This project demonstrates a very important and interesting, but not well known, property of electrical energy. It is now possible to cause direct motion, movement and positive lift making it a viable candidate for vertical propulsion, hovercrafts, hoverboards and future space travel.
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This item has been an award-winning science project for over a decade. It is very popular in high school grades 8-12, College, museums, and even has been featured on TV, one show being MythBusters (season 4, episode 26) who built our kit in 2006 and filmed it levitating.
Units are duty cycle pulsed sources of safe high voltage at a low current. The resulting phenomenon of this specific electrical reaction produces a thrust, generating the effect of "anti gravity". It has already proven itself in outer space as a highly-efficient thruster, where it is used as a propulsion method for satellites and deep-space probes.
This item is assembled and ready to use. The GRA80 Deluxe Lifter includes case, power meter, and fuse. Leads are strain relieved with a special anti corona plastic tube for connection to the high voltage output; all else is the same as the GRA10. It is also available as a kit with plans and all parts, requiring assembly. Or as plans (paper or downloadable versions), with parts and assembly required. |
The project starts with a small craft and can be scaled up to power a larger 14" x 14" craft:
1. You start by building a 6" craft that levitates without any visible means (you must provide the simple materials for this craft, such as foil, glue, and balsa wood from a hobby shop). The triangular shaped craft is typically built 6" to a side, and you can make a larger craft up to 14" when you get your first one correctly flying. It is very important that the craft is built exactly as shown in the plans for best performance.
2. We offer two ion power drivers that can be used for this project: the GRA10 is a lower cost unit that is built on an open frame without an enclosure or meter to keep the cost down. The GRA80 is enclosed in a box with a meter on the front that displays the voltage output. Apart from those differences, both ion drivers are exactly the same and provide the same output, producing all the power necessary to generate levitation. Both versions include a special stainless steel ion wire (enough to make several craft), and a special grounded 12V 4A power supply for 115VAC (standard wall power) operation. If wall power is not available, a 12 volt battery may be used which simply involves connecting directly to the input jack of the ion driver.
If more information is needed, a free download (600MB) is available containing many videos and other valuable information on assembly and flying hints of different sized and shaped craft that require simple construction and use readily-available low-cost materials.
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