4 ms·

This is what we used to call a "lifter". I did a project on them in high school. Very fun to do, since you use a very high voltage. Our physics teachers were v

by fatuna 4y ago

This is what we used to call a "lifter". I did a project on them in high school. Very fun to do, since you use a very high voltage. Our physics teachers were very enthusiastic and helped us a lot, all the other teachers kept a very safe distance. Another fun aspect; because of their obscureness, doing any research on lifters led almost directly to ufo and anti-gravity websites. Based on what I saw on our lifter, generating enough lift to carry actual cargo would require a huge amount of power, or a huge leap in efficienty of their ion-generation. Interesting development, I'll keep an eye on them.

throwawayben 4y ago
> doing any research on lifters led almost directly to ufo and anti-gravity websites http://jnaudin.free.fr/ http://jnaudin.free.fr/ This was an absolute favourite site of mine when I was a teen, so happy to see it's still up! I also tried to build a lifter with my physics teacher (out of hours), though we never got it working.
kadoban 4y ago
How high voltage we talking? Is it low enough amps that it's relatively safe, or is this as firmly in "nope" territory as I imagine? Regardless, yeah I bet that was fun as hell, since you apparently survived :)
- ENGNR 4y ago
  25 kilovolts+, and pretty high amps! Most people made them from CRT computer monitors back in the day
  - kadoban 4y ago
    Nice, that's definitely in "nope" territory for me, but sounds like something I'd love to watch from a distance.
  - JoeAltmaier 4y ago
    Or about the same as the shock you get from touching a doorknob after scuffing your feet on the carpet.
    - kadoban 4y ago
      Except in that case it lasts for 0 seconds, which is why you don't die. Something that's trying to use it to fly, that seems unlikely to be how it works.
    - klyrs 4y ago
      In voltage, you're right. In amperage, you're dead.
mikewarot 4y ago
Lifters have a power to weight ratio about equal to that of a helicopter or drone. You trade the ability to operate in wet conditions for quieter operation, and the ability to scale the platform arbitrarily (provided you have sufficient power)

by fatuna 4y ago

throwawayben 4y ago

> doing any research on lifters led almost directly to ufo and anti-gravity websites http://jnaudin.free.fr/ http://jnaudin.free.fr/ This was an absolute favourite site of mine when I was a teen, so happy to see it's still up! I also tried to build a lifter with my physics teacher (out of hours), though we never got it working.

kadoban 4y ago

How high voltage we talking? Is it low enough amps that it's relatively safe, or is this as firmly in "nope" territory as I imagine? Regardless, yeah I bet that was fun as hell, since you apparently survived :)

ENGNR 4y ago
25 kilovolts+, and pretty high amps! Most people made them from CRT computer monitors back in the day
- kadoban 4y ago
  Nice, that's definitely in "nope" territory for me, but sounds like something I'd love to watch from a distance.
- JoeAltmaier 4y ago
  Or about the same as the shock you get from touching a doorknob after scuffing your feet on the carpet.
  - kadoban 4y ago
    Except in that case it lasts for 0 seconds, which is why you don't die. Something that's trying to use it to fly, that seems unlikely to be how it works.
  - klyrs 4y ago
    In voltage, you're right. In amperage, you're dead.

mikewarot 4y ago

Lifters have a power to weight ratio about equal to that of a helicopter or drone. You trade the ability to operate in wet conditions for quieter operation, and the ability to scale the platform arbitrarily (provided you have sufficient power)