XPost: sci.physics, sci.space.policy, sci.electronics.design   
   From: rgregoryclark@gmSPAMBLOACKail.com   
      
   Nanotechnology makes possible an "ion drive" for air vehicles analogous to   
   the famous ion drive of NASA's deep space probes:   
      
   Carbon nanotubes for "Ionic Wind" Craft or "Ionocraft".   
   Clark R*   
   Department of Mathematics, Widener University, USA   
   Review Article   
   Volume 1 Issue 2 / Received Date: September 26, 2016 / Published Date:   
   October 20, 2016   
   Abstract   
   Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund once famously said, "We wanted flying cars,   
   and we got 140 characters."But nanotechnology now does make possible the   
   long desired flying cars. It's a different propulsion method though than   
   propellers or jets however. It's propulsion by electric fields known as   
   electrohydrodynamic propulsion (EHD). It works by ionizing air then using   
   electric fields to propel the charged air molecules rearward, thus producing   
   thrust. It's quite analogous to the famous space ion drive of NASA. EHD has   
   been known at least since the sixties. Its problem is, as with ion drive,   
   the thrust is so low. So far the EHD craft have not been able to lift both   
   themselves and their power supplies. The ones made so far leave the power   
   supply on the ground and connect to the craft through power cables. But the   
   equations of EHD suggest the thrust for the power required gets larger for   
   thinner ionizing wires. In fact if the wires are at the nanoscale then this   
   important thrust-to-power ratio can be a hundred times higher than for the   
   craft constructed so far. This would be enough to lift the craft and the   
   power supply. This research is to prove what the mathematics suggests. Note   
   that if it works then all propeller and rotor driven craft become obsolete.   
   Also, intermediate range automobile travel would be taken over by the EHD   
   craft, so a large proportion of carbon-emissions would be eliminated,   
   replaced by this zero-emission travel method. In regards to space   
   propulsion, since EHD is so similar to ion drive, using components at the   
   nanoscale may also work to improve the thrust of ion drive. This would be   
   important to shortening the flight times of spacecraft using such drives.   
   This is important not just for robotic spacecraft but also satellites that   
   use such ion drives to reach their final GEO destinations. As it is now, the   
   ion drives used have such low thrust it takes months for such satellites to   
   reach GEO, resulting in millions of dollars of lost revenue to the satellite   
   companies. Being able to increase the thrust of these drives would reduce   
   the flight time, and therefore reduce this lost revenue.   
   Keywords: Electrohydrodynamic propulsion; Carbon nanotubes; Nanowires; Ionic   
   wind; Ionocraft; Plasma drive   
   https://medwinpublishers.com/NNOA/volume.php?volumeId=23&issueId=63   
      
   Bob Clark   
      
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   Finally, nanotechnology can now fulfill its potential to revolutionize   
   21st-century technology, from the space elevator, to private, orbital   
   launchers, to 'flying cars'.   
   This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:   
      
   Nanotech: from air to space.   
   https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nanotech-from-air-to-space/x/13319568/   
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