WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:06.719 This video is sponsored by me. 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:08.919 Over the decades, anti-gravity has been 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:10.719 the stuff of science fiction. 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:13.280 But with the recent government releases 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:15.600 of videos showing UAPs doing things that 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:18.079 we cannot explain, and even 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:20.280 congressional meetings on the subject, 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:23.239 one of the fundamental features of these 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:25.320 craft, objects, or whatever they may be, 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:27.519 is their seeming ability to manipulate 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:28.960 gravity in a way which we simply have no 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:31.359 clue about. 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:34.320 Now, this may be just coming from the 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:36.439 fevered imagination of AI, or just the 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:38.719 latest form of disinformation or 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:41.920 perception management, possibly using 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:44.600 UAP stories as a cover narrative. But 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:47.800 what it does do is to make us look again 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:50.079 at gravity and the seemingly gaping 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:53.199 holes in our knowledge of what it really 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:55.839 is, and the attempts to try and make it 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:59.440 work for us like other fundamental 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:01.320 forces of nature, like electromagnetism. 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:03.959 Almost everything so far which has been 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:07.439 claimed to be a form of anti-gravity is 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:09.200 just really using other known forces. 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:11.560 Though there is a very interesting 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:14.040 effect which, if verified, could be the 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.760 closest we have come so far, and we'll 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:17.960 look at that later. 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:19.840 A plane could be said to be an 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:22.119 anti-gravity machine because it can lift 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:24.600 you up and away from the surface of the 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:26.079 earth and the gravitational pull. But 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:28.239 it's actually using the pressure 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:31.120 differential of a wing traveling through 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:33.560 air at speed create lift. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:36.840 A rocket does a similar thing by burning 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:39.439 fuel which expands, creating thrust and 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:41.640 pushing it along. With enough thrust, it 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:43.879 can overcome the pull of Earth's 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:45.719 gravity, but it's nothing more than a 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:48.199 chemical reaction. 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:50.280 And magnets can lift objects and 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.359 vehicles so that they float above a 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:53.680 surface. 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:55.879 But this is just the effect of repulsive 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:58.120 magnetism, like when you try and force 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:01.560 two magnets together with the same poles 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:02.359 on each. It's just the electromagnetic 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:04.879 force. 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:06.680 In the '80s and '90s, gyroscopic 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:09.199 inertial thrusters were seen as 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:10.399 potential sources of reactionless 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:12.439 thrust. 00:02:10.399 --> 00:02:16.000 When seen in action, they appear to be 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:18.400 able to generate lift and defy gravity. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:21.120 They use various methods of leverage 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:23.280 against the support of a large flywheel 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:25.000 or gyroscope. And this appears to 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:27.879 generate lift when the angle of the 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.199 gyroscope is changed, but after years of 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:32.840 theoretical and laboratory testing by 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:35.759 NASA and others, no thrust or 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:37.840 anti-gravity forces in free space were 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:40.000 found to be produced. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:42.439 Other so-called anti-gravity lifters 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.759 using the Biefeld-Brown effect are in 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:45.840 fact using the propulsive force of ion 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:48.519 flow. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:51.039 By charging a very lightweight object or 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:54.080 lifter, usually with a positive high 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:56.039 voltage, the surrounding air is ionized. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:57.920 As the ions are attracted to the 00:02:56.039 --> 00:03:01.199 opposite negative electrode, usually the 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:03.959 ground, they interact with the neutral 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:06.679 air molecules, creating an air flow with 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:09.159 enough force to levitate the lifter. 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:11.439 Some claimed that the effect works in a 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:13.159 vacuum and therefore must be some form 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:15.840 of interaction between the electric 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:18.159 field and the Earth's gravity field, and 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:21.200 implying that it could be used to create 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:23.400 an anti-gravity effect. When NASA tested 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:25.560 it in a vacuum equivalent to that found 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:27.640 in the lower Earth orbit, the effect 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:31.360 disappeared, proving that it was caused 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:32.879 by the propulsive force of ions pushing 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:34.800 against the air. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:37.319 Gravity is one of the fundamental 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:39.760 forces, and thus anti-gravity, in 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:41.680 theory, would be impossible. 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:45.079 It has been proposed that if another 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:48.319 force could attract matter or repel it 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:50.120 like a theoretical anti-gravity, then 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:52.680 maybe a machine could be made to 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:54.520 simulate that effect. 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:57.319 One of the simplest possible loopholes 00:03:54.520 --> 00:04:00.040 used to be antimatter. If antimatter 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:02.359 fell upwards in Earth's gravitational 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:04.879 field, then it would have been a real 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:06.800 form of repulsive gravity 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:07.840 and a major crack in our current 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:11.040 theories. 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:12.360 But in 2023, CERN's Alpha G experiment 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:15.439 directly measured [clears throat] the 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:17.120 motion of antihydrogen and found that, 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.798 within the limits of the experiment, 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:22.360 antimatter falls downward like normal 00:04:19.798 --> 00:04:25.079 matter. That does not explain why the 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:27.319 universe contains so little antimatter, 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:30.159 but it does make the most obvious form 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:32.240 of anti-gravity much less likely. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:35.080 So, what about gravity shielding, 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:38.240 similar to a Faraday shield for radio 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:40.039 waves? Electromagnetic fields are easy 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:42.280 to shield because they have both 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:45.120 positive and negative charges. By 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:47.799 arranging these charges in a conductor, 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:50.280 like the Faraday shield, you can cancel 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:52.360 out an external field. 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:54.279 To see if any material does have an 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:56.840 effect on the weak equivalence 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:59.679 principle, this has now been tested to 00:04:56.839 --> 00:05:02.719 an extraordinary level of precision. The 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:05.280 weak equivalence principle, or WEP, aka 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:08.520 the universality of free fall, states 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:10.719 that all uncharged, structureless test 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:13.079 particles fall with the same 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:16.360 acceleration in a gravitational field, 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:18.120 regardless of their mass or composition. 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:20.319 This is very similar to the hammer and 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:23.079 feather test that the Apollo astronauts 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:25.480 did on the moon to see if in a vacuum 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:27.919 they both fall at the same rate. 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:30.560 Universal attraction, according to WEP, 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:33.680 says that all mass energy acts as a 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:37.240 single type of gravitational charge. 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:39.639 Because there is no known negative mass, 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:42.519 you cannot create a configuration of 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:45.319 matter that cancels out the gravity of, 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:48.439 say, a nearby object, like another 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:50.399 planet, by adding more matter. The only 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:52.800 thing it does is it just increases the 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:56.479 total gravitational pull. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:58.639 From 2016 to 2018, the Microscope 00:05:56.480 --> 00:06:01.840 satellite compared how different 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:06.279 materials fall in Earth orbit and found 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:09.839 no violation of the WEP down to one part 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:11.239 in a quadrillion, or one with 15 zeros 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:13.719 after it. 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:16.519 If ordinary materials could block or 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:18.240 alter gravity in any simple way, that 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:20.079 was the kind of experiment where the 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.280 difference might have started to show 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:24.479 up. 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:25.919 Now, this episode's sponsor is me. 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:28.080 I've mentioned occasionally that I'm a 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.199 bit of a synth head, and I've been into 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:32.240 electronic music since I was 12, way 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:34.159 back in 1974. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:36.840 That was the year that Tangerine Dream 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:38.800 released Phaedra. Kraftwerk released 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:41.359 Autobahn, and Isao Tomita released 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:43.920 Snowflakes are Dancing, three landmark 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:47.759 electronic albums from pioneering 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:49.600 artists that had a huge influence on me. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:52.240 But it was Tomita's work that really 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:55.640 fascinated me. Over nine albums from 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:57.360 1974 to '84, he took classical works by 00:06:55.639 --> 00:06:59.719 composers like Debussy, Mussorgsky, 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:01.600 Stravinsky, Holst, and many others, and 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:04.760 recreated them electronically using 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:06.560 synthesizers such as the Moog modular. 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:08.560 Now, this was similar in concept to 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.360 Wendy Carlos' Switched-On Bach, but 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:12.560 Tomita's music was more colorful, 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:14.680 surreal, and flamboyant. 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:16.759 Back then, I knew almost nothing about 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:19.879 classical music, and the sounds Tomita 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:21.480 created were completely new to me and 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:23.159 everyone else. 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:25.800 That combination of classical 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:28.240 composition and the strange, beautiful, 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:30.079 otherworldly electronic sound was 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.879 utterly fascinating. 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:34.560 It followed the original scores, but 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:37.680 somehow sounded like nothing else. 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:40.199 Since 1998, on and off, I've been making 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:41.480 electronic music inspired by that same 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:43.879 approach. 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:47.000 I'm not covering the same pieces Tomita 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:49.360 did, but reworking other works by some 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:52.040 of those composers using a mixture of 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:54.360 hardware and software synthesizers. 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:56.280 Last year, I finally had an album's 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:57.920 worth of material that I felt was good 00:07:56.279 --> 00:08:00.479 enough to release. 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:02.199 This is what I'm promoting today. 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:04.400 As I've [music] been speaking, you've 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:05.599 been hearing snippets of the music from 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:07.799 the album. 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:10.240 This is made very much in the spirit of 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:13.000 Tomita, classical pieces reimagined 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:14.960 through synthesis with dark, bright, 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:18.279 strange, colorful [music] sounds and a 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:20.159 deliberately electronic character. 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:22.879 So, if you're a fan of Tomita-styled 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:25.560 music, or you're into the more eclectic 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:28.399 electronic music, you can hear the whole 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:31.399 thing for free on my Bandcamp page, 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.399 paulshelitommusic.bandcamp.com. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:36.559 If you enjoy it, you can purchase the 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:38.240 album or individual tracks for the price 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:40.119 of a coffee or two. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:43.639 It helps support the channel, and it 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:44.720 also helps keep this slightly unusual 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:48.319 corner 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:48.320 of electronic music alive. 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:59.679 In scientific papers published between 00:08:55.120 --> 00:09:02.320 1991 and '93, American scientist Ning Li 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:04.759 claimed that anti-gravity effects could 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:06.280 be achieved if the ions in a 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:08.840 Bose-Einstein 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:11.319 condensate, that's a state of matter 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:13.240 where all the atoms in it can act like 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:15.680 one, could be trapped into a 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:18.639 high-temperature superconducting disk 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:20.719 with a time-varying magnetic field. A 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:23.279 huge amount of energy could be stored in 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:26.080 its lattice structure in this way. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:28.600 As each ion would spin rapidly, it would 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:31.120 create a tiny gravitational field. 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:33.200 However, because all the ions in the 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:35.759 Bose-Einstein condensate would be 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:39.120 aligned, the effect would be magnified 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:41.039 by the billions of ions in the disk. 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:43.120 The theory is that this would create a 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:45.120 gravity-like field that could either 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:48.480 increase or decrease the effect of 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:50.000 gravity, which Ning Li called AC gravity 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.759 because it could be attractive or 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.679 repulsive in nature. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:55.879 She said that the experiments in the lab 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:58.159 had created a beam-like effect above the 00:09:55.879 --> 00:10:00.360 disk, which affected matter for some 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:01.639 distance and this backed up her 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:03.120 theories. 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:05.559 Even though it had created a lot of 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:08.080 interest at the time, in 1997 she 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:10.279 published another paper saying that 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:12.360 using new measurements with a more 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:14.039 sensitive gravimeter had shown the 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:17.200 effect to be either very small or 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:19.360 non-existent. In 2000 Ning Li left the 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:24.480 University of Alabama and set up her own 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:26.639 company, AC Gravity LLC. And in 2001 she 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.360 was awarded a grant worth just under 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.000 $450,000 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:31.600 from the Department of Defense to 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:33.639 investigate it further. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:35.399 Since then she has all but disappeared 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:38.360 and nothing more has been heard about 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:41.759 her research but the company, AC Gravity 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:44.759 LLC, apparently was still in business. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:47.679 Ning Li died in 2021 00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:49.960 and as of now there is still no public, 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:53.279 independently repeated demonstrations of 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:55.560 her AC Gravity idea. So her work remains 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:58.039 one of the more intriguing anti-gravity 00:10:55.559 --> 00:11:00.679 claims to come from the 1990s and early 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:02.240 2000s but it is not a confirmed 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:04.319 technology. 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:06.839 Experiments carried out by Evgeny 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:08.839 Podkletnov in the early 1990s using 00:11:06.839 --> 00:11:11.360 rotating superconducting disks in a 00:11:08.839 --> 00:11:14.280 magnetic field claimed to decrease the 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:17.120 effect of gravity by about 2% on objects 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:19.879 placed above the disk and again it 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:22.080 appeared to act like a beam above the 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:24.480 disk for a considerable distance. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:27.000 However, these results had not been able 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:28.519 to be verified by other scientists. He 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:30.519 claimed that the other researchers had 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:32.279 not used the same setup and that's the 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:33.679 reason why they could not reproduce the 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:35.720 same results. 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:38.039 And when NASA was about to complete the 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:39.839 experiments they ran out of funding and 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:42.120 the research was taken over by the 00:11:39.839 --> 00:11:44.680 Department of Defense and he was shut 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:47.320 out of any further research in the US 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:49.679 because of his Russian citizenship. 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:51.680 This and Ning Li's work is said to have 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:54.399 prompted Boeing to investigate the 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:57.239 effect of rotating superconductors with 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:59.600 Project GRASP, Gravity Research for 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:01.919 Advanced Space Propulsion. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:03.920 With potential uses including space 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:06.719 launches, artificial gravity on 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:09.439 spacecraft, aircraft propulsion and 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:11.120 fuel-less electricity generation. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:13.360 Although others have pointed out that if 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:15.879 the effect could be proven and directed 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:18.839 into a beam, it would be able to be 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:21.639 weaponized creating steerable artificial 00:12:18.839 --> 00:12:23.560 gravity forces to destabilize missiles, 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:25.039 planes and satellites. 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:27.719 Since the information was released, 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:29.919 Boeing has backtracked and said it was 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:32.600 offered the proposal but chose not to 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:35.360 fund it with company money but refused 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:37.480 to comment if this was a black project 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:39.279 on the company books. 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:41.560 This is also where the story starts to 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:44.120 overlap with the more controversial 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:46.000 subject of classified aerospace work and 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:48.480 UAP claims. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:50.879 To keep the known science separate from 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:52.879 speculation, there is no public evidence 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:55.439 that Boeing, NASA, the Department of 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:57.600 Defense or any private contractor has 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:59.120 demonstrated working anti-gravity 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:01.320 propulsion. 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:04.240 What does exist are historical 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:07.000 proposals, rumors and claims around 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:09.480 black projects, some of which use the 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:12.480 same language of superconductors, field 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:14.279 propulsion, gravity beams or inertial 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:16.399 mass reduction. 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:18.919 These and others are based on the idea 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:20.679 of gravit electromagnetism which looks 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:23.120 at the analogies between Maxwell's 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:26.000 equations for electromagnetism and 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:27.519 Einstein's equations of relativistic 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.440 gravitation. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:31.559 Basically the premise is that just as a 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:34.360 spinning electron creates a magnetic 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:37.119 field, then a massive spinning object 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:39.560 like the Earth will create drag on 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:42.879 space-time, a bit like when you spin a 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:45.079 ball in a viscous fluid like oil. 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:47.519 Although this drag was predicted nearly 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:50.280 a hundred years ago, Einstein called it 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:52.480 frame dragging, it's taken the best part 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:55.000 of a century to prove if it actually 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:57.519 existed with several independent 00:13:55.000 --> 00:14:00.000 satellite missions which did indeed 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:02.480 measure a small but noticeable dragging 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.919 effect. This is important because our 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:07.960 current theories of gravity are that 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:10.919 mass curves the otherwise flat 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:13.320 space-time and this deformation of 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:15.439 space-time is gravity. 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:17.560 This is shown quite well with the weight 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:20.160 in a rubber sheet experiment that 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:21.719 represents the Sun and pulls the sheet 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:24.480 down in the center. 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:26.519 A ball rolling in a straight direction 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:28.200 follows the curve. This is like the 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:30.399 Earth which is traveling in a straight 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:33.160 line but is caught in the curve of 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:35.120 space-time created by the Sun's mass and 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:38.000 so long as the Earth's speed is 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:40.360 constant, it orbits the Sun. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:42.799 If the frame dragging effect is real, 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:45.279 then it is affecting gravity and a 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:48.159 moving object near a massive rotating 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:51.000 object would experience acceleration not 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:53.120 predicted by Newtonian laws. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:56.000 It's been suggested that this effect 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:58.159 might be behind the massive jets of gas 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:01.519 that are ejected from quasars and 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:03.639 galactic nuclei. Rotating supermassive 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:05.958 black holes at the centers of galaxies 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:07.720 would also create enormous frame 00:15:05.958 --> 00:15:09.078 dragging effects. 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:12.360 This is where the spinning 00:15:09.078 --> 00:15:14.759 superconducting disks in Ning Li's and 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:17.560 the GRASP experiments come in 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:20.039 to simulate this frame dragging and the 00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:22.759 gravitational warping effect but on a 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:25.120 very much smaller scale. 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:28.480 But the elephant in the room is that we 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:31.560 still don't know what gravity really is. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:34.360 Yes, we have Newton and Einstein's laws 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:36.759 which predict with amazing accuracy the 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:39.839 effects of gravity but these theories 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:43.120 don't tell us how gravity works or what 00:15:39.839 --> 00:15:46.079 the mechanism is that makes mass bend 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:48.639 space-time. All we know is that gravity 00:15:46.078 --> 00:15:50.319 is a consequence of mass and the greater 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.720 the mass, the greater the bending of 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:53.160 space-time and hence the greater 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:55.399 gravity. 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:57.679 Although gravity works over huge 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:59.519 distances on the grand scale of planets, 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.679 stars and galaxies, 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:03.958 we don't know how it really works on the 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:06.599 very small things at the distances of 00:16:03.958 --> 00:16:09.319 atomic scale because its effect is then 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:12.480 so weak and difficult to measure. 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:15.240 Conversely, we don't know how it works 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:17.039 where gravity is incredibly strong such 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:18.560 as in a black hole. 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:21.439 There are many theories as to how 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:23.239 gravity actually works but none of which 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.959 have been proven. 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:27.919 In quantum mechanics, there is a 00:16:24.958 --> 00:16:30.599 prediction that a force-carrying 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:33.199 particle called a graviton might exist 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:34.879 even though there has been no proof 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:37.280 found of their existence. 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:39.958 But as all the other three fundamental 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:42.159 forces, strong nuclear force, the weak 00:16:39.958 --> 00:16:45.078 nuclear force and the electromagnetic 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:47.360 force have at least one force carrier, 00:16:45.078 --> 00:16:51.359 it's believed there must be one for 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:52.839 gravity, too, if gravity is a true 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.200 force. 00:16:52.839 --> 00:16:57.480 Another route is quantum gravity. There 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:59.959 are now serious proposals for small 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:02.159 laboratory experiments that try to test 00:16:59.958 --> 00:17:04.759 whether gravity can create quantum 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:06.759 entanglement between tiny masses. 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:09.359 If that is shown, it would suggest that 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:11.759 gravity has quantum properties. But 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:14.599 again, this would not be a gravity 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:16.920 control device. It would just be a clue 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:19.119 about what gravity really is at the 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:21.600 smallest scales. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:24.639 Gravity appears to have virtually no 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:28.000 interaction with any other forces and 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:30.720 works on any form of matter, even ones 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:33.519 which we can't currently detect, namely 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:36.360 the still unknown dark matter. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:39.759 There is also no known way to shield 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:41.559 against it because it bends space-time 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:43.839 which is the underlying fabric of the 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:45.000 universe and as such it's not really a 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:47.159 force. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.000 We can only feel the effects of it when 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:51.279 we are stopped from moving like when 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:53.720 we're standing on the ground but being 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.519 pulled by the mass of the Earth below 00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:56.759 us. 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:58.679 If we were free falling in space 00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:00.400 just above the Earth, we would feel 00:17:58.679 --> 00:18:02.880 nothing at all. 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:06.080 True anti-gravity would need something 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:09.520 deeper, negative mass, negative energy, 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:12.759 a new force or some way to manipulate 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:14.359 the geometry of space-time itself. 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:16.079 Then there are the observations of the 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:18.279 physical universe that show that the 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:20.119 rate of expansion from the Big Bang is 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:22.079 speeding up instead of the expected 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:23.319 slowing down under the effect of 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.599 gravity. 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:27.839 So either we have a major problem with 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:29.719 our theories of gravity or there is 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:32.359 something else out there that is 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:35.039 providing a yet unknown force which is 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:37.678 overpowering gravity and pushing the 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:40.759 universe apart in all directions which 00:18:37.679 --> 00:18:43.240 we currently call dark energy. 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:46.000 And like dark matter, we cannot detect 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:48.679 it directly but only see the effect it 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:50.159 has a bit like gravity itself. 00:18:48.679 --> 00:18:53.159 Dark energy is still one of the 00:18:50.159 --> 00:18:56.280 strangest parts of the story. It behaves 00:18:53.159 --> 00:18:58.520 on the largest scales like a repulsive 00:18:56.279 --> 00:19:00.599 effect causing the expansion of the 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:02.400 universe to accelerate 00:19:00.599 --> 00:19:05.519 but it's not something that we know how 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:06.759 to collect, focus or switch on inside a 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.400 machine. 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:11.158 If dark energy is a kind of 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:13.320 anti-gravity, then it is a cosmic one 00:19:11.159 --> 00:19:16.320 and not an engineering tool. 00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:18.519 So given all this, is true anti-gravity 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:20.960 or some form of gravity control a 00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:23.000 realistic proposition? We still don't 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:25.600 know if anything has really come from 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:27.799 the research by Ning Li and Project 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:29.719 GRASP. It's been rather quiet on that 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:31.480 front in recent years. 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:33.240 A source at NASA said that the science 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:35.240 appeared to be sound but the difficulty 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:37.480 was in scaling it up. 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:39.039 At some point in the future when we have 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:40.720 a much better understanding of what 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.759 gravity really is and how it really 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:46.679 works, we might find a way to manipulate 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:49.119 it as we want but unless a new 00:19:46.679 --> 00:19:51.759 breakthrough is announced, it appears to 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:53.799 be in the realm of science fiction. As 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:56.319 it stands, antimatter does not fall 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:58.440 upwards. Simple gravity shielding looks 00:19:56.319 --> 00:20:00.399 like it's even less likely, and the old 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:01.960 superconducting claims remain 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:03.920 unverified. 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:05.920 But some theories, namely warp drive 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.240 mathematics, negative energy, quantum 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:11.640 gravity, modified gravity, and dark 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:13.640 energy all show that gravity is not yet 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:16.160 a finished subject. 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:17.920 But the gap between our theories and our 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:20.640 understanding of the real-world 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:24.480 engineering that will be required, 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:25.720 however, is still enormous. 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:27.759 So, if you enjoyed the video, then 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:28.839 please thumbs up, share, and subscribe. 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:33.039 And a big thank you goes to all our 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:33.039 patrons for their ongoing support.