystrons) soon to be
developed."
http://www.techbriefs.com/component/...-sciences/1206

And in any case you don't need to use the nanowires as electron emitters to
get the ionization effect. You get it as well from the intense electric
fields generated by wires at the nanoscale in accordance with Peek's Law:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peek%27s_law

Note it may be the nanoscale wires might not even need to be carbon
nanotubes. According to Peek's Law simply being at nanoscale diameters is
sufficient to generate the intense fields. Since there is much research
ongoing with metallic nanowires they as well could be used to confirm the
better efficiency of ionic propulsion with wires at the nanoscale.

In regards to getting longer nanotubes by tying them together, that has
already been confirmed experimentally by a team at Rice University, the
leading center for nanotechnology in the U.S. That research was published in
Nature Materials, the associated journal in materials science to Nature, the
leading science journal in the world. The Rice team was able to show simply
tying nanotubes together produced longer nanotubes of greater current
capacity than the copper or aluminum wires now in use and at lighter weight.

About the power requirements, the ionic propulsion with ionizing wires,
called corona wires, at the nanoscale has improved power-to-thrust ratio.
Then the needed power can be supplied by onboard batteries.

Bob Clark

Get back to us when Honda is selling flying cars.

And note that top-posting is an email thing, discouraged on usenet.



--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

lunatic fringe electronics

On Thu, 3 Nov 2016 09:16:52 -0400, "Robert Clark"
wrote:

....

Get back to us when Honda is selling flying cars.

And note that top-posting is an email thing, discouraged on usenet.




--
* Windows Live Mail just can't quote! Luckily, I have found this:
* http://www.dusko-lolic.from.hr/wlmquote/

I was using, lamentably, Windows Live Mail, for my newsreader. This
unfortunately does not allow you to put
a '' symbol before quoted responses. This makes it harder to understand
which part in the message is your response
and which is the previous post. So I was top-posting because my signature
line made it easier to distinguish the two.

However, after doing a web search and finding many people having the same
complaint about Windows Live Mail, I
found a work-around at the site http://www.dusko-lolic.from.hr/wlmquote/.

Bob Clark

I was using, lamentably, Windows Live Mail, for my newsreader. This
unfortunately does not allow you to put
a '' symbol before quoted responses. This makes it harder to understand
which part in the message is your response
and which is the previous post. So I was top-posting because my signature
line made it easier to distinguish the two.

However, after doing a web search and finding many people having the same
complaint about Windows Live Mail, I
found a work-around at the site http://www.dusko-lolic.from.hr/wlmquote/.

Bob Clark

---


Unfortunately I just realized the default version of this script does not
include your signature file.
So I'll have to customize it. More work.

Bob Clark


--

* Windows Live Mail just can't quote! Luckily, I have found this:
* http://www.dusko-lolic.from.hr/wlmquote/

In sci.physics Robert Clark wrote:
Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to
the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:

Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".
Clark R*
Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA
Review Article
Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:
October 20, 2016
Abstract
Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying cars,
and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the
long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than
propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as
electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using
electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus producing
thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has
been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,
the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both
themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power
supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the
equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for
thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this
important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the
craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the
power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note
that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.
Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD
craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,
replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space
propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the
nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be
important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.
This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that
use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now, the
ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to
reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the satellite
companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce
the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.
Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires; Ionic
wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive
https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/vo...=23&issueId=63

Bob Clark

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, nanotechnology can now fulfill its potential to revolutionize
21st-century technology, from the space elevator, to private, orbital
launchers, to 'flying cars'.
This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:

Nanotech: from air to space.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/n...ce/x/13319568/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, sure, nanotubes are going to revolutionize the world any day now,
just like fusion, a cure for the common cold, and peace in the Middle East.

BTW, the lack of commercial success for flying cars has nothing to do
with propulsion methods.


--
Jim Pennino

On Tue, 1 Nov 2016 18:19:02 -0000, wrote:

In sci.physics Robert Clark wrote:
Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to
the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:

Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".
Clark R*
Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA
Review Article
Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:
October 20, 2016
Abstract
Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying cars,
and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the
long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than
propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as
electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using
electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus producing
thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has
been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,
the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both
themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power
supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the
equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for
thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this
important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the
craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the
power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note
that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.
Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD
craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,
replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space
propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the
nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be
important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.
This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that
use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now, the
ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to
reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the satellite
companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce
the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.
Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires; Ionic
wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive
https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/vo...=23&issueId=63

Bob Clark

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, nanotechnology can now fulfill its potential to revolutionize
21st-century technology, from the space elevator, to private, orbital
launchers, to 'flying cars'.
This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:

Nanotech: from air to space.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/n...ce/x/13319568/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, sure, nanotubes are going to revolutionize the world any day now,
just like fusion, a cure for the common cold, and peace in the Middle East.

BTW, the lack of commercial success for flying cars has nothing to do
with propulsion methods.


But propulsion does matter, in the sense that there is no affordable
way to make a flying car. Helicopters get terrible gas mileage.


--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing precision measurement

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com