First Steps Toward Artificial Gravity

CompaniaHill writes "Have scientists been able to artificially generate a gravitational field? Researchers at the European Space Agency believe so. "Small acceleration sensors placed at different locations close to the spinning superconductor, which has to be accelerated for the effect to be noticeable, recorded an acceleration field outside the superconductor that appears to be produced by gravitomagnetism. This experiment is the gravitational analogue of Faraday's electromagnetic induction experiment in 1831." The effect is very small, so don't expect to see it used in spacecraft any time soon. But the effect is still many times larger than the predictions of Einstein's theories. "If confirmed, this would be a major breakthrough," says [Austrian researcher Martin] Tajmar. "It opens up a new means of investigating general relativity and it consequences in the quantum world.""

Comments

i don't know about you guys,

[to_kallon]

"It opens up a new means of investigating general relativity and it consequences in the quantum world."

but i'm running scared

Re:Forgot spaceships

[Rude Turnip]

I'm not positive, but I think this can be accomplished readily today using a cat, a large rubber band and some buttered toast.

Re:What?

[Rob T Firefly]

but we don't call that artificial electricity.

Obviously that's because if they let on that it was artificial, elitist snobs would demand the real thing.

Like that time I got slapped for giving that lady artifical respiration..

Re:Forgot spaceships

[markana]

This method has never worked out in practice - it's only good for producing spinning, suspended cats.

If you try to attach a shaft to the cat to transfer the rotational energy, the cat will stop trying to land on it's feet, and cling to the shaft. Thus no work is produced.

Attempts have been made to glue magnets to the cat, which is then suspended in a coil. However, it appears that the natural static charge produced by the cat seems to cancel out the expected induced current.

Experiments are continuing with *shaved* cats. I'm thinking about publishing some preliminary results, in hopes of winning an IgNoble.

Re:Forgot spaceships

[pegr]

Experiments are continuing with *shaved* cats.
 
Step one: Shave Shrodinger's cat with Occam's razor...

Who Invented the E-man?

[TiggertheMad]

If true, this would be pretty much the biggest breakthrough since Einstein.

And what a breakthrough he was! I don't recall who invented him, but man, they don't build jews like that anymore...