Hover Boards...

[Jorge P]

I bought this book/manual http://amazing1.com/grav.htm#HOVER about 2 years ago and never really read through it until now. I only payed $5 for it and I think the new price is not really all that great for 35 pages.

Anyways, I've been playing around on a small scale making some coils to control a sparks motion and direction, theory 3 in the book. It works the same or similar to how a CRT controls a beam. I wrapped some 32 gauge magnet wire around some pulled header pins.

Here is what I have so far:

87761

The following image is is what I am trying to make from the manual:

87762

At this size, will I be able to do what the second image portrays? How many volts would coils L1 through L4 have to be to control a spark at a given voltage? I would like to use a safe voltage to play with at first, then as I see some stuff working I will go a little bigger.

I don't intend on levitating anything yet. I just want to control the IONS coming off of the spark and be able to visually see it. According to the theory, I would need at least four of these setups for stability. I want to attach the 4 assemblies of 4 coils on a piece of Card Stock to see if it will do anything aside from electrocuting me, or burning anything.

The front cover of the manual is basically the only full diagram of what the concept should look like.

87764


With that image, I don't think there would be enough force to lift anything unless there are several more of these assemblies. Then on top of that, I think there should also be some on the front, back, and either side to control the direction. Is this all a hoax, or can the force of the IONs cause lift if it is a small scale, made of paper or other light material? Has anyone here toyed with this type of theory?

[erco]

http://goldenarmor.com/hoverboards/

[Jorge P]

@erco
Haha, I wasn't even motivated by back to the future, I came across the manual a few years ago when looking up how Maglev Trains work. Those are real, and BIG, but that is way to big to toy with for my personal interests. The manual is by http://www.hovertech.com/home/research/hoverboards.html

The bottom of that linked page has some links to realistic and functioning hover boards but they are Loud and Huge. They are the same concept of Actual Hover Craft that float on a cushion of air. http://www.hovercraft.com


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRThDxlqMVg

[Gadgetman]

My honest opinion?

Science can't fully explain Gravity yet, and how to negate it? No...

At the top of the page you linked to, there's a siple 'Ion lifter' which was actually featured on Mythbusters...
They used very high voltages to make it work at all. That is 'very high' as in 'insta-toast anything it touches'
The item below the book is a 'Plasma Power Generator' meant for use with 'hoverboard experiments', and it outputs 7KV...
That's 7000Volts!
And they mention a step-up system pumping out 50KV...
There's mention that the 'theory has been proven using complex simulation software'... If anyone had managed to prove that, there'd been a doctorate or something in it for them, at the very least. So you can bet that it would have been published somewhere reputable.

That site contains just enough real, working systems(the Ion wind lifters - which needs 20KV, the Gravitron - which uses magnets) to make people bite on and buy the other crap they're pushing.

[Publison]

The 19XRW is only a hovercraft when it's operating on the ground/water. When it's operating 2-6 feet above the surface, it's a WIG, (Wing in Ground Effect). No lift, just compression of air under the "wings". I know the designer, Bob Windt, and the guys at UH, which Bob started back in the 80's.

[erco]

Ah so. Publison likes WIGs, Gordon & doggiedoc like WHEGs: http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?136688-Asterisk-Omni-directional-Insect-Robot-Picks-Up-Prey&p=1060283&viewfull=1#post1060283

Just gimme a bag of relays and a sheet of plywood. And a bottle of Jack Black since it's Christmas and I've been good!

Pretty good.

[Publison]

Ah so. Publison likes WIGs.

Ya' think? ;)

[Loopy Byteloose]

A remarkable market for half a skateboard. If it really worked, I suspect that it would require so much forward motion that one could barely hang on for that WIG.

[Peter KG6LSE]

That site contains just enough real, working systems(the Ion wind lifters - which needs 20KV, the Gravitron - which uses magnets) to make people bite on and buy the other crap they're pushing.

Yup

if it walks like a duck or it quacks like a duck .. it must be a ______..

[Jorge P]

It's odd that people think that it's not possible! Yet we see/feel the breeze coming out of Ionized air purifiers. use that same effect pointed downward, a skirt, and a one way air valve and you'll have a cushion of air produced electronically. It might not give much lift, but it would have some.

If only there were less negativity, so back to my questions.

How many volts would coils L1 through L4 have to be to control a spark at a given voltage?
Can the force of the IONs cause lift if it is a small scale, made of paper or other light material? Already answered!
Has anyone here toyed with this type of theory?

[Gadgetman]

The problem isn't that we don't think ION-wind lifting works, it really does, but whether or not it's an effective propulsion system, and that it isn't.

Did you check if the purifiers have a built-in fan or not?

Controlling a spark?
The same way the coils in a CRT deflects the beam to paint a picture?
You are aware that in CRTs we're talking about a ION-cannon and a stream of charged particles, not a spark?
Controlling how a spark moves is like herding cats... you're likely to get bitten...

No idea what kind of voltages are required... But the same site is willing to sell PSUs that deliver 7KV or more...