Dr. Charles Buhler and Exodus Technologies claims that systems with electrostatic pressure differences or electrostatic divergent fields gives systems with a center of mass with non-zero force component (aka generate movement). Buhler is NASA’s subject matter expert on electrostatics. They want to move to demo the system in orbit. These kinds of claims are controversial but the work seems to be thorough. It will only cost about $500k to $1M to create a rideshare mission into orbit to test the system. The mass of an early orbital system would greatly exceed the active materials of the propulsion, which would reduce performance. High performance space propulsion would need to increase the active materials as a percentage of the mass of the craft.
Dr. Charles Buhler discusses an experimental propulsion results based on asymmetrical electrostatic pressure, in a device described in International Patent# WO2020159603A2. The device is described as a system and method for generating a force from a voltage difference applied across at least one electrically conductive surface. The applied voltage difference creates an electric field resulting in an electrostatic pressure force acting on at least one surface of an object. Asymmetries in the resulting electrostatic pressure force vectors result in a net resulting electrostatic pressure force acting on the object. The magnitude of the net resulting electrostatic pressure force is a function of the geometry of the electrically conductive surfaces, the applied voltage, and the dielectric constant of any material present in the gap between electrodes.
Dr. Buhler has experience working with electrostatic discharge & ESD safety for the Space Shuttle Program, the International Space Station Program and the Hubble Space Telescope Program. He was also a Co-Investigator for three NASA Research Announcements funded by the Mars Exploration Program, and is currently working on NASA’s Dust Project focused on utilizing electrostatic methods to remove dust from personnel and equipment that will be sent to the Moon through NASA’s Constellation Program.
Dr. Buhler discussed his independent research into field-effect propulsion systems at Exodus Technologies, leading to a patented new propulsion technology that requires no fuel or ejection-mass to produce thrust.
Buhler told The Debrief that measuring thrust in terms of a percentage of gravity reflects the force generated divided by the test article.
In 2019, the system was 100,000 times weaker than the mass of the test article. They seem to have maintained the thrust whil greatly reducing
the mass of the system. The thrust was about 300-400 micronewtons in 2019 experiments. The claim of over one test mass of force could be 1 millinewton and a 0.1 gram test article. If they increase the thrust to 1 newton then a 100 gram test article would could be self lifting or levitating. The system would have strong performance in orbit.
One newton (N) of force is required to lift a mass of 100 grams vertically upwards.
Another viable combination would be 10 millinewtons for a 1 gram test article. They have said that the strongest force they generated is 10 millinewtons. IF they can setup the experiment correctly they could levitate a 1 gram test article. He described it again to Tim Ventura. He describes the current device as kind of like a crappy battery.
Buhler says they commonly measured the forces in milliNewtons, but they prefer to describe the thrust in terms of gravity since that is the ultimate goal of propulsion physics.
They moved it into a high vacuum experimental system (in 2021), which eliminated noise and other issues.
Any current in the system makes the force go away.
They went away from asymmetrical electrostatic to thin film types and then to liquids applied to surfaces. the liquids applied to surfaces is something like a battery. He applies free and bound charges to get the forces. They are optimizing the chemistry to optimize the charge injection. The system is microscopic but the force stays high.
This seems to imply that the forces were not increased that much but the mass was greatly reduced. This would suggest 1 millinewton and a 0.1 gram test article. They were doing DC tests. The effect is field based and not frequency based. There are ways to increase the force with AC.
There are theoretical versions that are RF based which could have great results.
Their theory of the electrostatics and the physics seems to work. As they change what they are doing, all of the expected forces are created. They will eventually hit dielectric limits.
The original talk was here at the Dec 23, 2023 APEC conference. The APEC talk was heavy on theory and formulas.
Andrew Neil Aurigema and Charles Buhler are named on the patent.
The magnitude of the net resulting electrostatic pressure force is a function of the geometry of the electrically conductive surfaces, the applied voltage, and the dielectric constant of any material present in the gap between electrodes. The invention may be produced on a nanoscale using nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes. The invention may be utilized to provide a motivating force to an object. A non-limiting use case example is the use of electrostatic pressure force apparatus as a thruster to propel a spacecraft through a vacuum.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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