United States gravity control propulsion research (1955 - 1974)
Encyclopedia
American interest in "gravity control propulsion research" intensified during the early 1950s. Literature from that period used the terms anti-gravity, anti-gravitation, baricentric, counterbary, electrogravitics (eGrav), G-projects, gravitics, gravity control, and gravity propulsion. Their publicized goals were to develop and discover technologies
and theories for the manipulation of gravity or gravity-like fields for propulsion. Although general relativity
theory appeared to prohibit anti-gravity
propulsion, several programs were funded to develop it through gravitation research from 1955 to 1974. The names of many contributors to general relativity
and those of the golden age of general relativity
have appeared among documents about the institutions that had served as the theoretical research components of those programs. The existence and 1950s emergence of the gravity control propulsion research had not been a subject of controversy for aerospace
writer
s, critics, and conspiracy theory
advocates. But its rationale, effectiveness, and longevity
have been the objects of contested views.
s, popular magazines, technical journals, and declassified papers reported the existence of the gravity control propulsion
research. For example, the title of the March 1956 Aero Digest article about the intensified interest was “Anti-gravity Booming.” A. V. Cleaver made the following statement about the programs in his article:
The gravitics programs had not been evinced by any technological artifacts, such as the Project Pluto
Tory IIA, the world's first nuclear
ramjet
. Commemorative monuments by the Gravity Research Foundation
have been the artifacts attesting to the early commitments to finding materials and methods to manipulate gravity. The endeavor had the resources and publicity of an initiative, but writers from that period did not describe them with that term. Gladych stated:
The writings about the gravity control propulsion research effort had disclosed the “players” and resources while prudently withholding both the specific features of the research and the identity of its coordinating body. Publicized and telecasted conspiracy theory
anecdotes have suggested much higher levels of success to the G-projects than mainstream science.
consultant and engineering professor at Kingston University
, referred to those programs in his history of novel propulsion systems for the journal Progress in Aerospace Sciences. Research by Dr. David Kaiser, Associate Professor of the History of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, manifested the contributions made by the Gravity Research Foundation to the pedagogical aspects of the golden age of general relativity
. Dr. Joshua Goldberg, Syracuse University, described the Air Force's support of relativity research during that period. Progress reports and anecdotes and Internet resumes of former visiting and staff scientists have been the sources of the history of the Research Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS). Former aviation editor of Jane's Defense Weekly, Nick Cook
, drew attention to the antigravity programs through worldwide publications of his book, The Hunt for Zero Point, and subsequent televised documentaries. Mainstream historical accounts of the G-projects have been supplemented with conspiracy theory
anecdotes.
and The Aeroplane published the propulsion survey and critical assessment of the American gravitics research by the internationally recognized astronautics historian A. V. Cleaver. The New York Herald Tribune
and Miami Herald published a series of three articles by one of the world's greatest aviation journalist of the Twentieth Century, Ansel Talbert
. Talbert's two series of newspaper articles took place in the midst of the policy by press release
era. Neither his nor the writings that followed the five prominent works from that period, yielded denials and/or retractions.
literature. The documented testimonies of whistleblower
s edited by Dr. Steven Greer, Director of the Disclosure Project; anecdotes and schematics by Mark McCandlish and Milton William Cooper
; and the reports by Philip J. Corso
, David Darlington, and Donald Keyhoe
, famous UFO researcher, have suggested incorporation of reverse engineering of recovered extraterrestrial vehicles with the anti-gravity propulsion projects had enabled them to continue beyond 1973 to successfully manufacture antigravity vehicles. Branches of the military
and defense agencies have denied and refuted such claims.
s. They were Dr. Bryce DeWitt
's prize-winning Gravity Research Foundation
essay; the book Gravity and the Universe by Dr. Pascual Jordan
; and presentations to the International Astronautical Federation
by Dr. Burkhard Heim
. DeWitt’s essay discouraged the pursuit of materials that shield, reflect, and/or insulate gravity and emphasized the need to encourage young physicists to pursue gravitational research. He opened his essay with the following paragraph:
Several articles cited his essay during and after the gravity control propulsion research period. Within a few years facilities emerged embodying the theme of DeWitt’s call for increased stimuli for research.
Physical principle surveys by Cleaver and Weyl stated the antigravity research was not based on any recognized theoretical breakthroughs. Cleaver's skepticism suggested an alternative rationale for establishing that research was based on a science fiction
novel. Weyl charged publishers with poor journalism; attacked their terminology; and gave the highest rating for prospective physical principles for gravity control propulsion to Burkhard Heim's works. Stambler leveled harsh criticisms against Gluraheff's gravitation hypothesis. Talbert and other authors listed the following three agencies as the principle facilities that had conducted the theoretical research:
. Even though the Foundation was a humble, non-profit organization, its creator, Roger Babson
, used his wealth and influence to mobilize industries; raise private and government funding; and motivate engineer
s and physicists to conduct research in gravity shielding
and control. According to his autobiography: "The purpose of the Foundation is to encourage others to work on gravity problems and aid others in obtaining rewards for their efforts."
During Babson's lifetime, the Foundation conducted Gravity Day Conferences each summer; established a library
on gravity; solicited essays that addressed (1.) various prospects for shielding gravity, (2.) the development and/or discovery of materials that could convert gravitational force into heat, or (3.) methods of manipulating gravity; and installed monuments at various universities that cited its antigravity focus.
, Dayton, Ohio
, commenced an intense program to coordinate research into gravitational and unified field theories with the hiring of Joshua N. Goldberg. Creation by ARL of Goldberg's program may have been coincidental to the Talbert's disclosures of commitments to gravity control propulsion research. The precise rationale for creating the program and justifying its budgets and personnel may never be determined. Neither Goldberg nor the Air Force's Deputy for Scientific and Technical Information, Walter Blados, were able to locate the founding documents. Roy Kerr
, a former ARL scientist, stated the antigravity propulsion purpose of ARL was "rubbish" and that "The only real use that the USAF made of us was when some crackpot sent them a proposal for antigravity or for converting rotary motion inside a spaceship to a translational driving system." The December 30, 1957 issue of Product Engineering closed its report with the following statement:
During the following sixteen years, its name was changed to the Aerospace Research Laboratories. The ARL scientists produced nineteen technical reports and over seventy peer-reviewed journal articles. The Air Force's Foreign Technical Division, and other agencies, investigated stories about Soviet
attempts to understand gravity. Such actions were consistent with the paranoia
of the Cold War
.
The funding for the military components of the gravity control propulsion research had been terminated by the Mansfield Amendment of 1973. Black project
experts, conspiracy theorists, and whistleblowers had suggested the gravity control propulsion efforts had achieved their goals and had been continued decades beyond 1973.
, and was placed under the direct supervision of Welcome Bender. The first person Bender hired was Louis Witten
internationally recognized authority on gravitation physics. Talbert's article had announced Trimble's completion of contractual agreements with Pascual Jordan
and Burkhard Heim
for RIAS. Subsequent hires yielded a half dozen gravity researchers known as the field theory group. Sir Arthur C. Clarke
and others stated RIAS' assemble of talent was very qualified for the task of discovering new principles that could be used to develop gravity control propulsion systems.
The quest for propulsion through gravity control was vaguely implied in various publications. Works by Cook and Cleaver summarized statements in the RIAS brochures. Cook had equated the broad range of RIAS's mission statements with those of Skunk Works
. In 1958, Mallan reported “the control of the force of gravity itself for propulsion” was one of the unorthodox goals initiated by Trimble for RIAS.
RIAS was renamed the Research Institute for Advanced Studies during the sixties when the American-Marietta Company merged with Martin to become the Martin Marietta
Company. The 1995 merger that yielded the Lockheed Martin
Company modified its goals and not its name.
The Gravity Research Group indicated those companies had constructed "rigs" to improve the performance of Thomas Townsend Brown
's gravitators through attempts to develop materials with high dielectric constants (k). Gravity Rand Limited provided a set of guidelines to help management conduct research and nurture creativity. Articles about the gravity propulsion research by the aerospace firms ceased after 1974. None of the companies featured in those publications had filed retractions. The following is a list of the aerospace firms that had been cited in the works published from 1955 through 1974:
al breakthroughs published during the 1950s and 1960s have been recognized by the aerospace community.
and Intel, research on Brown's gravitators became classified immediately after demonstrations of 30% weight
reductions. Thomas Townsend Brown
had obtained a British patent for high voltage, symmetric, parallel plate capacitors, that he called gravitators, in 1928. Brown claimed they would produce a net thrust in the direction of the anode of the capacitor that varied slightly with the positions of the Moon. The scientific community rejected such claims as products of pseudoscience
and/or misinterpretations of ion wind
effects. Repeatable results from the Trouton-Noble experiment
have not supported such claims.
for similar reports).
have been supported by and/or associated with the ARL, RIAS, and/or the Gravity Research Foundation. The decades preceding the 1955 revelation of the gravity control propulsion research were a low water mark for general relativity. The following summarizes how the components of that research had stimulated the resurgence of general relativity:
, Maurice Allais
, George F. Smoot). Foundation essays have been among the resources graduate students check for new ideas. Kaiser summarized the Foundation's influence in the following manner:
Foundation trustee, Agnew Bahnson, contacted Dr. Bryce DeWitt
with a proposal to fund the creation of a gravity research institute. DeWitt had won the first prize for the 1953 essay contest. The proposed name was changed to the Institute for Field Physics and it was established in 1956 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
under the direction of Bryce and his wife, Cécile DeWitt-Morette
.
The peer review
ed physics journal, Physica C, published a report by Eugene Podkletnov
and Nieminen about gravity-like shielding. Although their work had gained international attention, researchers were not able to replicate Podkletnov's initial conditions. But, analyses by Giovanni Modanese
and Ning Wu indicated various applications of quantum gravity theory could allow gravitational shielding phenomena. Those achievements have not been pursued by the scientific community.
, contains the names of several scientists who had authored the nineteen ARL Technical Reports and/or seventy papers. The ARL sponsored papers were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Physical Review, Journal of Mathematical Physics, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review D, Review of Modern Physics, General Relativity and Gravitation, International Journal of Theoretical Physics, and Nuovo Cimento B. Some of the ARL papers were written in collaboration with RIAS, the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and the Office of Naval Research
. The ARL had provided significant enhancements to general relativity theory. For example, Roy Kerr's description of the behavior of space-time in the vicinity of a rotating mass was among those works. Goldberg concluded: "However, it should be recognized that, in the United States, the Department of Defense
played an essential role in building a strong scientific community without widespread encroachment on academic values."
came out of retirement to join RIAS in 1958 and formed the world's largest group of mathematicians devoted to research in nonlinear differential equations. The RIAS mathematics group stimulated the growth of nonlinear differential equations through conferences and publications. It left RIAS in 1964 to form the Lefschez Center for Dynamical Systems at Brown University
, Providence
, Rhode Island
.
He stated gravity control propulsion research had started in the fifties and had successfully reverse engineered the vehicle retrieved from the Roswell crash site to build three Alien Reproduction Vehicles by 1981. McCandlish described their propulsion systems in terms of Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators and provided a line drawing of its interior. The diagram closely resembled the drawing provided earlier in Milton William Cooper
's book. Another Disclosure Project whistleblowers, Lt. Col Philip J. Corso
, stated in his book the craft retrieved from the second crash site at Roswell, New Mexico, had a propulsion system resembling Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators. And, Corso's book featured several gravity control propulsion statements made by Professor
Hermann Oberth
.
Soon after the end of the Cold War
, a small group of scientists and engineers openly expressed their desire to use technologies developed by black projects for civil applications. Dr. Steven Greer formed the Disclosure Project in 1995 to help those and other research whistleblowers share their information with and to petition Congress. By 2001, it had provided reports to two Congressional hearings and had acquired over 400 members from branches of the military and aerospace industry.
During the early 1960s, Keyhoe published excerpts from a letter by Hermann Oberth that presented explanations for the flight
characteristics of UFO's in terms of gravity control propulsion. Prior to Oberth’s letter, Keyhoe had supported arguments for magnetic forces as the source of propulsion for UFO’s. The letter caused him to search for the existence of gravity control propulsion research programs. The following is a segment of his findings he had released in his 1966 and 1974 publications:
During his press conferences on February 2, 1955 in Bogotá, Colombia, and February 10, 1955 in Grand Rapids, Michigan
aviation pioneer William Lear, stated one of his reasons for believing in flying saucers was the existence of American research efforts into antigravity. Talbert's series of newspaper articles about the intensified interest in gravity control propulsion research were published during the Thanksgiving
week of that year.
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and theories for the manipulation of gravity or gravity-like fields for propulsion. Although general relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
theory appeared to prohibit anti-gravity
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...
propulsion, several programs were funded to develop it through gravitation research from 1955 to 1974. The names of many contributors to general relativity
Contributors to general relativity
This is a partial list of persons who have made major contributions to the development of standard mainstream general relativity. One simple rule of thumb for who belongs here is whether their contribution is recognized in the canon of standard general relativity textbooks. Some related lists are...
and those of the golden age of general relativity
Golden age of general relativity
The golden age of general relativity is the period roughly from 1960 to 1975 during which the study of general relativity, which had previously been regarded as something of a curiosity, entered the mainstream of theoretical physics...
have appeared among documents about the institutions that had served as the theoretical research components of those programs. The existence and 1950s emergence of the gravity control propulsion research had not been a subject of controversy for aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
s, critics, and conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
advocates. But its rationale, effectiveness, and longevity
Longevity
The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
have been the objects of contested views.
Evidence of existence
Mainstream newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, popular magazines, technical journals, and declassified papers reported the existence of the gravity control propulsion
Air propulsion
Air propulsion is the generation of thrust during flight by an aircraft or a creature such as a bird, bat or insect.-Aircraft:An aircraft propulsion system must serve two purposes. First, the thrust from the propulsion system must balance the drag of the airplane when the airplane is cruising...
research. For example, the title of the March 1956 Aero Digest article about the intensified interest was “Anti-gravity Booming.” A. V. Cleaver made the following statement about the programs in his article:
- What are the facts, insofar as they are publicly known, or (as at this date) knowable? Well, they seem to amount to this: The Americans have decided to look into the old science-fictional dream of gravity control, or “anti-gravity,” to investigate, both theoretically and (if possible) practically the fundamental nature of gravitational fields and their relationship to electromagnetic and other phenomena – and someone (unknown to the present writer) has apparently decided to call all this study by the high-sounding name of “electro-gravitics.” Unknown, too – at least unannounced – is the name of agency or individual who decided to encourage, stimulate, or sponsor this effort, also in just what way it is being done. However, that the effort is in progress there can be little doubt, and, of course, it is entirely to be welcomed.
The gravitics programs had not been evinced by any technological artifacts, such as the Project Pluto
Project Pluto
Project Pluto was a United States government program to develop nuclear powered ramjet engines for use in cruise missiles. Two experimental engines were tested at the United States Department of Energy Nevada Test Site in 1961 and 1964.-History:...
Tory IIA, the world's first nuclear
Nuclear propulsion
Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that fulfil the promise of the Atomic Age by using some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source.- Surface ships and submarines :...
ramjet
Ramjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
. Commemorative monuments by the Gravity Research Foundation
Gravity Research Foundation
The Gravity Research Foundation, established in 1948 by businessman Roger Babson , was an organization designed to find ways to implement gravitational shielding...
have been the artifacts attesting to the early commitments to finding materials and methods to manipulate gravity. The endeavor had the resources and publicity of an initiative, but writers from that period did not describe them with that term. Gladych stated:
- At least 14 United States universities and other research centers are hard at work cracking the gravity barrier. And backing the basic research with multi-million dollar secret projects is our aircraft industry.
The writings about the gravity control propulsion research effort had disclosed the “players” and resources while prudently withholding both the specific features of the research and the identity of its coordinating body. Publicized and telecasted conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
anecdotes have suggested much higher levels of success to the G-projects than mainstream science.
Histories
Recent historical analysis and reports have attracted attention to the agencies and firms that had participated in the gravity control propulsion research. James E. Allen, BAE SystemsBAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
consultant and engineering professor at Kingston University
Kingston University
Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
, referred to those programs in his history of novel propulsion systems for the journal Progress in Aerospace Sciences. Research by Dr. David Kaiser, Associate Professor of the History of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, manifested the contributions made by the Gravity Research Foundation to the pedagogical aspects of the golden age of general relativity
Golden age of general relativity
The golden age of general relativity is the period roughly from 1960 to 1975 during which the study of general relativity, which had previously been regarded as something of a curiosity, entered the mainstream of theoretical physics...
. Dr. Joshua Goldberg, Syracuse University, described the Air Force's support of relativity research during that period. Progress reports and anecdotes and Internet resumes of former visiting and staff scientists have been the sources of the history of the Research Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS). Former aviation editor of Jane's Defense Weekly, Nick Cook
Nick Cook
Nick Cook is a British aviation journalist and author of fiction and non-fiction works and has won four Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards from the Royal Aeronautical Society.-Journalism:...
, drew attention to the antigravity programs through worldwide publications of his book, The Hunt for Zero Point, and subsequent televised documentaries. Mainstream historical accounts of the G-projects have been supplemented with conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
anecdotes.
Contemporaneous literature
Lists of the research institutes, industrial sites, and policy makers along with statements from prominent physicists were provided in five comprehensive works that had been published during the early years of the gravity control propulsion research. Aviation Studies (International) Limited, London, published a detailed report about those activities by the Gravity Research Group that was later declassified. The Journal of the British Interplanetary SocietyJournal of the British Interplanetary Society
The Journal of the British Interplanetary Society is a technical scientific journal, first published in 1934. JBIS is concerned with space science and space technology...
and The Aeroplane published the propulsion survey and critical assessment of the American gravitics research by the internationally recognized astronautics historian A. V. Cleaver. The New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
and Miami Herald published a series of three articles by one of the world's greatest aviation journalist of the Twentieth Century, Ansel Talbert
Ansel Talbert
Ansel Edward McLaurine Talbert was an American aviation journalist. After being named as a Communist by journalist Winston Burdett, Talbert became well known for his testimony before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee in 1955. He died at his home in Bridgeport, Conn.- Talbert's work...
. Talbert's two series of newspaper articles took place in the midst of the policy by press release
Policy by press release
Policy by press release refers to the act of attempting to influence public policy through press releases intended to alarm the public into demanding action from their elected officials. The practice is frowned upon, but remains effective and widely used...
era. Neither his nor the writings that followed the five prominent works from that period, yielded denials and/or retractions.
UFO and conspiracy theory literature
Gravity control propulsion research had been the subject of widely published UFO and conspiracy theoryConspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
literature. The documented testimonies of whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
s edited by Dr. Steven Greer, Director of the Disclosure Project; anecdotes and schematics by Mark McCandlish and Milton William Cooper
Milton William Cooper
Milton William Cooper was an American writer, shortwave broadcaster, conspiracy theorist, and political activist.-Biography:...
; and the reports by Philip J. Corso
Philip J. Corso
Philip J. Corso was an American Army officer.He served in the United States Army from February 23, 1942, to March 1, 1963, and earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel....
, David Darlington, and Donald Keyhoe
Donald Keyhoe
Donald Edward Keyhoe was an American Marine Corps naval aviator, writer of many aviation articles and stories in a variety of leading publications, and manager of the promotional tours of aviation pioneers, especially of Charles Lindbergh.In the 1950s he became well-known as an UFO researcher,...
, famous UFO researcher, have suggested incorporation of reverse engineering of recovered extraterrestrial vehicles with the anti-gravity propulsion projects had enabled them to continue beyond 1973 to successfully manufacture antigravity vehicles. Branches of the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
and defense agencies have denied and refuted such claims.
Theoretical research agencies
Talbert indicated the rationale for the intensified interest in gravity control propulsion research had stemmed from the works of three physicistPhysicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s. They were Dr. Bryce DeWitt
Bryce DeWitt
Bryce Seligman DeWitt was a theoretical physicist renowned for advancing gravity and field theories.-Biography:...
's prize-winning Gravity Research Foundation
Gravity Research Foundation
The Gravity Research Foundation, established in 1948 by businessman Roger Babson , was an organization designed to find ways to implement gravitational shielding...
essay; the book Gravity and the Universe by Dr. Pascual Jordan
Pascual Jordan
-Further reading:...
; and presentations to the International Astronautical Federation
International Astronautical Federation
International Astronautical Federation , the world's foremost space advocacy organisation, is based in Paris. It was founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization. It has 206 members from 58 countries across the world. They are drawn from space agencies, industry, professional associations,...
by Dr. Burkhard Heim
Burkhard Heim
Burkhard Heim was a German theoretical physicist. He devoted a large portion of his life to the pursuit of his unified field theory, Heim theory. One of his childhood ambitions was to develop a method of space travel, which contributed to his motivation to find such a theory.During World War II,...
. DeWitt’s essay discouraged the pursuit of materials that shield, reflect, and/or insulate gravity and emphasized the need to encourage young physicists to pursue gravitational research. He opened his essay with the following paragraph:
- Before anyone can have the audacity to formulate even the most rudimentary plan of attack on the problem of harnessing the force of gravitation, he must understand the nature of his adversary. I take it as most axiomatic that the phenomenon of gravitation is poorly understood even by the best of minds, and the last word on it is very far indeed from having been spoken.
Several articles cited his essay during and after the gravity control propulsion research period. Within a few years facilities emerged embodying the theme of DeWitt’s call for increased stimuli for research.
Physical principle surveys by Cleaver and Weyl stated the antigravity research was not based on any recognized theoretical breakthroughs. Cleaver's skepticism suggested an alternative rationale for establishing that research was based on a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel. Weyl charged publishers with poor journalism; attacked their terminology; and gave the highest rating for prospective physical principles for gravity control propulsion to Burkhard Heim's works. Stambler leveled harsh criticisms against Gluraheff's gravitation hypothesis. Talbert and other authors listed the following three agencies as the principle facilities that had conducted the theoretical research:
Gravity Research Foundation
Several articles contained expressions of gratitude for the support to the gravity control propulsion endeavor by the Gravity Research FoundationGravity Research Foundation
The Gravity Research Foundation, established in 1948 by businessman Roger Babson , was an organization designed to find ways to implement gravitational shielding...
. Even though the Foundation was a humble, non-profit organization, its creator, Roger Babson
Roger Babson
Roger Ward Babson , remembered today largely for founding Babson College in Massachusetts, was an entrepreneur and business theorist in the first half of the 20th century...
, used his wealth and influence to mobilize industries; raise private and government funding; and motivate engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s and physicists to conduct research in gravity shielding
Gravity shielding
The term gravitational shielding refers to a hypothetical process of shielding an object from the influence of a gravitational field. Such processes, if they existed, would have the effect of reducing the weight of an object. The shape of the shielded region would be similar to a shadow from the...
and control. According to his autobiography: "The purpose of the Foundation is to encourage others to work on gravity problems and aid others in obtaining rewards for their efforts."
During Babson's lifetime, the Foundation conducted Gravity Day Conferences each summer; established a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
on gravity; solicited essays that addressed (1.) various prospects for shielding gravity, (2.) the development and/or discovery of materials that could convert gravitational force into heat, or (3.) methods of manipulating gravity; and installed monuments at various universities that cited its antigravity focus.
Aerospace Research Laboratories (ARL)
In September, 1956, the General Physics Laboratory of the Aeronautical Research Laboratories (ARL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
, Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, commenced an intense program to coordinate research into gravitational and unified field theories with the hiring of Joshua N. Goldberg. Creation by ARL of Goldberg's program may have been coincidental to the Talbert's disclosures of commitments to gravity control propulsion research. The precise rationale for creating the program and justifying its budgets and personnel may never be determined. Neither Goldberg nor the Air Force's Deputy for Scientific and Technical Information, Walter Blados, were able to locate the founding documents. Roy Kerr
Roy Kerr
Roy Patrick Kerr CNZM is a New Zealand mathematician who is best known for discovering the Kerr vacuum, an exact solution to the Einstein field equation of general relativity...
, a former ARL scientist, stated the antigravity propulsion purpose of ARL was "rubbish" and that "The only real use that the USAF made of us was when some crackpot sent them a proposal for antigravity or for converting rotary motion inside a spaceship to a translational driving system." The December 30, 1957 issue of Product Engineering closed its report with the following statement:
- Nevertheless, the Air Force is encouraging research in electrogravitics, and many companies and individuals are working on the problem. It could be that one of them will confound the experts.
During the following sixteen years, its name was changed to the Aerospace Research Laboratories. The ARL scientists produced nineteen technical reports and over seventy peer-reviewed journal articles. The Air Force's Foreign Technical Division, and other agencies, investigated stories about Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
attempts to understand gravity. Such actions were consistent with the paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
The funding for the military components of the gravity control propulsion research had been terminated by the Mansfield Amendment of 1973. Black project
Black project
In the United States and United Kingdom, a black project is in the vernacular a classified military/defense project, unacknowledged publicly by the government, military personnel, and defense contractors. Examples of U.S...
experts, conspiracy theorists, and whistleblowers had suggested the gravity control propulsion efforts had achieved their goals and had been continued decades beyond 1973.
Research Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS)
The Research Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS) was conceived by George S. Trimble, the vice president for aviation and advanced propulsion systems, Glenn L. Martin CompanyGlenn L. Martin Company
The Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
, and was placed under the direct supervision of Welcome Bender. The first person Bender hired was Louis Witten
Louis Witten
Louis Witten is an American theoretical physicist and the father of Edward Witten.Witten's research has centered around classical gravitation, including the discovery of certain exact electrovacuum solutions to the Einstein field equation...
internationally recognized authority on gravitation physics. Talbert's article had announced Trimble's completion of contractual agreements with Pascual Jordan
Pascual Jordan
-Further reading:...
and Burkhard Heim
Burkhard Heim
Burkhard Heim was a German theoretical physicist. He devoted a large portion of his life to the pursuit of his unified field theory, Heim theory. One of his childhood ambitions was to develop a method of space travel, which contributed to his motivation to find such a theory.During World War II,...
for RIAS. Subsequent hires yielded a half dozen gravity researchers known as the field theory group. Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
and others stated RIAS' assemble of talent was very qualified for the task of discovering new principles that could be used to develop gravity control propulsion systems.
The quest for propulsion through gravity control was vaguely implied in various publications. Works by Cook and Cleaver summarized statements in the RIAS brochures. Cook had equated the broad range of RIAS's mission statements with those of Skunk Works
Skunk works
Skunk Works is an official alias for Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs , formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. Skunk Works is responsible for a number of famous aircraft designs, including the U-2, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk, and the F-22 Raptor...
. In 1958, Mallan reported “the control of the force of gravity itself for propulsion” was one of the unorthodox goals initiated by Trimble for RIAS.
RIAS was renamed the Research Institute for Advanced Studies during the sixties when the American-Marietta Company merged with Martin to become the Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of The Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. The combined company became a leader in chemicals, aerospace, and electronics. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. The...
Company. The 1995 merger that yielded the Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
Company modified its goals and not its name.
Aerospace firms
Talbert's newspaper series and subsequent articles in technical magazines and journals listed the names of aerospace firms conducting gravity control propulsion research. Stambler stated:- It is well known that several major companies in the aviation industry are working on “anti-gravitational devices.” Unfortunately, this is about the only hard and fast statement that can be made about the subject of anti-gravitics.
The Gravity Research Group indicated those companies had constructed "rigs" to improve the performance of Thomas Townsend Brown
Thomas Townsend Brown
Thomas Townsend Brown was an American physicist.-Early and middle years:Brown was born in Zanesville, Ohio; his parents were Lewis K. and Mary Townsend Brown. In 1921, Brown discovered what was later called the Biefeld-Brown effect while experimenting with a Coolidge X-ray tube. This is a vacuum...
's gravitators through attempts to develop materials with high dielectric constants (k). Gravity Rand Limited provided a set of guidelines to help management conduct research and nurture creativity. Articles about the gravity propulsion research by the aerospace firms ceased after 1974. None of the companies featured in those publications had filed retractions. The following is a list of the aerospace firms that had been cited in the works published from 1955 through 1974:
- Bell AircraftBell AircraftThe Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer of the United States, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopters...
, Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. - BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
Aircraft. - Clarke Electronics, Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
. - ConvairConvairConvair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
, San Diego, CA. - Douglas Aircraft.
- Electronics Division, Ryan Aeronautical CompanyRyan Aeronautical CompanyThe Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California in 1934. Part of Teledyne after 1969, Northrop Grumman purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999...
, San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. - General ElectricGeneral ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
. - Glenn L. Martin CompanyGlenn L. Martin CompanyThe Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
, Baltimore, Maryland. - Gluhareff Helicopter & Airplane Corporation, Manhattan Beach, CaliforniaManhattan Beach, CaliforniaManhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
. - Grumman Aircraft.
- HillerHillerHiller may refer to:* Hiller, Pennsylvania* Hiller Aircraft Corporation:** Hiller Hornet** Hiller Flying Platform** Tanner-Hiller Airport** Hiller Aviation Museum** Hiller X-18** Fairchild Hiller FH-227** YH-32 HornetOr the following people:...
. - Hughes AircraftHughes AircraftHughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
. - Lear Incorporated, Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. - Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
- Radio Corporation.
- Sikorsky Division of United AircraftUnited AircraftThe United Aircraft Corporation was formed in 1934 at the break-up of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. In 1975, the company became the United Technologies Corporation.-1930s:...
. - Sperry Gyroscope Division of Sperry Rand Corporation, Great Neck, Long Island.
Reported breakthroughs
None of the reported experimentExperiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
al breakthroughs published during the 1950s and 1960s have been recognized by the aerospace community.
Brown's gravitator
Various reports indicated Brown's gravitators were the main experimental focus of the gravity control propulsion research. According to G. Harry StineG. Harry Stine
George Harry Stine was one of the founding figures of model rocketry, a science and technology writer, and a science fiction author.-Education and early career:...
and Intel, research on Brown's gravitators became classified immediately after demonstrations of 30% weight
Weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. Its magnitude , often denoted by an italic letter W, is the product of the mass m of the object and the magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus:...
reductions. Thomas Townsend Brown
Thomas Townsend Brown
Thomas Townsend Brown was an American physicist.-Early and middle years:Brown was born in Zanesville, Ohio; his parents were Lewis K. and Mary Townsend Brown. In 1921, Brown discovered what was later called the Biefeld-Brown effect while experimenting with a Coolidge X-ray tube. This is a vacuum...
had obtained a British patent for high voltage, symmetric, parallel plate capacitors, that he called gravitators, in 1928. Brown claimed they would produce a net thrust in the direction of the anode of the capacitor that varied slightly with the positions of the Moon. The scientific community rejected such claims as products of pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
and/or misinterpretations of ion wind
Ion wind
Ion wind, ionic wind, or coronal wind is a stream of ionized fluid generated by a strong electric field. Francis Hauksbee, curator of instruments for the Royal Society of London, made the earliest report of electric wind in 1709...
effects. Repeatable results from the Trouton-Noble experiment
Trouton-Noble experiment
The Trouton–Noble experiment attempted to detect motion of the Earth through the luminiferous aether, and was conducted in 1901–1903 by Frederick Thomas Trouton and H. R. Noble...
have not supported such claims.
Kaplan's gravity-like impulses
In July 1960, Missiles and Rockets reported Martin N. Kaplan, Senior Research Engineer, Electronics Division, Ryan Aeronautical Company, San Diego, had conducted anti-gravitational experiments yielding the promise of impulses, accelerations, and decelerations one hundred times the pull of gravity. Neither comments nor criticism of the report appeared in subsequent articles during the period of intensified gravity control propulsion research (see Section 3 of tractor beamTractor beam
A tractor beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. Since the 1990s, technology and research has labored to make it a reality, mostly at microscopic level. Less commonly, a similar beam that repels is called a pressor beam or repulsor beam...
for similar reports).
Forward's protational field
Robert L. Forward, Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, described the theoretical generation of dipole gravitational fields by accelerating a super-dense fluid through pipes wound around a torus. Such techniques, though theoretically sound, have been far beyond the reach of technology.Heim's principles of dynamic counterbary
Surveys conducted by engineers of physical principles as potential foundations for gravity control propulsion theories conferred high ratings for Burkhard Heim's work. Comments and investigations by physicists into his initial and extended propulsion theories appeared during 2008.http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/documents/AerospaceAmericaAdvancedPropulsionDec2008.pdf Heim's earliest paper was completed in 1956 as a progress report that was archived at the Gravity Research Foundation. His theory was then published in a series of four papers during 1959 by a little known aerospace engineering journal. According to Helmut Goeckel's preface to the first paper in the series, unbridled interest of unsavory firms had caused Heim to cease from further developments of his propulsion theory. He indicated various aerospace and ordnance companies had made several attempts to kidnap him. Heim devoted the remainder of his life to refining the unified field attributes of his theory.Legacies
Many of the contributors to general relativityContributors to general relativity
This is a partial list of persons who have made major contributions to the development of standard mainstream general relativity. One simple rule of thumb for who belongs here is whether their contribution is recognized in the canon of standard general relativity textbooks. Some related lists are...
have been supported by and/or associated with the ARL, RIAS, and/or the Gravity Research Foundation. The decades preceding the 1955 revelation of the gravity control propulsion research were a low water mark for general relativity. The following summarizes how the components of that research had stimulated the resurgence of general relativity:
Gravity Research Foundation
Even though some of the physicists who attended the Gravity Day Conferences quietly mocked the anti-gravity mission of the Foundation, it provided significant contributions to mainstream physics. The International Journal of Modern Physics D has featured selected papers from the Gravity Research Foundation essay competition. Many have been incorporated with the collections of the Niels Bohr Library. A few of the Foundation essay contest winners became Nobel laureates (e.g., Ilya PrigogineIlya Prigogine
Ilya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalized Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.-Biography :...
, Maurice Allais
Maurice Allais
Maurice Félix Charles Allais was a French economist, and was the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization of resources."...
, George F. Smoot). Foundation essays have been among the resources graduate students check for new ideas. Kaiser summarized the Foundation's influence in the following manner:
- Despite the vast conceptual gulf separating Babson from the new generation of relativists, we are left with intriguing, and perhaps ironic associations: by organizing conferences, sponsoring the annual essay contests, and making money and enthusiasm widely available for people interested in gravity, the eccentric Gravity Research Foundation may claim at least some small amount of the credit for helping to stimulate the postwar resurgence of interest in gravitation and general relativity.
Foundation trustee, Agnew Bahnson, contacted Dr. Bryce DeWitt
Bryce DeWitt
Bryce Seligman DeWitt was a theoretical physicist renowned for advancing gravity and field theories.-Biography:...
with a proposal to fund the creation of a gravity research institute. DeWitt had won the first prize for the 1953 essay contest. The proposed name was changed to the Institute for Field Physics and it was established in 1956 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
under the direction of Bryce and his wife, Cécile DeWitt-Morette
Cécile DeWitt-Morette
Cécile Andrée Paule DeWitt-Morette is a French mathematician and physicist. She founded a summer school at Les Houches in the French Alps. For this and her publications, she was awarded the American Society of the French Legion of Honor 2007 Medal for Distinguished Achievement...
.
The peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
ed physics journal, Physica C, published a report by Eugene Podkletnov
Eugene Podkletnov
Dr Yevgeny Podkletnov is a Russian engineer, formerly affiliated with the Materials Science Department at the Tampere University of Technology, Finland, who is best known for his controversial work on a so-called gravity shielding device...
and Nieminen about gravity-like shielding. Although their work had gained international attention, researchers were not able to replicate Podkletnov's initial conditions. But, analyses by Giovanni Modanese
Giovanni Modanese
Giovanni Modanese is a professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.He is the author of several publications in General Relativity and Quantum Gravity....
and Ning Wu indicated various applications of quantum gravity theory could allow gravitational shielding phenomena. Those achievements have not been pursued by the scientific community.
Aerospace Research Laboratories (ARL)
The list of prominent contributors to the golden age of general relativityGolden age of general relativity
The golden age of general relativity is the period roughly from 1960 to 1975 during which the study of general relativity, which had previously been regarded as something of a curiosity, entered the mainstream of theoretical physics...
, contains the names of several scientists who had authored the nineteen ARL Technical Reports and/or seventy papers. The ARL sponsored papers were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Physical Review, Journal of Mathematical Physics, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review D, Review of Modern Physics, General Relativity and Gravitation, International Journal of Theoretical Physics, and Nuovo Cimento B. Some of the ARL papers were written in collaboration with RIAS, the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and the Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
. The ARL had provided significant enhancements to general relativity theory. For example, Roy Kerr's description of the behavior of space-time in the vicinity of a rotating mass was among those works. Goldberg concluded: "However, it should be recognized that, in the United States, the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
played an essential role in building a strong scientific community without widespread encroachment on academic values."
Research Institute for Advanced Studies (RIAS)
The growth of nonlinear differential equations during the fifties was stimulated by RIAS. One of the leading groups in dynamical systems and control theory, the Lefschez Center for Dynamical Systems,http://www.dam.brown.edu/lcds/about.php was a spinoff from RIAS. After the launch of Sputnik, world-class mathematician Solomon LefschetzSolomon Lefschetz
Solomon Lefschetz was an American mathematician who did fundamental work on algebraic topology, its applications to algebraic geometry, and the theory of non-linear ordinary differential equations.-Life:...
came out of retirement to join RIAS in 1958 and formed the world's largest group of mathematicians devoted to research in nonlinear differential equations. The RIAS mathematics group stimulated the growth of nonlinear differential equations through conferences and publications. It left RIAS in 1964 to form the Lefschez Center for Dynamical Systems at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
UFO and conspiracy theories
On May 9, 2001, Mark McCandlish testified on the televised news conference held by the Disclosure Project, at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He stated gravity control propulsion research had started in the fifties and had successfully reverse engineered the vehicle retrieved from the Roswell crash site to build three Alien Reproduction Vehicles by 1981. McCandlish described their propulsion systems in terms of Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators and provided a line drawing of its interior. The diagram closely resembled the drawing provided earlier in Milton William Cooper
Milton William Cooper
Milton William Cooper was an American writer, shortwave broadcaster, conspiracy theorist, and political activist.-Biography:...
's book. Another Disclosure Project whistleblowers, Lt. Col Philip J. Corso
Philip J. Corso
Philip J. Corso was an American Army officer.He served in the United States Army from February 23, 1942, to March 1, 1963, and earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel....
, stated in his book the craft retrieved from the second crash site at Roswell, New Mexico, had a propulsion system resembling Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators. And, Corso's book featured several gravity control propulsion statements made by Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Hermann Oberth
Hermann Oberth
Hermann Julius Oberth was an Austro-Hungarian-born German physicist and engineer. He is considered one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics.- Early life :...
.
Soon after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, a small group of scientists and engineers openly expressed their desire to use technologies developed by black projects for civil applications. Dr. Steven Greer formed the Disclosure Project in 1995 to help those and other research whistleblowers share their information with and to petition Congress. By 2001, it had provided reports to two Congressional hearings and had acquired over 400 members from branches of the military and aerospace industry.
During the early 1960s, Keyhoe published excerpts from a letter by Hermann Oberth that presented explanations for the flight
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
characteristics of UFO's in terms of gravity control propulsion. Prior to Oberth’s letter, Keyhoe had supported arguments for magnetic forces as the source of propulsion for UFO’s. The letter caused him to search for the existence of gravity control propulsion research programs. The following is a segment of his findings he had released in his 1966 and 1974 publications:
- When AF researchers fully realized the astounding possibilities, headquarters persuaded scientists, aerospace companies and technical laboratories to set up anti-gravity projects, many of them under secret contracts. Every year, the number of projects increased. In 1965, forty-six unclassified G-projects were confirmed to me by the Scientific Information Exchange of the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. Of the forty-six, thirty-three were AF-controlled.
During his press conferences on February 2, 1955 in Bogotá, Colombia, and February 10, 1955 in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
aviation pioneer William Lear, stated one of his reasons for believing in flying saucers was the existence of American research efforts into antigravity. Talbert's series of newspaper articles about the intensified interest in gravity control propulsion research were published during the Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
week of that year.
Further reading
- Yi, Y. (2004, January). An interview with Jack K. Hale. Dynamical Systems Magazine (SIAM DSWeb Magazine).http://www.dynamicalsystems.org/ma/ma/display?item=55