Comment Just ionic wind. (Score 2, Informative) 488
These lifters just ionize air and direct the ions downwards with an electric field, generating upwards thrust. There's no anti-gravity involved at all. It's the same technology used in The Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze air purifiers.
My friend and I did some measurements of this effect, and with 23,000 Volts, 700 microamps, and 36 centimeters of foil and wire, it's possible to generate 2.7 grams of force. With balsa wood, it's certainly possible to build a support weighing less than that, and, voila! You have flight. Nothing magic.
For more details on our measurements, check out http://peng.dyndns.org/~dan/writings/phy210.pdf .
My friend and I did some measurements of this effect, and with 23,000 Volts, 700 microamps, and 36 centimeters of foil and wire, it's possible to generate 2.7 grams of force. With balsa wood, it's certainly possible to build a support weighing less than that, and, voila! You have flight. Nothing magic.
For more details on our measurements, check out http://peng.dyndns.org/~dan/writings/phy210.pdf .
