All posts by gdaigle

About gdaigle

Gregory Daigle is a former professor of design who has accrued national and international awards for interactive media and STEM learning. He has held management and creative leadership positions with advertising, e-learning, industrial design and interactive media firms. He heads an awarded non-profit for place-based learning and has written numerous articles on design and technology.

Review of Physics Astrophysics and Cosmology of Gravity-Like Fields

Here, with minor changes, is the review of Introduction to Physics and Astrophysics and Cosmology of Gravity-Like Fields that I wrote for the upcoming edition of the Journal of Space Exploration.  The book is being offered for sale on Amazon.com today, 25 November, 2015, the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s presentation of his General Theory of Relativity to the members of the Royal Prussian Academy of Science in Berlin.

Featured image: The mandala of the physical forces shows six fundamental interactions. Three of them are assumed to be of gravitational nature (upper half).

Title of the book:
Introduction to Physics Astrophysics and Cosmology of Gravity-Like Fields

Authors:
Walter Dröscher
Institut für Grenzgebiete der Wissenschaft Innsbruck, Austria

Jochem Hauser
Institute for High Performance Computing and Communication in Space, Hamburg and Campus Suderburg, Ostfalia Univ. of Applied Sciences Hamburg, Germany

Price for Hardcover:
$85.00

Publishers, Location, Published year:
HPCC-Space GmbH, Hamburg, Germany
November 2015

Reviewers name:
Gregory Daigle (fmr. Associate Professor)
gregdaigle@me.com
Book Review

The standard model (SM) of particle physics has served science well for over 40 years, but scientific findings of recent decades have found it lacking in several respects. Its inability to explain gravity and spacetime require that it be extended with other ideas such as string theory, supersymmetry or quantum gravity to fit both theory and evidence. However, recently conducted experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the ACME collaboration have called into question those additional extensions in their current form. Where does physics go from here?

The book “Introduction to Physics Astrophysics and Cosmology of Gravity-Like Fields” provides an alternative mechanism to explain the phenomena of dark matter and dark energy. Based upon Extended Heim Theory (EHT), the mechanism proposed introduces novel fundamental particles that explain anomalous experimental results while eschewing the aforementioned extensions to SM. By doing so it also provides a challenge to current orthodoxy that there are four (and only four) fundamental forces in Nature.

The authors, Walter Dröscher, who collaborated with Burkard Heim, and Jochem Hauser, Professor Emeritus with extensive experience on propulsion and aerodynamic analysis for ESA, describe the existence of two previously unrecognized fundamental gravitational forces in Nature. Experiments cited throughout suggest that gravity-like fields of significant magnitude and predictability may be capable of being generated. The control of such fields may lead to gravitational engineering and a novel era of spaceflight.

As the authors admit, this is a highly speculative topic and eventually may turn out to be wrong. What they endeavor to achieve in this primer is to bring into one publication all of the theory and supporting evidence to describe this extension of general relativity. EHT is a novel departure from the standard model — one that predicts the existence of additional gravity-like fields derived from the conversion of electromagnetic fields into gravitational fields through symmetry breaking at cryogenic temperatures.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, and extraordinary ideas such as those presented in this book are backed by a wealth of evidence from eleven recent experiments. Dröscher and Hauser offer results gathered in laboratory experiments, field experiments and observations that point our understanding the universe in a new direction. The results of experiments performed separately by M. Tajmar and R. Graham are examples of one branch of evidence. Another is the unexpected results given by Gravity Probe B. Yet another is represented by studies of the movement of satellite galaxies by advocates of Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). If correct, EHT forecasts previously undiscovered capabilities in Nature as well as limits to popular yet fanciful notions of how humankind might travel to other regions of the Cosmos through wormholes.

This primer is accessible to non-physicists who are open to learning new concepts and are willing to undergo the challenge to grasp new materials, even if they may not fully comprehend the higher mathematics involved. Several sections of the book are rigorous in describing the mathematics of an eight-dimensional internal space, but readers do not need a complete understanding to appreciate the of scope of this comprehensive introduction to a new model of physics and its potential outcomes that may not be fully exploited for generations.

EHT predicts the existence of six gravitational bosons and reframes gravitation as the sum of Newtonian gravitation plus two additional gravitational forces. Current physics has no explanation for the existence of exactly four fundamental forces. As the authors ask, “…the question therefore arises, are there any additional fundamental physical interactions? Perhaps it is classical physics and not quantum mechanics, that is incomplete and that there might exist additional long range interactions,” and they cite the addition of two extremely weak gravitational forces.

The gravitational bosons are suggested to result from the conversion of electromagnetic fields into extreme gravitomagnetic or gravity-like (acceleration) fields. This conversion is triggered by a phase transition at cryogenic temperatures and caused by gravitational symmetry breaking in a process analogous to superconductivity. This connections between gravity and superconductivity is also outlined in the upcoming e-book, Gravity and Superconductors, which presents theoretical and experimental research for novel gravity-like fields. However, as the authors point out, there is as yet no firm experimental basis for these ideas, which therefore needs to be classified as highly speculative. Even if they do not present the full picture, they might shed new light on the nature of gravity as well as the number and type of fundamental forces that exist in Nature.

Extended Heim Theory was so named to acknowledge physicist Burkhard Heim as the first to present a novel physical idea for the construction of a poly-metric tensor encompassing all physical interactions, but the comparison ends there. Despite its name, EHT is not a mere extension of Heim’s initial six-dimensional approach developed in the 1970s. EHT derives the mathematics anew and adds an information subspace not included by Heim. Though the primary author, Dröscher, cooperated with Heim for many years and co-authored Vol. III of Heim’s work, EHT gives a more consistent classification scheme for all physical interactions and particles (fields).

Throughout the book the authors employ a novel technique of color coding key passages based upon whether their contents describe physics that are incomplete, physics requiring novel theory, or physics consistent with accepted theory. Other categories are given as well and help inform the reader of which aspects of the theory are novel departures from currently accepted physics and therefore require rigorous proof.

The book begins with an introduction to the emerging physics for gravity-like fields and is followed by a chapter on recent experiments challenging current physics. The authors delve into the consequences for string theory, supersymmetry, wormholes, and hidden dark matter in light of experimental results found at the LHC. The LHC has so far not found particles predicted by supersymmetry, thus challenging current theory required to extend the standard model of physics.

Hauser has been a member of the Technical Committee of Future Flight at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and so it is not unexpected that chapter 3 explores a Short History of Space Propulsion, which outlines the need for advanced space propulsion, the current status of propulsion and how new opportunities would be opened with the advent of propellantless propulsion. It is notable that M. Tajmar (previously mentioned and Professor and Chair for Space Systems at the Dresden University of Technology’s Institute of Aerospace Engineering) recently published positive test results for the EmDrive, another proposed propellantless propulsion device.

In the chapter Physical Concepts for Novel Interactions, the authors state that in order to achieve the geometrization of physics (explored by Einstein, Schrödinger and Wheeler) a poly-metric tensor must be constructed to account for all physical interactions. Unsuccessful attempts were made by Einstein to extend his mono-metric to a poly-metric tensor. However, in order to accomplish this task, the belief in the existence of four fundamental forces is not sufficient. Instead, a classification scheme of all possible physical interactions and their associated particles of both ordinary and non-ordinary matter is needed. Without a poly-metric tensor even sophisticated mathematics are insufficient to explain dark matter and dark energy.

It is notable that in previous publications the authors had not expanded so completey on the concepts behind EHT. They explore the core ideas behind the Weltbild (world view) that is the foundation of EHT. This includes an in-depth discussion of the Principle of duality (formation/annihilation) governing all physical events in the Cosmos, and the joint and simultaneous generation of spacetime and dark energy. Other founding principles for consideration included in the discussion are the Principle of finite existence of time, the Principle of perfect organization and optimization, and the Principle of correspondence between number system and matter.

These founding principles also act to exclude certain physical phenomena, ruling out both singularities and infinities in physics. Everything in the Universe is in motion. Nothing is static. EHT excludes multiverses, singularities in the form of wormholes and the possibility of traversing singularities between points in space. These tenets also exclude superstring theory as currently proposed and thus no supersymmetry. This leaves the standard model severely lacking.

Lack of superpartners means that dark matter cannot be made of neutralino particles or WIMPS, though other types of matter beyond the standard model might exist. Finally, spacetime is considered discrete at the Planck level and built from quantized elemental surface elements termed “metrons” by Burkhard Heim.

Having established these precepts, the authors go on to describe how EHT extends the physics of quantum mechanics and general relativity through two pillars: Heim space and an imaginary time coordinate leading to a dual spacetime entangled with normal spacetime.

Heim space, or internal gauge space, postulates an interaction between electromagnetism and gravitation at cryogenic temperatures with the potential to form the basis of gravitational technology. The eight forms (H8) are organized into four sets of subspaces (making eight dimensions), consisting of the height-width-depth of physical human experience (R3), the one of time (T1) which is considered imaginary), two for organizing “internal spatial” coordinates (S2) and EHT’s new addition of two time-like dimensions representing “information” coordinates (I2).

The second pillar is addition of an imaginary time coordinate that extends the concept of spacetime by adding a dual spacetime for imaginary particles. Along with internal gauge space, the dual spacetime predicts the existence of non-ordinary matter with negative mass (dark matter) and other virtual particles not subject to direct measurement. As the authors put it, “The Cosmos is governed by the principle of symmetry…“ and symmetry creates physics.

The chapter that follows presents to the reader the basic formulation of EHT as a fundamental theory of physics. The eight dimensions (H8) of internal gauge space give rise to a set of 15 hermetry forms. The word hermetry is a combination of hermeneutics (meaning interpretation) and geometry. A hermetry form stands for the physical meaning of geometry. Those 15 forms contain both ordinary matter (OM) and the already mentioned non-ordinary matter (NOM).

Ordinary matter is represented by leptons, quarks and bosons (carrying the four known fundamental forces). Non-ordinary matter is represented by stable neutral leptons and particles of imaginary mass including those particles carrying gravity-like forces, the gravitophoton (attractive and repulsive, interacting with matter) and quintessence (weakly repulsive, interacting with spacetime), carriers of the two new gravity-like fields.

Together, the value for the gravitational constant, or “big G” is no longer a constant due to a single force mediated by a single particle, the graviton. It is a composite of fields mediated by three particle types: the graviton (GN), the gravitophoton (Ggp) and, specific to EHT, the quintessence particle(Gq). Therefore G = GN + Ggp + Gq.

Subsequent chapters cover propagation speeds. The three gravitational fields produce three gravitational constants giving rise to three different propagation speeds of light in a vacuum. One is c, the currently recognized speed of light, while cgp is 1.6 X 105 c, and cq is 2.5 X 1010 c. Also covered are requirements for symmetry breaking, conversion of non-gravitational fields into gravity-like fields and an chapter dedicated to the analyses of experiments by Tajmar, Graham, GP-B.

Experiments performed independently by Tajmar and Graham that indicated generation of extreme gravitomagentic or gravity-like (acceleration) fields in the laboratory are reviewed in great detail. Though Tajmar reported diminished results with later experimental configurations, his original results and the reduced signal strength in later experimental configurations can be explained by EHT. In an analysis of the results of Gravity Probe B (GP-B), extreme gravitomagnetic fields, similar to the ones reported by Tajmar et al., might have been present in orbit and may be (at least partially) responsible for the large reported gyroscope misalignment.

Having established their proposals for theory, in the chapter Extreme Flying Machines from Gravitational Engineering the authors describe configurations and bench tests for creating devices to generate field propulsion — both at cryogenic temperatures and at room temperatures. It is easy to imagine that this might lead to a number of experimentalists taking up the challenge to attempt replications of these configurations, whether in isolated labs or as open-science efforts. Configurations may be for field propulsion or to generate self-sustaining rotation (a gravitational analog of the homopolar electric motor) to be used in power generation.

The book concludes with the chapter The Road to a Different Age, which is more of a philosophical treatise on the new mindset that will accompany our changing views about physics. Should EHT be found true, even in part, extensive changes in physics are likely to impact our long held beliefs in how the Cosmos works.

The authors suggest that a revolution both in propulsion and in energy generation should be expected, resulting in sea changes in transportation. It is time for a paradigm change.

The authors conclude with arguments for average citizens to be educated so that they can critically evaluate science. Without a rigorous effort directed at gaining an understanding of science, citizens are likely to not differentiate between well conducted scientific studies and “junk” science.

Examples are given regarding the science behind anthropogenic global warming versus that pointing to naturally occurring global warming. Though the authors cite exemplars supporting the latter (and this author the former), the point is well made that a critically thinking populace will be needed if evidence-based policy decisions are to be based upon solid scientific thinking.

 

The Gravityshed

More than a dozen years ago I co-founded a non-profit dedicated to place-based learning, especially within metropolitan districts.  It was a time when bandwidth for connecting to the internet was still not very high for wired services and mobile connections through cellular networks had even lower connectivity rates and were very expensive.

I was an early advocate for for wireless area networks (WANs) and city-wide WiFi networks.  In organizing the non-profit I thought about how it could help connect people and bring them together, much like early populations gathered around streams, rivers and lakes, since fresh water has always been a common connecting element for communities.

In my readings I ran across a quote by scientist and geographer John Wesley Powell, saying that a watershed is …“that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community.”  That definition seemed equally appropriate for this new inextricable link through wireless technology, so the non-profit was named “Digital Watershed”.

It has not escaped my attention that a watershed with its common water courses is completely determined by two factors:  topography and gravity.  Gravity compels the water to flow downhill and over time gullies become valleys which further accelerates the transformation of topography.  In that process rivulets and creeks graduate to streams and mighty rivers bringing with them arable soils that sustain agriculture, hydro power for industry and the establishment of communities in the form of villages, towns and cities.  A single source of gravity (the earth) thus influences where communities form.  Competing sources of gravity (the sun and moon) provide opportunities to harvest food, salt and other resources from the oceans through the rise and fall of tides.

This website explores design to guide the development of gravity-like field technology and its influence upon products, people and places.  Most of my writings have addressed terrestrial applications in contrast to applications for its use to propel us to the planets and stars.  So it seems appropriate to talk about communities that come together based upon another inextricable link – this time to gravity; not from the earth, moon or sun but from the generation of gravity-like fields.

A research park focused upon developing gravity technologies might be one reason to bring people together who have expertise in physics, engineering and advancing new technologies.  Its antecedents include Silicon Valley south of San Francisco, and Medical Alley, south of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  Such a technology zone of gravity researchers could be a draw for entrepreneurs intent on exploring the possibilities inherent in gravity technology.

Urban districts that employ gravity-tech to structurally augment architecture would be a draw to that district.  Architecture soaring with impossible cantilevers, delicate arches and spires reaching even greater heights are referred in my book as “gravitecture +”. These include fantastic architectural edifices that float in the air and integrate with new transportation networks of vehicles for mass transit, individual gravityships and gravity drones.  Such a potential could be attained through government/business partnerships modeled after the collaboration of Columbus, Indiana and the Cummins Foundation, which famously incentivized the world’s best architects to create world-class architecture in their city.

A sufficiently advanced gravity-tech might make possible floating homes, businesses and other structures.  This is not a unique idea, having found its way into political satire three centuries ago in “Gulliver’s Travels.”  In it Jonathan Swift wrote of Laputa, a floating island which Gulliver beheld as, “an island in the air, inhabited by men, who were able (as it should seem) to raise or sink, or put it into progressive motion, as they pleased.” In more modern times, the floating city has been a plot device in television and film, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and even a Laputa-like city floated to heights (and destroyed) in the action film “Avengers: Age of Ultron”.

I suspect that such floating villages would not be single monolithic entities but more likely aggregations or swarms of structures each with its own unique identity but blended into an eclectic composition of residences, shops, and public areas – much like today’s city.

Any of these outcomes could be described as a “gravityshed”.  A watershed is a gravityshed in the natural world, where the water was pulled by gravity to follow the natural topography.  I have mentioned in previous writings the drawbacks of floating architecture (violations of right to light, view and issues of residency/taxation) as well as the benefits which include the ability to block or concentrate light where needed or to bring jobs to where the workers are located.

A gravityshed might have multiple gravitational “wells”, not the single one we experience on the earth.  If the Extended Heim Theory about gravity-like fields is correct then the wells may be either repulsive or attractive.  This would make possible a space filled with push and pull fields.  If we think of each well as a gravitational potential, either positive (attractive) or negative (repulsive), it is clear that a course steered past these points would not be a straight one.  Plotting a course through this space would be similar to plotting a course for a satellite sent to the outer planets using the slingshot effect of gravitational wells it encounters to change direction and velocity.

As residents on the surface of a globe with a firmly established sense of “down” and a horizon, we might conceive of a gravityshed of residences and buildings as merely a floating version of a village.  Such an elevated community might exist within a discrete strata or layer a set distance from the ground – similar to the classes of airspace established for aircraft by the FAA.  It would be far more challenging to consider that a gravityshed with multiple wells may possess multiple “gravitational horizons” and wells of different strengths and polarity intersecting with earth’s large well.

It brings to mind the science fiction romance “Upside Down” where two planets are locked in a gravitational stalemate and their respective inhabitants work not side-by-side but head-to-toe, each responding to their own gravity well.  The trailer for that can be found HERE and a frame from the film is the featured image for this article.

UpsideDownInsertThat film played with just the intersection of two gravitational fields (as well as how gravity works!).  Gravity-like fields generating smaller intersecting gravity wells might result in several types unique field types.  Those generated fields may be typified by their actions upon gases, atmosphere and materials in terms of traction, suppression, propulsion, etc, but it is the their lines and surfaces of intersection that could provide the most interesting applications.  A full exploration would require new tools for simulation, though it could begin by co-opting existing tools such as software for simulating physics in 3D or even simulations of bubble physics

We are still in the pre-discovery days of generating gravity-like fields let alone artificially produced gravitysheds.  However, experiments with spinning superconductors in new configurations could reproduce and amplify the small gravitational effects reported by Martin Tajmar almost a decade ago.  As the current Professor and Chair for Space Systems at the Dresden University of Technology’s Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Tajmar is a leading experimentalist in propulsionless propellents including the EM Drive.  If sustainable gravity-like fields can be experimentally proven, new methods and new tools will need to be quickly be borrowed or devised to provide support for the works of gravity designers.

Are Fullerenes the Key to Dark Matter?

In Chapter 7, “Elementary Primer of Field Propulsion Physics” of the book New Frontiers in Space Propulsion, Jochem Hauser and Walter Dröscher state that in their suggested Heim experiment for generating a gravity-like field, a reduction in the spatial dimensions of spacetime from three to two is deemed to occur (believed to be due to the material combination of Pb coil and carbon disk).  See the below image.

GrayCoils

They offer this experiment as a means to produce an axial gravity-like (acceleration) field of sufficient magnitude to serve as the basis for a propellantless propulsion system. This configuration is believed to cause an increase in the strength of the gravitational interaction accounting for the increased gravitational coupling.

The gravitational coupling constant is the product of two factors, the second of which is termed the geometric compression factor, that is, a reduction of spacetime dimensionality from three to two dimensions, possibly attributed to the presence of anyons. The strength of the extreme gravitomagnetic field might be due to the existence of anyons, a term introduced by F. Wilczek that are supposed to be generated through symmetry breaking (triggered by cryogenic temperatures or material composition).

Anyons exist only in two dimensions in spaces of type SO(2,1). Experimentally such a space might be realizable, for instance, by setting up a crystal structure that produces an energy gap in the third direction and, as long as the energy available is smaller than the energy gap the respective field can only propagate in the two other dimensions. A disk with a thin crystalline structure of carbon is suggested.  But what form would the carbon take?

Carbon in the form of diamonds is not superconducting.  It only becomes superconducting when doped with boron,  possibly due to phonon-mediated pairing.  Undoped diamond is an insulator.  Carbon nanotubes have occasionally been reported as being superconducting, but definitive results are still pending.  Fullerenes (ie. C60 or buckyballs) have been shown to be superconducting as solids, and fullerites of C60+ doped with alkali metals have been shown to be superconductors at temperatures as high as 31ºK (http://bohr.inesc-mn.pt/~jlm/article/46_buckyballs_EPNews.pdf).

Interestingly, “buckyballs” are found not only in the laboratory.  They can be produced with simple arc welding equipment.  Recently, an article has been published describing research confirming that fullerenes C60 are responsible for the light absorption of spectra from stars in very specific bands.  It confirms that “buckyballs” are actively absorbing photons and are omnipresent in interstellar space. See http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2015/jul/16/bountiful-buckyballs-resolve-interstellar-mystery

I bring this to light because I have long wondered if the mechanism of gravitational symmetry-breaking made possible by Cooper pairs in rotating superconductors in the laboratory could be occurring naturally in interstellar space?  I have presumed that in order for gravitophotons to generate gravity-like fields naturally, that it would require the existence of  superconducting materials in interstellar space.  Could the carbon disc as suggested by Hauser and Dröscher be fullerene?  And could that molecule play a role in what most scientists describe as “dark matter” by producing a strong gravity-like attractive field much higher than that capable of being produced by normal matter?

While interstellar space has a mean temperature of 5.8º K.  It might be expected that the mean temperature between galaxies is even colder.  If the gravitational phenomenon attributed to dark matter is instead the effect of gravity-like fields generated by gravitophotons, then it might be expressed more strongly just outside of galaxies where the temperatures are colder and yet the concentration of fullerenes is still relatively high.  Such a distribution might appear as a haze of gravitational force just outside of a galaxy, which is where dark matter has been detected – not inside of galaxies.  Within a galaxy temperatures may be too high to keep fullerenes from becoming superconducting, despite the concentration of fullerenes being higher.

Excerpt of “Introduction to Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology of Gravity-Like Fields”

Walter Dröscher and Jochem Hauser have graciously provided a collection of excerpts from their 526 page upcoming book “Introduction to Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology of Gravity-Like Fields”, an elementary primer describing breakthrough physics for propulsion and energy generation technologies.  I wish to thank both of the authors for this preview of sections from their book, which is to be published this coming November.

This preview begins with the title cover (a portion of which is shown above) and a short message to the reader explaining the highlights of 20th century physics that led to this point in understanding gravity.

The excerpt also includes a full executive summary, acknowledgments, prologue, a full listing of the table of contents of the book, lists of nomenclature, the first two pages of Chapers 1, 2, and 11,  glossaries, a name index and subject index.

The except reveals a very substantive and complete study of gravity-like fields and is sure to become a new cornerstone in physics once published.

Here is the link to the amended excerpt.

Design implications from Chapter 7 of the upcoming Nova Book

In the upcoming book, New Frontiers in Space Propulsion, chapter 7, Elementary Primer of Field Propulsion Physics, was authored by Walter Dröscher and Jochem Hauser.  They make several interesting points about generating extreme gravitomagnetic fields that have not previously been addressed in their writings but which add new depth to their writings on the topic.  This will likely be expanded upon in their upcoming book, Introduction to the Physics and Astrophysics of Gravity- Like Fields.

Although much of the text in that chapter summarizes past points of discussion, these new points either reinforce directions in their research or suggest new potentials with design implications.  The following text either paraphrases or takes verbatim the statements of those authors.  I follow that content with some suggestions of design implications.

1. The example of a laboratory experiment is calculated to produce a relatively large acceleration of gG = 0.32g, where g denotes the acceleration of the Earth.  It will be described in section Setup of the Heim Experiment in their upcoming book Introduction to the Physics and Astrophysics of Gravity- Like Fields.

Design Implications – If an axial acceleration force of approximately a third of Earth’s gravitational field can be generated in a laboratory experiment, it would be an extraordinary event requiring extraordinary evidence and likely requiring multiple replications to be validated.  One interesting methodology to accelerate the replication would be to “open-source” the experiment through online and live streaming of data such as can be found at the Martin Fleischmann Memorial Project.

2. We do not know the exact spatial extension and shape of the gravity-like field as well as its acceleration effect on the total mass of the space vehicle. The gravitomagnetic field as generated by Tajmar et al. has at least an extension of several centimeters, the Nb ring has a diameter of 15 cm.

Design Implications – If an axially generated extreme gravitomagnetic field is short in range, similar to the several centimeter field generated by the circumferential gravity-like field generated by Tajmar et al., then it suggests a more proximal rather than distal effect on objects.  Though some authors have suggested the possibility that long range gravitational pulses could be generated (Podkletnov, for example), a short range effect would mean that the field could still encompass a generating device, but projecting fields at distances for shields, tractor effects, etc. on distant objects would be less likely.  The shape of the field is also unknown, but if intersecting fields might influence the overall shape of a field (similar to intersecting magnetic fields) then some distortion or reshaping might be possible.

3. The strength of the extreme gravitomagnetic field might be due to the existence of anyons.  Anyons are particles introduced by F. Wilczek (Anyons, Scientific American, May 1991) that are suggested to be generated through symmetry breaking , triggered by cryogenic temperatures or material composition.  For instance, there are crystal structures that possess surface layers of only few atoms thickness such as copper oxide high-temperature superconductors that are composed of planes of atoms stacked on top of one another.

Design Implications – This suggests that thin flat films, coatings or layers might generate a field stronger than a bulk material.  Not only might this reduce the costs by allowing a thinly coated disk, ring or sphere to take the place of thicker (hence more expensive) materials, but also that modulation of the thin film might be used to direct or concentrate the field.

4.  A gravity-like field generator operating at ambient temperature would be the ultimate field propulsion device.  In the same sense as a high-temperature superconductor is the ultimate goal in superconductivity research, a  gravity-like field generator operating at ambient temperature would be the ultimate field propulsion device.  In Introduction to the Physics and Astrophysics of Gravity- Like Fields  the authors are said to discuss a combination of 20 materials and their arrangement that, according to their “Gedanken experiment”, might have the desired properties to generate extreme gravity-like fields at ambient temperatures. An ambient-temperature gravity-like field generator would encounter obstacles, just as are the experimental difficulties of producing a technically feasible high-temperature superconductor.

Design Implications – If generating an extreme gravitomagnetic field is as difficult a process as discovering materials for generating practical ambient-temperature superconductors then this is a great challenge.  However, it should be noted that isolated detection of superconductors at temperature higher than that of some solder alloys have been reported, though preparation and other requirements of these materials keep them from being easily manufactured or maintained.

5. The existence of three gravitational constants gives rise to three different propagation speeds.  That is,

Screen Shot 2015-06-15 at 11.11.10 PM

It is therefore conceivable that spaces exist that may allow for propagation speeds cgpor cq. It is not known how a material body could enter and leave such a hypothetical hyperspace, nor would we know how to navigate in such a space.

Design Implications – Droscher and Hauser’s original award winning AIAA paper, “Guidelines for a space propulsion device based upon Heim’s Quantum Theory” in 2004 discussed the possibility of transitioning to this hypothetical hyperspace (while at ambient temperature).  Certainly, entering hyperspace to reach a theoretical speed more than a billion times the speed of light would have far-reaching implications for interstellar travel without need for wormholes or “warp” drives.

New Frontiers in Space Propulsion

The publication of an upcoming book edited by Takaaki Musha has been announced for the third quarter of this year.  Chapter 7 has been authored by Jochem Hauser and Walter Dröscher and is entitled, “ELEMENTARY PRIMER OF FIELD PROPULSION PHYSICS”.  I was very happy to have participated in the editing of that chapter for the authors.

Here is the description of the new book from the Nova Science Publishers, Inc site:

New Frontiers in Space Propulsion.  ISBN: 978-1-63482-845-1

Editors: Takaaki Musha (Advanced Science-Technology Research Organization, Yokohama, Japan)

Book Description: 

As we know, reaching the outer rim of the solar system in a relatively short period of time is impossible utilizing existing rocket technology. Radically ventured theories such as quantum vacuum propulsion must emerge if we have any desire to truly explore the far reaches of space. New concepts must be explored that may someday enable manned interplanetary and interstellar travel. With this in mind, it is imperative for scientists to study and create new forms of space trajectory to achieve this goal. New propulsion physics for such means may or may not be discovered in the future. In this book, the science behind ideal methods of space propulsion (such as warp drive and gravity-control) are examined to show connections between known facts, anomalies and visions concerning this study. This term is known as “frontier physics”; scientists presently use accepted physical paradigms to speculate and hypothesize forms of physics that will aid in future developments. In this case, that development is advanced methods of space propulsion.

Throughout this book, eminent researches discuss an overview of new propulsion systems which cannot be achieved by the conventional propulsion systems. Some methods that surpass modern study which would aid in the development of advanced space propulsion includes zero-point energy, quantum electrodynamics, space-time curvature and faster-than-light warp drive travel. It is hoped that these topics will assist readers in their journey to understand progressive studies of space propulsion systems. (Imprint: Nova)

Book Reviews

“A fascinating work covering the newest and most revolutionary ideas for space propulsion systems. Within the pages are ideas which will lay the foundation for mankind to truly reach out and touch the worlds around other stars.” – Reviewed by Grant Hayman of OVAL Technologies, Canada

“This book has been endorsed by the Journal of Space Exploration for its contributions to advanced space propulsion science, – which include approaches based upon fusion technology, photonic drive, Einstein’s general relativity theory, zero point energy, quantum electrodynamics, space-time curvature, electromagnetoroid dynamics, and warp drive for faster-than-light travel, that will contribute readers to know on the field of advanced space propulsion systems.” – Endorsed by Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Space Exploration

“In order to reach the outer rim of the solar system in a reasonable amount of time, new concepts must be explored that could someday enable such manned interplanetary and interstellar travel. Radically advanced space propulsion concepts, such as quantum vacuum propulsion and warp drive that rely on physics outside the present paradigms must emerge in the near future if we have any hope of human exploration of deep space. Throughout this book, these topics are discussed by eminent researchers which collectively provide an overview of a range of new propulsion concepts. For the purpose of manned space flight, interplanetary travel and interstellar travel could not be achieved by the conventional chemical propulsion systems. Concepts included in this volume include approaches based upon fusion technology, photonic drive, Einstein’s general relativity theory, zero point energy, quantum electrodynamics, space-time curvature, electromagnetoroid dynamics, and warp drive for faster-than-light travel. It is hoped that these topics will contribute reader’s knowledge of advanced space propulsion systems.” – Reviewed by Gary Stephenson, Aerospace Systems Engineer, Seculine Consulting, Redondo Beach, CA

Price: $210.00

Table of Contents:

Preface

Acknowledgements

New Frontiers in Space Propulsion Science Part I- The Environment and Some History Related to ‘Advanced’ Space Propulsion Science – (P. A. Murad, Morningstar Applied Physic, LLC, Vienna, VA, USA)

New frontiers in Space Propulsion Science Part II- Approaches to Push the New Frontiers – (P. A. Murad, Morningstar Applied Physic, LLC, Vienna, VA, USA)

Fusion Space Probe-Viper – (Akshata Krishnamurthy, George H. Miley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA)

The Photonic Railway – (Young K. Bae, Y.K. Bae Corporation, Tustin, CA, USA)

General Relativistic Gravity Machines and Electromagneto-Toroidal Structure of E-M Field – (Takaaki Musha, Mario J.Pinheiro, Advanced Sci.-Tech. Research Organization, Yokohama, Japan, and others)

Possibility for Exploiting Zero-Point Fields of the Quantum Vacuum for Propulsion – (H. David Froning Jr, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide Adelaide, South Australia)

Elementary Primer of Field Propulsion Physics – (Jochem Hauser, Walter Dröscher, HPCC-Space GmbH, Hamburg and Ostfalia Univ. of Applied Sciences, Suderburg, Germany, and others)

On the Possibility of ZPF Space Propulsion Systems – (Takaaki Musha, Advanced Science-Technology Research Organization, Yokohama, Japan)

Space Drive Propulsion System Founded on the Continuum Mechanics of Space-time – (Yoshinari Minami, Advanced Science-Technology Research Organization (Formerly NEC Space Development Division), Japan)

Faster-than-Light Travel to the Stars – (Gary L. Bennett, Consultant in aerospace power and propulsion systems, Boise, ID, USA)

 

The physics of Hollywood’s blockbuster movie Interstellar

In November of last year Dr. Jochem Hauser wrote an interesting article on “The physics of Hollywood’s blockbuster movie Interstellar“, which discusses some possible inaccuracies of the movie despite the guidance of its science advisor, Dr. Kip Thorne.  An interesting and sobering view of conflicts in the physics community popularized through the reach of film.  The above link goes to the pdf of the article.

ZeroN

This video is about an ingenious manipulation of magnetic fields with computers that simulate a Zero-g object. This project was done at MIT’s Media Lab by Jinha Lee under the direction of Hiroshi Ishii, whom I met several years ago. It was Published on May 7, 2012.

It asks, “What if materials could defy gravity, so that we could leave them suspended in mid-air? ZeroN is a physical and digital interaction element that floats and moves in space by computer-controlled magnetic levitation.”

This level of thinking about what you could do by manipulating objects in 3-dimensional space to simulate things like the 3-body problem are wonderful explorations of creative thinking.

Speculative Post: Connections between LENR and gravity modification.

Some time ago the thought occurred to me that the apparent violation of conservation of energy reported by Steorn might also be found in experiments to produce gravity-like fields, though at first glance the two would appear to be completely unrelated.

In April of 2007 while under an NDA to Steorn, I posted some very speculative threads within their private forum.  The postings posited a connection between experiments in gravity modification (as reported by inventor Marcus Hollingshead) and results of anomalous heat generation in the Orbo device developed by Steorn.  This posting explores those connections, but readers should realize that these are very speculative discussions and lack a set of experiments to make the connections clear.

At the time of my posts Steorn was claiming the generation of “joule heating” (known as the “Orbo effect”) with its device.  To the detriment of Steorn’s reputation, their first public demonstration in 2007 was cancelled and another in 2009 drew criticism when it became clear that a battery to “prime” the excess heat into the system was used and frequently recharged and thus energy input could not be reliably measured without criticisms of tampering.  In 2002 inventor Marcus Hollingshead had claimed generation of a gravity-like field in his “Marcus device” using a series of counter-rotating rings studded with electromagnets positioned around a charged iron core.  His demo was similarly cancelled and he never came to market with his device.

Though this site is devoted to developing the discipline of gravity design, it has on occasion noted the similarities between the findings represented by Steorn’s Orbo and Rossi’s LENR-based E-Cat.  In the book Gravity 2.0 those two inventions were the only technologies suggested as potential sources of energy for gravity-like generators. As with claims by Steorn, the E-Cat similarly exhibits (albeit with more solid verification) anomalous heat generation and injection of initial power to “prime” the generation of excess power.  In addition there has also been the suggestion by Dr. Bruce Ahern that asymmetric magnetic pulses provide the key mechanism underlying LENR.  Asymmetric magnetism is claimed by Steorn to be the mechanism of joule heating for its device.

What about the E-Cat?  The E-Cat also makes use of pulsed magnetic fields to induce its effect.  As stated in the Lugano (third party) report, “the resistor coils are fed with some specific electromagnetic pulses.  Similarlly, Professor Mitchell Swartz of MIT showed how applying powerful magnetic fields to NANORs (his LENR device) improves their operating properties permanently. He calls NANORs treated with magnetic fields, “M-NANOR”.  Application of magnetic fields appears to either underly or enhance LENR.

Recent findings by third party researchers in the “Lugano report” appear to validate Rossi’s claims of excess energy production for the “hot cat” version of the E-Cat and confirm it as a nuclear process shifting neutrons in the Nickel fuel to the Lithium fuel.  The specific mechanism is yet to be clearly identified, though a recent suggestion of bound neutron tunneling is an interesting hypothesis suggesting the basis for the shift.  It also suggests the possibility that the iron (Fe) additives to the E-Cat’s fuel may lose nucleons resulting in the decay of Fe to Mn.

Pulsed magnetic fields may make possible nuclear processes in LENR.  Might they also initiate nuclear processes for generating gravity-like fields?  Hollingshead suggested a nuclear mechanism for his gravity-like field generator.  He stated that a Cambridge University based physicist reported the gravitational effect was due to “pushing protons into becoming neutrons” by pulsing the iron core at the center of the device with strong magnetic fields.  This suggestion of magnetically induced nucleon interactions would mean that eventually the iron would be depleted and the effect diminished.  Hollingshead reported that after about 200 hours the iron purity of the core was contaminated with sufficient byproducts so that it would stop working until the iron core was replaced.  I suggested in a December 2005 article that the decay of Fe to Mn in the iron core might be the “contaminants” mentioned by Hollingshead in his communications.

What are the similarities between the Marcus device and Orbo?  In June 2007 I made the following proposal on Steorn’s private forum:

The Steorn Effect is the magnetic (Sv) analog of a gravitomagnetic (Gv) effect first reported by Marcus Hollingshead.

I’ve always wondered why inventors touting the discovery of antigravity also often mention that their devices create free energy. Perhaps these effects are rough analogs where free energy is about magnetic lag and antigravity is about gravitational lag.

About the time that Mssrs. McCarthy and Daly [Steorn] were pondering the energy excesses of their wind generator, an inventor named Hollingshead was posting on the BBC boards about an AG device that he had refined through 161 iterations (though he preferred the term “modified gravity” to AG). Like Steorn he also stumbled upon his effect, first thinking it purely magnetic until a professor at Cambridge with whom he consulted essentially said, “What you have here is modified gravity lensing”.

In that thread I noted similarities of the two systems:

  1. Both involved the pulsing of magnetic fields (through rotation) of a strong ferromagnetic material with a weak ferromagnetic material. Orbo with strong (neodynium) rotors interacting with weak (ferrite) stators; Marcus device with strong (EM) rotors interacting with a weak (alpha iron) stator.
  2. Rotational speeds to achieve the effects were also similar, Orbo with a rotational speed of 14.5 m/s at the beginning of its “green zone” and the Marcus device at 19.8 m/s at the beginning of its gravitational effect.
  3. Both systems also exhibited parity, with Orbo rotation leading to excess energy, counter-rotation leading to absorbed energy; and the Marcus device rotation exhibiting “negative” gravity effects and counter rotation exhibiting “positive” gravity effects.
  4. One version of Orbo shown to those under an NDA was a radially magnetic version configured for continuous rotational motion where the stator presenting a strong circumferential North pole to the weak ferrites.  Similarly, the Marcus device imposed a simultaneously pulsed North pole at opposite points across the diameter of the soft iron core in the x, y, and z axes by employing 6 electromagnets.

Despite both inventions lacking sufficient replication from third parties (the Marcus device particularly so) there are intriguing similarities.  However, to date Steorn has not suggested a nuclear mechanism for Orbo and has not claimed that it is LENR.  The E-Cat does have a nuclear mechanism and employs “magnetic pulsing” similar to reports for the Marcus device.

 

Bob ssOrbo x-section2

 

But is there unaccounted energy produced in generating gravity-like fields?  In their first published paper describing a set of experiments to produce gravity-like fields, Martin Tajmar and his co-author Clovis deMatos (at the time an Advanced Concepts and Studies Officer at ESA) described a lack of conservation of energy produced that might be tied to dark energy.  In an April 2007 article New Scientist entitled “Superconductors inspire quantum test for dark energy”, DeMatos stated that “We did the sums and found out that energy wasn’t conserved, but perhaps that was just because we were missing dark energy.”  Extended Heim Theory also posits that the gravity-like fields generated by symmetry breaking could explain dark energy.  However, the nature of the lack of energy conservation does not appear to be related to the energy released through LENR.

At this juncture the following appears to be the status of the various devices:

  1. The excess energy output of Rossi’s E-Cat has been validated by two independent reports, but replication by other independent parties is needed to fully validate those results.
  2. Steorn’s Orbo has yet to be validated except by third party consultants hired by Steorn.  Further, Dr. Bruce Ahern’s suggestion that LENR is dependent upon asymmetric magnetism has yet to be tested as the basis of Steorn’s claims of asymmetric magnetism made over 7 years ago.
  3. Hollingshead’s “Marcus device” has yet to be publicly demoed, and no independent study has been publicly released.One common thread binding all of the above is that all of the inventors are still consider by many to be charlatans.

EHT has suggested mechanisms for producing gravitomagnetic “symmetry breaking” through either fermionic coupling (due to polarization of the vacuum induced by very strong magnetic fields), or bosonic coupling (induced by rotating superconductors producing Cooper pairs).  In an early paper on EHT, “SPACETIME PHYSICS AND ADVANCED PROPULSION CONCEPTS”, the authors suggested that though the exact formation of Cooper pairs is not known the coupling of the electron pairs seems to be via phonons, generated by electron movement through the proton charge of the ions in the crystal lattice of the superconductor.  LENR has also been called Lattice Energy Nuclear Reactions due to the suggested site of the nuclear transformation within the lattice of nickel particles through the excitation of phonons.

The final thought on this speculative thread is this… is there a third way to induce symmetry breaking (either fermionic or bosonic) that follows the pathway of LENR, gives credence to Hollingshead’s claims, and still supports the theory of EHT?