Subrata Roy, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Florida, has a potentially world changing design that he is working on; a circular aircraft, which he terms a “wingless electromagnetic air vehicle,” without moving parts or fuel.
How does it move? Read on to find out.
The propulsion system of Roy’s aircraft is contained on its surface in the form of electrodes. These electrodes ionize surrounding air, creating plasma. An electrical charge is then sent into the plasma via an energy source that is stored on the aircraft which will cause the plasma to push against the uncharged air around the saucer and, if the math works out, lifting it off the ground as well as allowing it to be maneuvered.
In his own words:
“All of the materials needed to make this aircraft currently exist,” he says, “and plasma is the most abundant form of matter in the universe. If we can somehow tap into that in the future we should be able to fly anywhere.”
Within the next year, we should all know whether or not Roy’s theory pans out, as he is working on creating a six-inch prototype. If he is successful, it could lead the way to much bigger wingless electromagnetic air vehicles, Roy states that they can be as big as anyone wants to build them, as the design should be able to be scaled up.
Figure Legends
Title Image: Cut-away schematic of the Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle shows inner hollow chamber for payload cargo. (Ryan Durscher of the Computational Plasma Dynamics Laboratory and Test Facility, University of Florida). [WEAV]
Image 2: This is an artist’s illustration of what a Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle might look like as it flies in the atmosphere above Mars. (Danielle Zawoy for the University of Florida) [WEAV]
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Tags: aircraft, new technology, physics, propulsion, Transportation
13 responses
A Real “Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle”? Couldn’t Be… : theprereq.com
Jul 10, 2008 at 3:01 pm
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Jul 15, 2008 at 9:05 pm
“These electrodes ionize surrounding air” Ok but riddle me this Batman, where is the air in space?
Jul 16, 2008 at 12:52 am
Good job Blaise!
Have a cookie.
Jul 16, 2008 at 2:58 am
Look up Ion thrusters. NASA uses them. Of course it’s not the SAME thing. But hey we have hybrid cars right?
Jul 18, 2008 at 3:38 pm
First the article states that the aircraft operates “without moving parts or fuel”
Then states “An electrical charge is then sent into the plasma via an energy source that is stored on the aircraft”
Wouldn’t this be considered … fuel?
Jul 19, 2008 at 3:08 am
Robin: “Wouldn’t this be considered … fuel?”
No… electricity is not a fuel.
Jul 20, 2008 at 9:38 pm
1) The blogger did a terrible job writing about this. Describing the system as ‘pushing off of air’ is exactly what such a system would not do. We don’t need to pick on a comment because the blogger is dumb and the reader misunderstood.
2) Electricity is not a fuel (fuel being “any material altered to obtain energy”), but if I may take the liberty, s/he probably meant that it still requires the craft to carry a payload to provide energy (and given the nature of ion propulsion, quite a bit of it)
Anyway, I hope that this tech comes to life. It would be sweet to see a youtube vid of such a thing in action.
Jul 21, 2008 at 3:17 am
look up the Gernan v7.Germans are people 2
Jul 21, 2008 at 1:53 pm
That is so photoshopped, how fake, don’t believe every picture you see on the internet!
Jul 22, 2008 at 12:16 am
“…and plasma is the most abundant form of matter in the universe. If we can somehow tap into that in the future we should be able to fly anywhere.”
This would require Nuclear Reactor-type energy sources if you ever wanted it to work in our atmosphere. And even then, it would not produce significant forces. Certainly not enough to lift an aircraft payload. The energy required to both create a plasma field (my guess by the shape of the ship it would be a toroid) and alter it enough to produce a force to overcome gravity would be unimaginable. And to store the power cell on-board?? It would need a matter/anti-matter reactor. If you had that much energy available, shit, there would be better ways to get around.
This is like saying, “We could fly to the other end of the universe! If only we could go through a wormhole”.
The devil is in the details!
Jul 23, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Xidarian…I think you are right. Thanks for the advice
Jul 28, 2008 at 9:18 pm
“matter/anti-matter reactor”
Doogie, I do believe you’re a troll, gtfo.
Me thinks this poster was just no good at getting the real information about this craft and it’s designers intended ideas.
Please, someone remove this crap before it gets reposted anywhere else as true and complete.
Aug 11, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I did a little quick web search on Subrata Roy. I think there may have been some misquoting here. This is intended for in atmosphere use only. Nowhere can I find that this is intended to be a fuel less craft. Also, at best is more likely to lead to improvements in control surfaces than to an actual flying craft.
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