Ning Li superconductor gravity test
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 1 August 1997 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Propulsion & physics (topic) |
| People | Eugene Podkletnov, Ning Li |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 129 |
| Year | 1997 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1997 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 11 |
In the mid-1990s physicist Ning Li of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, working with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, developed a theory that a superconductor spinning in a strong magnetic field might disturb the gravitational force nearby, and NASA scientists tested claims of "gravity shielding" by superconductors. No effect was found.[1][2]
Podkletnov's claim
In a paper in Physica C in December 1992, Russian scientist Eugene Podkletnov and a colleague at Tampere University of Technology in Finland reported a small weight reduction above a superconducting disc. In 1996 he submitted a paper claiming a reduction of about 2 per cent above a rotating disc; after a newspaper story about it broke that September he withdrew it, his co-author disavowed it, and he left the university. A version appeared online in 1997.[1]
Ning Li's theory
Li's theory, developed independently of Podkletnov's work, suggested that rotating superconductors might generate measurable gravitational effects, which seemed to offer an explanation for his claims. Li's group at Huntsville published work in Physica C in 1997 on a static test for a gravitational force coupled to superconductors.[2][3]
NASA's tests
A NASA Marshall team led by Ron Koczor and David Noever attempted to replicate the effect. The first test detected no gravitational signal above noise at the level of tens of nanogees with a disc four to five inches across, and another analysis reported no shielding greater than two parts in a hundred million. NASA paid an Ohio company, Superconductive Components, to build a 12-inch disc for further tests, which also failed to confirm Podkletnov's results.[2][3]
Aftermath
Li later left to start her own company, and the research faded from public view. Mainstream physics does not accept any of these claimed gravity effects. The testimony also mentions physicist Robert Baker's later work on high-frequency gravitational waves.[1][2]
People and topics
- NASA — The U.S. civilian space agency, created in 1958.
- Eugene Podkletnov — Russian engineer who claimed spinning superconductors reduce gravity.
- Ning Li — Physicist who tested superconductor gravity claims at NASA Marshall.
On the Timeline
- NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics workshop (1997) (August 1997) — NASA holds a breakthrough propulsion physics workshop.
- CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90 (3 August 1997) — A CIA history by Gerald Haines covers the agency's role in UAP study from 1947 to 1990.
See every 1997 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Eugene Podkletnov — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Wann kommt die Antigravitationsmaschine?", Wissenschaft.de · wissenschaft.de · archived copy
- "NASA's anti-gravity machine", Images Scientific Instruments · imagesco.com · archived copy
- Ning Li (physicist) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Gravity-superconductor research — NASA NTRS · ntrs.nasa.gov · archived copy
- Antigravity research press coverage — Patrick Gross · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- sciencedirect.com · sciencedirect.com · archived copy
- en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- abovetopsecret.com · abovetopsecret.com · archived copy
- medium.com · medium.com · archived copy
- medium.com · medium.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Robertson Panel — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · 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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