Ning Li (physicist)

For other uses, see Ning Li (disambiguation).

Ning Li is an American scientist known for her controversial claims about anti-gravity devices. She worked as a physicist at the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville, in the 1990s. In 1999, she left the university to form a company, AC Gravity, LLC, to continue anti-gravity research.

Anti-gravity claims

In a series of papers co-authored with fellow university physicist Douglas Torr and published between 1991 and 1993, she claimed a practical way to produce anti-gravity effects. She claimed that an anti-gravity effect could be produced by rotating ions creating a gravitomagnetic field perpendicular to their spin axis. In her theory, if a large number of ions could be aligned, (in a Bose–Einstein condensate) the resulting effect would be a very strong gravitomagnetic field producing a strong repulsive force. The alignment may be possible by trapping superconductor ions in a lattice structure in a high-temperature superconducting disc. Li claimed that experimental results confirmed her theories.[1][2][3] Her claim of having functional anti-gravity devices was cited by the popular press and in popular science magazines with some enthusiasm at the time.[4][5] However in 1997 Li published a paper describing an experiment that showed the effect was very small, if it existed at all.[6]

Li is reported to have left the University of Alabama in 1999 to found the company AC Gravity LLC. AC Gravity was awarded a U.S. DOD grant for $448,970 in 2001 to continue anti-gravity research. The grant period ended in 2002 but no results from this research were ever made public.[7] Although no evidence exists that the company ever performed any other work, as of 2014, AC Gravity still remains listed as an "existent" business.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Li, Ning; Torr, DG (January 15, 1991). "Effects of a gravitomagnetic field on pure superconductors". Physical Review D43: 457–459. Bibcode:1991PhRvD..43..457L. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.43.457. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ Li, Ning; Torr, DG (September 1, 1992). "Gravitational effects on the magnetic attenuation of superconductors". Physical Review B46: 5489. Bibcode:1992PhRvB..46.5489L. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.46.5489. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ Li, Ning; Torr, DG (August 1, 1993). "Gravito-electric coupling via superconductivity". Foundations of Physics Letters 6 (4): 371–383. Bibcode:1993FoPhL...6..371T. doi:10.1007/BF00665654. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ Wilson, Jim (October 1, 2000). "Taming Gravity". Popular Mechanics (HighBeam Reseatch). Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ Cain, Jeanette. "Gravity Conquered?". light-science.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ N. Li; D. Noever; T. Robertson; R. Koczor; et al. (August 1997). "Static Test for a Gravitational Force Coupled to Type II YBCO Superconductors". Physica C 281 (2-3): 260–267. Bibcode:1997PhyC..281..260L. doi:10.1016/S0921-4534(97)01462-7.
  7. ↑ "Annual Report on Cooperative Agreements and Other Transactions Entered into During FY2001 Under 10 USC 2371". DOD. p. 66. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Business Entity Details, AC Gravity, LLC". Alabama, Secretary of State. Retrieved March 6, 2014.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 13, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.