Electrogravitics
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📖 Term
Contents 6
| Type | Term |
|---|---|
| Also known as | electrogravitic |
| On the Timeline | 4 events, 1952–2014 |
Electrogravitics is a claimed technology for controlling gravity with high-voltage electricity, associated with American inventor Thomas Townsend Brown. The force Brown observed in his devices is now generally explained as ion wind, but the idea remains popular in UFO literature, where it is often linked to claims of secret anti-gravity aircraft.[1][2]
Thomas Townsend Brown
In the 1920s, while still in high school, Brown experimented with X-ray tubes and noticed that a high-voltage tube seemed to change weight depending on how it was positioned, suggesting a force. In 1927 he applied for a patent on a "method of producing force or motion", and in 1929 described his "gravitator" in the magazine Science and Invention. He named Denison University physicist Paul Alfred Biefeld as a mentor, giving rise to the term "Biefeld–Brown effect", though Denison says it has no record of such experiments. Brown received several patents on the subject between 1928 and 1965.[1]
Ion wind
When a high voltage is applied across two electrodes of very different sizes, the air near the small, sharp electrode is ionised and the ions are pulled toward the larger electrode, pushing neutral air along with them and producing thrust. This "ion wind" or corona discharge explains lightweight "lifters" and "ionocrafts" that rise when powered.[1][3]
Tests
- In 1988 R. L. Talley measured no thrust from such devices in a vacuum unless an electrical breakdown occurred.[1][4]
- A 2004 NASA contractor report examined asymmetric capacitors as a possible propulsion method.[1][5]
- In 2004 physicist Martin Tajmar enclosed a device to exclude air currents and found no thrust, concluding that the effect was a misinterpretation of corona wind.[1]
- In 2024 Tajmar and colleagues published a further search for any coupling between gravity and electromagnetism.[1]
In UFO lore
Brown's work is frequently cited in claims that the U.S. developed secret anti-gravity propulsion. Writer Mark Pilkington has examined the history of these claims.[1][2]
On the UAP Timeline
- Project Winterhaven (1952) — Physicist Thomas Townsend Brown proposes Project Winterhaven, a military study of electrogravitic propulsion.
- Electrogravitics Systems report (1956) (25 February 1956) — A study of electrogravitics, the link between electricity and gravity, is delivered to Wright-Patterson.
- Mark McCandlish and the Alien Reproduction Vehicle (9 May 2001) — Illustrator Mark McCandlish says gravity propulsion was reverse-engineered from recovered craft.
- McCandlish documentary account (2014) (December 2014) — Mark McCandlish says a friend saw a man-made disc at Norton AFB.
References
- Electrogravitics — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Mark Pilkington, "TT Brown's Electrogravitics", The Guardian (17 Apr 2003) · theguardian.com · archived copy
- Martin Tajmar, "Biefeld-Brown Effect: Misinterpretation of Corona Wind Phenomena", AIAA Journal (2004) · arc.aiaa.org · archived copy
- R. L. Talley, "Twenty First Century Propulsion Concept" (1990) · apps.dtic.mil · archived copy
- Canning, Melcher and Winet, "Asymmetrical Capacitors for Propulsion", NASA (2004) · ntrs.nasa.gov · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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