*UPDATE 18*
Interum update 24 October 1997
Not much to add other than things are progressing, another successful builder contacted me, details were to follow later. A large Australian Company contacted me with intentions to construct the geared version of a double conic GIT, I'm not sure they want you to know who they are just yet, so that info will have to wait.
This one came in as pallettes for several gif pictures, although single color postage stamp sized pictures of text were sent to me, the pallettes contained a patchwork of colors all over the place, with many repeated colors in no pattern I've ever seen in a pallette, but they are consistant with code. A new file called fh00th00t.sys (or similar, I erased it), appeared on the time and date of unzipping the pictures files. Darn you snoops! JUST ASK! I'm getting rather tired of this silliness!
If I should be down for an extended period, please realize I'm trying to get my computer back on line, and though I'm getting rather good at rebuilding, you never know what nasty surprises are in this latest group's package of (insert your favorite distastefully poisonous word here - $#!% !!!!!), so mail will be delayed.
I'll get a new update on the site by the end of this month, first part of the next, this seems to be the quiet before the storm. - David - 2 am 24 October 1997
Another hacker group (in Europe I believe) has planted their version of snoop-ware in my computer, so it's time for another brain burn on my computer, and I hope I will get through this one less crippled than my last silicone fire.
Sunday 12 October 1997 - 1:40 pm (reworked from the temp. post of 10 Oct.)
Well now! It just keeps GITting better all the time! Lots to report in this update, things are beginning to accelerate like a flying saucer around here; I suppose I should just jump right in and let you know the latest developments. This is going to be a long update, so I'll add page jump links for your convenience:
This update is in preparation for my Master GIT Builder's Page, a compilation of those personalities that I call Mama Earth's GIT team, folks willing to share in my efforts to get us into space in a big way as soon as possible!
One team member that needs mentioned up front is Jim Bolstad, a Chemical Engineer by day, and a researcher and thinker that was one of the first to contact me with support in the "dark days" of this project. I've posted his picture here the 17th of October, he finally got me a copy to share with you!
Mr. Bolstad found a real flaw in centuries old acceptance of Sir Isaac's "laws" that have been mis-interpreted, and used as a reason to slap down any who would be so bold as to believe inertial propulsion is possible.
His eloquent appraisal is posted in my Update 10 of July 8th, the link will get you there!
And thus begins my formal introductions and recognition of people who are working from the love of a new idea, and the willingness to share it with others:
Sam Smith of Florida is offering the first commercial plans for a test device. As a technical draftsman and CAD engineer (among other talents), he has put together a package of a relatively easy-to-build unit for those that want a complete step-by-step instruction set with pictures, parts list, construction hints, tools required, much et cetera, for the rather reasonable price of $15.00 US. Above is a link to his page on my site for more details.
Sam reported to me the first water tests of a GIT (with his "billiard ball billy" the unit he has drawn up plans for), considered one of the definitive tests for inertial propulsion. He also made the largest GIT to date with his "Bowling Ball Bertha". Sam is definitely a go GITter!
(I'm hoping that Sam will send me a little better picture of himself also ',8~ )
Another first for James Hurl in Australia, he's built the world's first Micro GIT, and it's a real mover! I've added a stylized picture he sent me in greytone (I added the color just for fun) as a possible portrait for the Master GIT Builders page I've yet to put together.
After many a sleepless night of excited GIT building and testing, he wanted to get me a picture that wasn't TOO identifiable, as there are still concerns about supressive forces. Subtle James, really subtle!
The Micro GIT link will get you to further information on this page below, where you'll find a live link to his updated page on my site. You'll find a composite picture of his new construction there.
James has also sent me a video of one on his first tests of the rather powerful little GITter, it's a bit over 3 megs (about 22 minutes at 28.8 load time) that I can email you if you'ld like to see it. I'm hoping James will get me a more definitive water test video in the near future.
With the advent of James' rather surprising thrust from such a small and easily built device, there are discussions going on about putting out an actual kit with parts included for under $50, with a target of under $30 for nearly everything you will need to make a proven inertial thruster to amaze your friends and astound your teachers (will they still insist it's impossible when they have to ignore their lying eyes? hehehe)!
So far it's only talk; I think both Sam and James are drafting up proposals, and if you'ld like to send me some input about it, we can get something more solid together with your input. What do you think? If you want us to go forward with such an offering, mail me (DavidC), your thoughts!
Of course you can find the mail links to others of the GIT team on my networking page as well as the individual pages that I've managed to get online to date, and you can write directly to each.
I've added pictures and more text to JJ Ellingsworth's (of Dallas, Oregon) page. If you've been following along, you'll recall he is the first to prove the friction drive wheel version of the GIT, and one of the few I've met face to face of Mama Earth's GIT team.
Click on his picture at right for a link to his page on my site.
Amanda J. Gilbert has sent me her picture for the page I have yet to put together.
Amanda came up with an improvement for the GIT by a means to have geared orbitals that could perform the task of the "infinitely variable" acceleration and deceleration of the orbitals while maintaining the most important function of maintaining SOLID ROLLING TRACTION.
I have made a virtual model of one of her contributions to getting us up off this planet. Shown at left is a Geared Double Conic orbital.
Two race versions are also described by Amanda, a fixed race where the teeth of the race vary in size and spacing to match the mesh with the orbitals, and a variable thrust race that uses a rather small fractional tooth size all around to mesh with the orbitals.
I'll say it again, Amanda claims her invention, and public exposure here of her device improvement is notice of proprietary intent.
Amanda wanted me to be sure and tell you that she is not a starry eyed dreamer when it comes to her interest in the GIT, but feels there is a lot of money to be made with the device and it's permutations. As an intense business student with energy studies as well, there are email discussions going on among several of us about the future of the GIT in more formal terms.
My own GIT is still slow going. While I made a cast Jig to hold the orbitals for a saw cut of the overfill, I needed to drill the tips of the cones to put in a screw and washer to firmly hold them into the funnel shaped jig, and the drilling takes a BUNCH of time! I have to clean the flutes of the bit with every hard won 1/16 of an inch, constantly filling the grooves with plastic lead, to a depth of 3/4 of an inch each orbital, S L O W going for sure!
The carbide blade works great on cutting the lead, but it has to be fed slowly, backing out every so often since lead flake melts onto the cut face and makes the blade sing an awful tune!
I couldn't get a full cut with my 10 inch blade, lacking about 1/4 of an inch, which is good I suppose, since my jig casting is off about 10 thousandths of an inch from perpendicular, so rotating the casting a couple of times completes the job, leaves me with a small hump in the center, but that comes out rather rapidly on a sanding screen.
The oven soldering works ok, but I've got to be rather careful, the lead-antimony alloy is rather fragile at 500 degrees, and already I've knocked off a tip on one I did. Heat soaking takes a bit of time, and the solder needs to be applied between the halves after they get up to temp. Putting solder in and just heating it sandwiched like that melts solder at the edges leaving a hump in the cooler middle, and resin scale builds up on the surfaces, making for a bad joint.
I'm learning the hard way how to make a "simple" GIT, but by the time I'm ready to write up the full instructions, I'll know all the ways how NOT to do it!
I'd also like to restate my intent to keep all intellectual property rights involving my inventions described on this site, but actively encourage you to build a model for yourself (but patent law gives you that anyway) and if you can, improve on my idea like Amanda did!
Made from rings cut out of 4 inch PVC pipe, a small tape deck motor, a brass decorator disk from the bath plug he made his first ("bird bath") GIT drive wheel from, some strips of copper and a few screws, his "Indie" GIT (so named 'cause it's a real mover!) has shown the way to much more powerful devices.
I've added his letters and pictures of little "Indie" to James' page if you'ld like to see it and read his report first hand.
James sent me a video of Indie in action. His preliminary tests had his model scooting right smartly across a flat surface, forth and back again when he turned it around to show level. While it was dragging itself against friction on dry land (and could be suspect for all you unbelievers out there), I'm hoping he will get me a video of his next planned water tests, with a new cast latex drive wheel he's putting in, and hopefully more than one orbital, which will increase thrust by the amount of orbitals used.
James has done the water test in his kitchen sink to eliminate the unequal friction arguments, but little Indie moves so fast, he needs an olympic sized pool to really appreciate the power of matter in motion!
Little Indie shows the physics phenomenon of the inverse relationship of centrifugal force and radius. If you decrease the radius, you increase centrifugal force for a given mass velocity.
The rather steep angle on the race and the small orbit in relation to the orbital size also puts much more emphasis on the spin component of the system; if you've been following my updates, you'll know the thrust derives from the amount of the negative thrust you can "hide" in the spin accelerations, allowing the centrifugal force to win out over the two half circle reverse thrust components.
How nice that I've been taking my time with my own next GIT, since now I can shorten up my race and get a much more powerful thruster with the orbitals I'm building! I may have "lost" a lot of the "glory" in releasing my invention to the world early on, but my learning curve is going to be a BUNCH shorter as a result, and Mama Earth's GIT team will have us out into space in rather short order!
Also of concern with my next GIT (and any others for that matter) is the tensile strength of the race, and I've decided to go with a race built of fiberglass with lots of continuous circumferal strands of fiberglass as a result of a hard lesson won by A. H. Forge.
Just got your message at Hotmail, David.
Angle is 30 degrees from orbital mass axis.
Race angle is at 5 degrees from plane of orbital motion.
Orbital mass at 2.5kg, with a diameter of 75mm at the equatorial bulge.
Orbital ratio is at 3:1 and a diameter of 1 meter.
Initial startup cranking using used bicycle chain shifters.. hehehe
Power supply at 1/3 hp. blender motor driving a 2:1 pulley drive.
8 orbitals to the track.
Maximum rotation speed of the blender motor is approximately 800 rpm.
Orbital revolution was much closer to about 100rpm.
Drive type is friction, with a rubber surfaced drive disk in contact with orbital equitorial bulge.
Dual guides on both sides of the drive wheel hold the orbital equatorial bulge to the plane of travel.
I've since dismantled that old setup and trying a redesigned system using axial drive with split disks,
and individual slots for each orbital.
Hope the above information helps. : )
Have a good day!
Forge
=========================================
10 October 1997 -
Good Day David,
A note of WARNING! (Typing this with one hand bandaged.)
I put the friction drive prototype back together to test it with a 2hp 3phase induction motor, just to see how far it would go.
When the orbital revolution reached 400rpm, catastrophic vibrations built up in next to no time.
The test git disintegrated and I got clipped by one of the flying orbitals. Nothing serious, just busted knuckles.
I suspect that this was the result of a buildup in harmonic vibrations. I could be wrong, but perhaps git orbitals should be in prime numbers, with the rpm not being a multiple of the prime (at least in high velocities).
If anyone with much greater knowledge in physics could chip in and verify, I'd be very glad to wait for the feedback before commencing on rebuilding. I don't want to repeat this fiasco again.
(besides, can't machine much with one hand in a sling...)
Please forward this warning to the rest of the GIT team, David.
Sincerely,
Forge
Fair warning, if you want to push the limits of your own design, STAY OUT OF THE WAY or have a shield in place! Heavy orbitals at these speeds could be LETHAL!
Note of addition 10:30 pm 10 October - Mr. Forge wrote me with more details of his TTD experiment (Test To Destruction, any boy with toys knows that routine!), after reading the net post, with measurements taken before failure.
While he cautions me to "take the data with a handful of salt", the measurements indicate a phenomenon I hadn't figured on. While I originally thought the thrust would increase as the square of orbit velocity, I "thought about it" and back tracked to state that thrust would increase linearly with orbit rate.
While Mr. Forge measured only 5 Kg thrust at 100 opm (orbits per minute), he measured 20 kg/s at 150 opm, over 35 kg/s at 200 opm and vibrations were rather noticable, skewing the measurements.
Things were getting rather dicey after he passed the 200 opm rate, vibration getting worse at an accelerating rate, and his trackball measurement device may have been hard pressed to keep up.
He states that the highest measured thrust about 10 seconds before total GITastrophy was 250 KG! Of course the measurement is suspect with the tools he was working with, but the trend in acceleration force is rather clear to me, and that is more of a square relationship (maybe cubed?) rather than linear! COol! That means that real usable thrust is achievable with less motor power, and the main concern at this point becomes race strength.
Also of note from Mr. Forge's letter is that the aluminum conics he was using had become concave! VERY high forces come into play as orbit velocity increases, and material sciences will be hard pressed to help us extract a solidly average and everyday garage parked space ship. George Jetson is soon to be a regular guy!
Mr. Forge has given me permission to publish his hotmail address for those of you that would like to put questions to him directly (or congratulations and such would be well received I think also!), and is posted here in this update at noon, Saturday, 11 October.
The address is A. H. Forge < a_h_forge@hotmail.com > . Mr. Forge is trying to find a way to get me some pics for you in the near future, as an historic pioneer in this new science, I want you to see how the world is changed, and the people that do it!
To that effort I'm working on a Master GIT Builders page for each of Mama Earth's GIT team from around the world, hopefully on line (the beginnings anyway) by Sunday night.
HEY ALL YOU ALPHABET SOUP GUYS! Help us out here OK? Are you going to sit by and let us "regular folks" steal all the thunder? If you don't wake up and soon chime in with your contributions, you will, in fact, be a comedic example of "educated fools", showing one and all that those letters after your name are merely jewelry worn by vain and "ignernt" puff balls! This distributed laboratory idea of the internet is a real boon for us serious explorers, having the advantage of something akin to a "hive mind"; many individuals having input into a problem, where before the lone inventor would have to slog through failure after failure (remember the over 100 tries that Edison and his crew had to try before he could duplicate an invention that he overheard from the real inventor?) I LIKE IT! - DavidC
If you haven't already, do go back for my earlier updates, I've included information you'll need for your constructions, have links to other valuable sites, and other neat stuff! The OLD NEWS and NEXT UPDATE links are in order with the exception of the most recent update, which links to update 99, really just a place holder for code I can drop in easily as this documentation progresses. Update 99 OLD NEWS link drops you back to update 8, the beginnings of what I consider real news involving the GIT, and you can move up to the present from there.
3:10 pm Sunday 12 October 1997 - Geared Double Conic orbital modeled and added Monday morning, 13 October, 8:20 am
Stay Tuned!
* OLD NEWS * . NEXT UPDATE .^ TOP of Page ^ . * INDEX *