The World's First Flying Saucer: Made Right Here on Earth

[Michaelangelica]

If a professor at the University of Florida (U.F.) has his way, the first flying saucer to grace Planet Earth's skies isn't likely to come from outer space but rather from Gainesville, where the faculty member is drawing up plans to build a circular aircraft that can hover in the air like a helicopter without any moving parts or fuel.

 

In other words, it will look like a UFO, but will actually be more of an IFO—an identified flying object.

The World's First Flying Saucer: Made Right Here on Earth: Scientific American

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I would like a car that runs on air.

I don't care what shape it is.

[Tolouse]

that is verrry interesting... hopefully it can be proven as theorized

[CraigD]

I’m disappointed in sciam.com, which while not on a par with their main print/online print publication, I’ve always thought of as a higher-quality than publications like the print or online version of The New Scientist. Rhis article is pretty similar to and IMHO inferior to the 5/6/08 NewScientistTech article – it has prettier color pictures, but lacks earlier articles better labeled sketch, and as clear an explanation of how the WEAV actually works.

 

Essentially, the WEAV is slightly miniaturized lifter (AKA ionocraft), a roughly 50 year old design know for being easy for the hobbyist and student to build, and having a fringe following that believe, despite numerous experimental demonstrations to the contrary (in short, they don’t move in a chamber in which most of the air has been pumped out), including a MythBusters episode, that these craft fly because of anti-gravity, rather than by propelling air. Because they produce little lift compared to conventional propellers and jets, lifters typically trail wires to the heavy high voltage power supplies connected to household power outlets – I’ve never seen one that was capable of lifting its own power supply.

The World's First Flying Saucer: Made Right Here on Earth…

This is a substantial exaggeration. There’ve been several more or less saucer shaped small unmanned aerial vehicles that, unlike lifters, are able to carry their own power supplies (eg: The GFS UAV Project, A coanda effect flying saucer tested by Jean-Louis Naudin). These vehicles, typically use small electric motors, ducted propellers, and the Coanda effect.

 

It’s important, I think, to understand what an ionocraft - a traditional “lifter” or the new WEAV - actually is and does. The wikipedia and the newscience.com article above give pretty good explanations, but here’s my own wording:

• Using high voltage charged plates (in the case of a lifter, these are usually wire and wood supported aluminum foil), they strip electrons from air molecules to create ions;
  
• Attracted to the charged plates, the ions accelerate in predictable direction, producing a slight breeze;
  
• Like the exhaust of a jet or wash of a propeller, this breeze propels the vehicle.

I would like a car that runs on air

Ionocraft don’t “run on air” anymore than fixed wing aircraft or helicopters do. What’s more, energy is required by them not only to move the air that provides their thrust, but to ionize it so that it can be moved, so in principle, they can never be as efficient as conventional aircraft. Like a propeller or jet driven aircraft, they can only fly in an atmosphere, so can’t fly in space at all.

 

The chief appeals of a miniature ionocraft like the WEAV is that, lacking moving parts, it should miniaturize well, possibly to something coin-size or smaller – assuming a miniature onboard power supply or remote power transmitter can be developed, and because it lacks helicopter-like rotors, it should be able to bump into obstacles without being damaged – a big plus in a light, slow, miniature aircraft (as anyone who’s flow small indoor RC helicopters can attest :shrug:). Its designers propose filling its lightweight body with helium to give it near neutral buoyancy, so in principle, a small amount of power, such as from a photovoltaic cell, could allow it to make small changes from a purely drifting-in-the-wind course.

 

In short, the WEAV may have interesting applications as a miniature and/or long duration aircraft, but is little resembles the popular image of a “flying saucer” spacecraft. I’m disappointed that SciAm isn’t bringing more of its print quality review and fact checking ability to bear on its website – this article is, I think, a telling example of what happens when a writer/editor such Larry Greenemeier, who’s education and experience is primarily business and journalism, does not have his work reviewed by anyone with a sound education in basic science.