Apparent Weight Changes in Hemispherical Capacitors Produced by the Alteration of Converging Space Flow:
A Summary of Experimental Observations of
Highly Agitated Titania Nano-particles

Nicholas A. Reiter

29 August 2001

Background:

One of the primary components of the McMaster model for gravity is the concept of a converging flow of physical space, traditionally called the aether, into mass. While it is speculated that space may be made to flow or be stressed, as potentially evidenced by the electrical and magnetic forces, gravity would seem to be the result of a converging (or diverging, under special conditions) flow of space. This model remains mathematically unsubstantiated, however it does display a particular elegance, and does seem to at least present the possibility for real world testing.

An analogue of the convergence of space flow may be seen in a hydraulic system, where a porous body is connected to a suction line, and is immersed in a vessel of water. When turned on, we find a radial inflow of water into the porous body that has the potential to drag any mass floating nearby toward the surface of the porous body with an acceleration mimicking gravity. However, we note that unlike water, the character of space or aether appears to be essentially mass-less by itself.

In the natural world, we find gravity to be a one-way accelerative force, with examples of a repelling or anti-gravitational force noticeably absent. This in itself may be an indication of the origin of gravity. If an accelerating flow of space (convergence) into mass is the predominant and natural direction of the overall "system", then a diverging "out-flow" of space, and thus anti-gravity would be quite infrequent except under spectacular or contrived conditions. More recently, we have speculated that by modeling certain nuclear particles as miniature black holes, an axial but only weakly diverging route for the re-emergence of aether into the universe is possible, thus maintaining a state of equilibrium, but without any appreciable appearance of an anti-gravity force in nature.

If the force of gravity is a manifestation of converging space, we speculate on the possibility of the physical effects that might result if this converging flow could be reversed or rectified to some degree. One of the potential means to accomplish this could be by use of a system analogous to an optical diverging lens. See FIG. A.

While we are uncertain of the degree to which known forces are capable of stressing the hypothetical fluid space, the speculation exists that very strong electrical or magnetic fields might be candidates.

OUR DESIGN:

We propose that a diverging lens for space flow might be accomplished by constructing a simple capacitor, or electrical dipole, in the form of a hemisphere or bowl. In this device, we desire to produce as great an electrical stress as possible (maximizing field density), in a curved geometry. Our essential design is based on a hemispheric or curved shell of dielectric material, filmed or lined on both greater and lesser surfaces with a conductive material. To this capacitor, we apply as high a potential as may be endured by the dielectric properties of the hemisphere composition. See FIG. B.

With the hemisphere oriented such that the convex faces the earth’s surface (traditional "bowl"), we predicted that upon application of electrical stress to the device, the converging flow of space, passing through the hemisphere and into the earth’s mass, might be re-directed to some degree, and diverged. Whether such an alteration of convergence would occur only within the limits of the electrical field, or if any the diverging character might extend to a region between the device and the earth is unpredictable.

Thusly, we would predict that one or both of two possible effects might occur at our device. One prediction would say that masses located below the bowl of the hemisphere, but above the earth’s surface, might be seen to lose a portion of their apparent weight as the value for g is altered. The second prediction would say that the hemispherical capacitor would itself lose at least a portion of it's own apparent weight.

In addition to a hemispherical capacitor, we state for the time being that many other designs could be possible to accomplish similar results. We consider such forms as inverted cones, pyramids, nested coaxial conducting shells, matrices of beads or small spherules of appropriate construction, etc. Since August of 2000, several of these geometries have been investigated with interesting results.

OUR INITIAL EXPERIMENT:

Our first attempt to test this model was made in late August of 2000. A 16" diameter hemisphere of high quality optical grade acrylic was procured from Edmund Scientific. The inner and outer surfaces of the hemisphere were cleaned with alcohol, and then painted with conductive carbon paint. (Atcheson Colloids 311) When suitably dry, the conductive inner and outer surfaces were fitted with small foil tabs, for connection to a source of high voltage.

For initial testing, the hemisphere was supported "bowl down" by three 18" tall sections of PVC pipe placed equidistantly around it. The flange of the hemisphere rested on the top ends of the three pipes. The entire assembly was on an extensive wooden countertop / workbench.

We tested the hemispherical capacitor with our HP LCR meter, and found that it’s total capacitance is approximately .0028 uF. We likewise noted that the thickness of the acrylic therein to be approximately 3 mm.

For powering our device, we procured a small canned high voltage supply; a PowerPack 50kVDC 1.5mA supply, in turn powered from a 0 to 115V variable transformer.

The initial powering up of the system was performed on 22 August, 2000. We examined the basic integrity of the system from 0 to about 48 kVDC, looking for arc-over points, corona loss areas, electrostatic spalling of the carbon paint surfaces, etc. Some additional insulation was required around the high voltage terminals on the can, to diminish corona discharge. Otherwise, the hemisphere appeared to be able to basically withstand the entire potential capability of the canned supply. Our connections were made in such a way as to place the inner surface at a positive potential with respect to the outer, which was in turn earth grounded.

For our first investigation, we placed a variety of test masses up to 1 kg on an Ohaus mechanical dual pan balance (100mg resolution), allowing the mass to reside under the bowl of the capacitor, with the counter-weight pan outside of the diameter of the bowl. Upon powering up the hemisphere (hereafter designated as HC1) we indeed observed what initially appeared to be a genuine and dramatic upward movement of the test mass, indicating a weight loss of up to 700 mg for a 400 gram ceramic block very near the bowl, at full potential.

However, after repeated trials, we observed that an interesting but easily diagnosed artifact was at play! Although the outer surface of the HC1 was at ground potential, enough field leakage and corona ions existed in the vicinity to deposit up to an estimated 3 to 4 kV of charge on the surfaces of assorted test masses, even dielectric ones. When the test masses under the bowl were fitted with a tiny tuft of copper wool that made contact with the grounded outer HC1 surface, the effect appeared to vanish, at least to within any resolution of either the mechanical pan balance, or our Mettler digital balance (10mg).

HC1 was fitted thereafter with an additional upper acrylic hemisphere, mounted flange to flange with the capacitive structure. The greater portion of the outer surface only was painted with conductive graphite paint, thus forming an electrostatic shield and ion blocker. This upper / outer surface was made electrically common to the outer grounded surface of the original capacitor. The terminal lead for the + HV was potted in silicone rubber, and brought out through the flange area of the now spherical assembly. HC1 remains in this configuration today. See PHOTO A, representing the HC1 during a water surface distortion test at our Genoa facility.

Further testing failed to demonstrate any weight alteration of test masses under the bowl, of greater than 10mg magnitude. However, one of our current efforts involves the fabrication of an ultra-sensitive water column indicator to look for more subtle weight changes of a liquid volume under the hemispheric structure.

We then turned toward the notion that perhaps an aether / space divergence might be occurring within the capacitor itself, and could be observed as a weight loss in the HC1 unit, now measured at a total weight of 1.478 kg.

We rigged up an elevated support of 12" height, made from a plastic tube. The HC1 unit was placed on top of this 6" diameter tube, with capacitor bowl down. The assembly was then placed on the pan of our Mettler Digital balance. It should be noted that prior to this experiment, we allowed charged hair wires to play near the balance, in order to ascertain whether any measurement or reading artifacts could be induced in the balance due to corona EMI or ions. None were readily observable.

Lead-in HV connections were made with fine insulated wires, doped over with silicone corona grease.

Upon charging of the HC1, we observed a very reproducible weight loss of the system, amounting to -280 to -300 mg at 48kVDC. Subtle re-arrangements were made of the connecting wires to help scramble electrostatic force artifacts or wire contraction artifacts. The effect remained quite consistent. We observed that over the range of noticeable weight alteration vs. applied potential (measurable from about 10kV) the weight loss magnitude appeared to be primarily linear, as opposed to tracking with total energy (CV).

With considerable effort, the HC1 was flipped over, placing the capacitive hemisphere bowl upward, at the top. We now found, upon charging, a reproducible weight gain, however the magnitude of this force was not always conserved, and generally appeared to be slightly less in absolute magnitude (180 to 240 mg) than the equivalent reading with bowl down.

This phenomenon remained quite reproducible for us, and appeared to be independent of factors such as lead in wire length, room surroundings, temperature, and humidity.

From fall of 2000 to spring of 2001, other projects took precedence, and little further work was done with the HC1. We did run some informal tests of thin metallized mylar sheet capacitors, bent into a curved half-cylinder configuration, and found results that were suggestive of the orientation dependent weight changes seen with HC1. We also found it to be worthwhile perusing pertinent prior art in the form of the patents and writings of the late American scientist Thomas Townsend Brown. It is our conviction that Brown may have well viewed the same phenomena observed by us, although his theoretical model differed, and there seems to be little evidence that Brown attempted investigating the factor of net device orientation with respect to the earth.

RECENT EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS:

In spring of 2001, we considered possible avenues of increasing the magnitude of the weight change effect for a given applied potential. One reason for this approach was to move further away from the domain where unsuspected ionic and electrostatic artifacts could still be present.

While the weight loss effect of the HC1 appeared to be a linear function, we considered the possibility that the effect might scale with capacitance and/or active area, as well as the possibility of atomic weight of the dielectric components within the diverging field.

A search was carried out for processes and vendors capable of supplying hemisphere forms made from high -K dielectric and / or high atomic weight materials. Channel Industries in California was found to be a source for lead zirconate titanate piezo-electric engineered forms. One of Channel’s stock products was a 6" diameter .125" thick hollow PZT hemisphere, silvered on both inner and outer faces.

We procured one of the 6" diameter pieces, and used a fine Dremel bur to remove the metallized rim regions, for electrical isolation. The hemisphere was affixed to a lexan disc, on top of which a 7" diameter acrylic dome was epoxied. The outer surface of this dome was painted with conductive graphite, to provide an electrostatic shield analogous to that used for HC1. The silicone coated HV lead for the inner surface was passed through center holes in the upper shield dome and lexan disc, and was affixed to the inner silvered surface with conductive silver epoxy. A strain relieved bend was put into the wire internally to reduce the possibility of a compression on the wire from either electrostatic forces, or the temporary miniscule deformation of the PZT material when voltage is first applied. Total weight of our PZT hemisphere capacitor - henceforth known as HC2 - was 1126 grams. Total capacitance of the unit was found to be .12 microfarad. See PHOTO B, showing the HC2 during construction on the work-bench, along with our Mettler balance.

On 16 May, 2001, we set up HC2 on a plastic stand, and placed the overall assembly onto the Mettler digital balance. Connections were made in similar fashion as to the HC1 unit.

With application of voltage (inside being positive with respect to outer negative and ground) we observed a dramatic and apparently real weight loss, as shown in Table A. At approximately 11.4kVDC, we observed a weight reduction of about -450 mg. As again may be noted, the weight reduction appears to be roughly linear with the applied voltage.

After approximately 20 seconds at the 11.4kV setting, we apparently developed a breakdown in the PZT material, and the device arced internally and discharged. The energy of the discharge was rather explosive, and the HC2 hemisphere shattered like an eggshell.

A second PZT hemisphere was procured and tested, however the replacement unit was found to have severe internal leaking, and ruptured at only around 4kV. It was observed to only produce about -30 mg of weight loss shortly before rupturing and breaking.

In June and July of 2001, we experimented with several other geometries embodying what we felt was the same principle. Some of these devices were small enough to be weighed during energizing with a mechanical milligram balance (Stanton Unimatic). Stacked pyramidal arrays of PZT material and mini-hemisphere caps made from thin glass Christmas tree balls were tested at applied voltages down to 500VDC. At this low end, weight change results were observed in the 1 to 10 milligram range. One small hemisphere cap made from an ornament - "Silver-ball1" - was observed to lose up to 110 milligrams at 10kVDC. With a minimal starting total weight, this weight change amounted to about 1.25%.

Another interesting design consisted of a small conical geometry. We removed the stem from a 2" diameter pyrex funnel, and sealed a small brass ball electrode into the open tip. The cone was then packed with -325mesh (powdered) lead zirconate titanate, and the open end was then sealed with a pyrex watch glass painted on the convex with graphite paint, for a wide end electrode.

When powered up to 10kVDC, the small cone "diverger" would typically lose up to 70 milligrams. (With cone tip upward) When inverted, we found a typical weight gain at 10kV of 30 to 50 milligrams.

Through the course of these diverse small-scale experiments, some general impressions were gained on the phenomenon:

1. The weight loss effect seems to scale with surface area or diameter.
2. The effect seems to scale with heavier or more massive dielectrics, such as PZT.
3. The effect seems to scale with electrical field density or stress across the dielectric.
4. For nearly all geometries, the weight loss effect appears to scale linearly with applied potential.
5. For most geometries, the weight loss effect seems to occur independent of polarity, however on most of the conical designs placing the positive potential on the small diameter end appears to produce up to 30% greater effect.
6. For a number of the geometries, although not all, the observed weight loss runs to a maximum when voltage is applied, then over the course of typically 2 to 3 seconds, will fall back by a slight degree, perhaps 20%. The stacked or conical diverger designs seemed more prone to this.

In mid-August, we fabricated a large version of the little "Silver-ball1" from an 8" diameter clear.090" thick glass lamp globe. "Silver-ball2" (See PHOTO C) was lined on inside and outside with adhesive backed aluminum foil. We started out with this geometry, to evaluate the effects of a near (80%) spherical capacitor, then peeling back inner and outer layers to make the unit a hemisphere. The open aperture of the glass globe was covered with a 4" lexan disc, and lead in HV wires were potted over with silicone grease to suppress corona.

Experiments with Silver-ball2 are ongoing. One of the unexpected and startling results observed with this unit has been that leaving the geometry as a near spherical capacitor actually produces enhanced weight loss results over the hemispherical configuration, and seems to make the effect immune to orientation. At 10 kVDC applied, with inside + with respect to the grounded outer surface, we observe a very consistent 130mg weight loss, for a total weight of 322 grams. Peeling back the inner and outer layers of foil to make a hemispherical capacitor reduced the weight loss effect to around 70 mg at 10kV. We are currently attempting to reconcile this observation with the 1st order description of the McMaster space flow model. Another interesting feature of this device (not observed previously) is that reversing polarity, in other words making the inner surface (-) with respect to positive ground on the outer, actually nearly doubles the weight loss effect, producing up to -260mg of change.

FURTHER DIRECTIONS:

Our current plan consists of continuing our investigation into the performance of hemispherical and spherical capacitors of varying size. We desire to examine larger and thinner dielectric forms, as well as multi-layer geometries.

We are continuing the efforts to look for anomalous alteration of apparent weight of masses nearby and under the hemisphere capacitors.

Measurement and artifact removal remain of primary concern as well. We are currently clearing a larger work area at our shop location in Genoa, Ohio for laying out an extended test array, where any high voltage sources are at a long distance away from the test piece, and HV is applied along well-shielded conduits.

Lastly, we believe that independent replication and verification of this effect is essential and critical. We are currently attempting to solicit interest among physics and engineering personnel at several Ohio universities.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS:

1. We have observed what appear to be alterations in the apparent weight of charged hemispherical and spherical capacitors.
2. The sign of these weight changes would appear to agree with that predicted due to the divergence of space flow into the earth, per the McMaster model.
3. For a hemisphere capacitor in a "bowl down" orientation, the sign of weight change is typically negative.
4. Charged planar capacitors of similar area do not seem to show weight alterations.
5. The weight change effect appears to be influenced by several factors, including surface area, dielectric composition, radius of curvature, and electrical field density.
6. The weight change effect appears to scale linearly with applied potential.
7. The weight alterations observed thus far fall into the range of .02% to 1.25% of total initial device weight.
8. Other geometrically configured capacitors, particularly cones and stacked pyramids, have exhibited weight alterations.

The observations accrued since August of 2000 have remained consistent across many geometries and variations. We believe that the effects we have observed have broken out to the point, scientifically speaking, where successful independent replication seems very likely.

We also acknowledge that if proven valid, the phenomena we have observed may be arising from a principle or basis differing from our current version of the McMaster space flow model. In the realm of discovery, the empirical and the serendipitous often must drive the process of modeling. Nevertheless, we point out that at a level of 0th or 1st approximation, the McMaster model at least provides a firm starting point for further development of experimentation.

We acknowledge the following research participants and consultants in this work: Dr. Harold McMaster, Dr. Thomas Martin, Dr. S.P. Faile, Ms. Lori Schillig, Mr. Joseph Caudill, Mr. Todd Coleman, and Ms. Lisa Sandwisch. This work was funded and supported by the McMaster Gravity Research Foundation.

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