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How to Make/Build a Lifter or Ionocraft

RimstarOrg1 HN recommenders · 2016–2022
851K views · tutorial · evergreen · Uploaded 2012-03-09

A step-by-step guide to building a lifter, a small triangular ionocraft made from balsa wood, aluminum foil and thin wire, powered by a high-voltage supply. It also shows high-voltage safety practices.

HN recommends it as a clear explanation of how lifters and ion wind propulsion work, mostly in threads about exotic propulsion and flying saucers.

3D printing, CNC & maker projectsElectronics & circuit designEveryday physics & science demos

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3 comments from Hacker News

@Laaw2016 · in “How to Investigate a Flying Saucer”

I realize I'm going to sound absolutely bonkers, but I definitely read an article in Wired about devices which used very large amounts of electricity to hover feet in the air. They were triangularly shaped, built in garages, used aluminium somehow, and could hover in the air. I really wish I could find a link to that Wired article... Edit: Found it! [LINK] Edit2: Doing some research (it's coming back to me now), it runs off of ionic wind, which is apparently a well understood phenomena. I'm guessing this was/is being thoroughly researched, and any outcomes have apparently not been fruitful (yet?). I realize I sound bonkers, but come on, this is pretty cool, even if nothing of value has resulted. [LINK] Guy explains it pretty well: [VIDEO]

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@KMag2018 · in “First firing of air-breathing electric thruster”

The gas collecting portion of this design wouldn't work well, but it's certainly possible to generate thrust by ionizing air at atmospheric pressure and zero relative velocity. See [LINK] and [VIDEO]

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@anonymousiam2022 · in “MIT engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts (2018)”

These were popular decades ago, and were the focus of many an argument over the basis in theory of how they worked. Many did not understand that they depend on atmosphere to operate. [VIDEO]

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