Thanks to Sam for sharing the following video.
Tim Ventura interviews NASA physicist Dr. Charles Buhler who claims he has discovered a propellant-less propulsion system that reportedly produces produces 1g (9.8 m/s²) thrust in experimental testing.
Here is Dr. Buhler’s summery of the discovery:
“What we have discovered is that systems that contained an asymmetry in either electrostatic pressure or some kind of electrostatic divergent field can give a system of a center of mass a nonzero Force component so with that basically means is that there is some underlying physics that can essentially Place force on an object should those two constraints be met.”
Dr. Buhler states that outside groups have replicated the effect based on the patent “System and method for generating forces using asymmetrical electrostatic pressure” https://patents.google.com/patent/US11511891B2/en
Abstract of the patent:
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. 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.
Some of the implications of the discovery, according to Buhler, is that this force could be exploited to develop propulsion systems for spacecraft or the creation of energy producing devices. He says that funding will be needed in order to explore and develop these kinds of technologies.
