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#1
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
AvWeb reported today that a patent has been issued for an anti-gravity space
ship. At first I thought it was a joke, but a little Googling came up with this: (Sorry for the bizarre formatting): ************************************************** USPTO issues anti-gravity patent US 6,960,975 titled "Space vehicle propelled by the pressure of inflationary vacuum state," has a first claim A space vehicle propelled by the pressure of inflationary vacuum state is claimed comprising: a hollow superconductive shield, an inner shield, the inner shield disposed inside said hollow superconductive shield, said inner shield comprising an upper shell and a lower shell, a support structure, the support structure disposed between said hollow superconductive shield and said inner shield concentrically to said hollow superconductive shield, said support structure comprised of an upper rotating element and a lower rotating element, upper means for generating an electromagnetic field, the upper means for generating an electromagnetic field disposed between said hollow superconductive shield and said upper shell, affixed to said upper rotating element at an electromagnetic field-penetrable distance to said hollow superconductive shield, lower means for generating an electromagnetic field, the lower means for generating an electromagnetic field disposed between said hollow superconductive shield and said lower shell, affixed to said lower rotating element at an electromagnetic field-penetrable distance to said hollow superconductive shield, electric motors, the electric motors disposed inside said hollow superconductive shield along the central axis of said hollow superconductive shield, a power source, the power source disposed inside said hollow superconductive shield, said power source electrically connected with said upper means for generating an electromagnetic field, said lower means for generating an electromagnetic field, and said electric motors, life-support equipment, the life-support equipment disposed inside said inner shield, a flux modulation controller, the flux modulation controller disposed inside said inner shield, said flux modulation controller in communication with said upper means for generating an electromagnetic field, said lower means for generating an electromagnetic field, said power source, and said electric motors, and a crew, the crew disposed inside said inner shield accessibly to said life-support and said flux modulation controller. The patent derives from a continuation application: This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/633,778 filed on Aug. 4, 2003, now abandoned. The journal Nature and Robert Park have criticized the patent. Park notes it effectively is a patent on a perpetual motion machine. More specifically, Park writes: It uses a Podkletnov rotating superconducting gravity shield to "change the curvature of space-time." Of course, he does not mention the forbidden words "perpetual motion." The patent office rejects patent applications that use those words under the 1985 ruling in Newman v Quigg. These days you have to call it "zero-point energy." Ironically, the patent was issued shortly after arbitration required the Patent Office to reinstate Tom Valone, who lost his job in the fallout from the 1999 Conference on Free Energy. ***from National Geographic -- Robert Park, a consultant with the American Physical Society in Washington, D.C., warns that such dubious patents aren't limited to the antigravity concept. "I might hear a complaint about a particular patent, and then I look into it," he explained. "More often than not it's a screwball patent. It's an old problem, but it has gotten worse in the last few years. The workload of the patent office has gone up enormously." Some people might consider patents on unworkable products to be relatively harmless. Park, a physics professor at the University of Maryland at College Park, disagrees. [LBE note: I have discussed some of the issues with the position of Bob Park and David Voss in Intellectual Property Today. Many of the physicists who complain about cold fusion publications were virtually silent about the publication of fraudulent work by Jan-Hendrik Schon.] "The problem, of course, it that this deceives a lot of investors," he said. "You can't go out and find investors for a new invention until you can come up with a patent to show that if you put all this money into a concept, somebody else can't steal the idea. [Query: if the idea were truly fraudulent, who would want to steal it, and who could possibly infringe patent claims on something that does not exist?] "[Approving these kind of patents can] make it easier for scam artists to con people if they can get patents for screwball ideas." But despite their best efforts, mistakes are inevitable and patents may be granted to unworkable ideas. Some 5,000 examiners must currently handle a load of 350,000 applications per year. **************************************** Just when you think it can't get more bizarre... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#2
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:13:02 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote in OX0ef.332265$084.204428@attbi_s22:: AvWeb reported today that a patent has been issued for an anti-gravity space ship. Thanks for the report. The full text of patent number 6,960,975 is available he http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...5&RS=6,960,975 **************************************** Just when you think it can't get more bizarre... Ironically, the "invention" seems to have been granted to one of your neighbors: Boris Volfson 5707 W. Maple Grove Rd., Apt. 3046 Huntington, IN 46750 Maybe it something in the water. :-) |
#3
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
Actually, Jay is in Iowa, and the "inventor" is in Indiana, so they're
not really neighbors, but I suppose they could be depending on how much this invention warps space-time around itself... |
#4
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
Jay Honeck wrote:
Just when you think it can't get more bizarre... Bizarre? How can you *know* that such a vehicle cannot exist? Can the so-called scientists prove it? What, if HE just decided to "create" such a vehicle? I think, this should be taught as a possibility in school! Stefan |
#5
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
Bizarre? How can you *know* that such a vehicle cannot exist? Can the
so-called scientists prove it? What, if HE just decided to "create" such a vehicle? I think, this should be taught as a possibility in school! Dr. Sagan, you MUST stop masquerading online as this Stefan fellow... |
#6
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
Larry Dighera wrote:
Ironically, the "invention" seems to have been granted to one of your neighbors: You have a peculiar idea of what constitutes a neighbor. Jay lives about 435 miles away from that guy. George Patterson Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor. It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him. |
#7
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
"Wiz" wrote in message ups.com... Actually, Jay is in Iowa, and the "inventor" is in Indiana, so they're not really neighbors, but I suppose they could be depending on how much this invention warps space-time around itself... I'm in the neighborhood and haven't came up with any spacetime warping machines, guess I need to quit drinking bottled water. ------------------------------------ DW |
#8
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
wrote in message ups.com... Bizarre? How can you *know* that such a vehicle cannot exist? Can the so-called scientists prove it? What, if HE just decided to "create" such a vehicle? I think, this should be taught as a possibility in school! Dr. Sagan, you MUST stop masquerading online as this Stefan fellow... I don't think you have to worry about Carl Sagan posting anything on Usenet or anywhere for that matter.... ---------------------------------- DW |
#9
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
I don't think you have to worry about Carl Sagan posting anything on Usenet
or anywhere for that matter... You're right DW, maybe Stephen Hawking would have been more apropos? |
#10
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An anti-gravity space vehicle?
Its actually quite easy to patent anything you want. I'm required to
produce 1 patent per year in my work in RND. Some years I've not had too many good ideas. However, a good attorney can make just about any patent happen. I'd say it has MUCH more to do with the quality of the attorney than the quality of the invension. Also, remember that once you see the patent on-line, its been in the system for about 5 years (so it may be old). The true test of the patent is not whether the attorney is able to get it past the examiner, but whether it holds up in court if challenged. If this guy really did patent a 2x4 (as the saying goes) then it up be up to the courts to test it if, indeed, he tries to exercise his patent to prevent someone else from doing something. I'm probaly a bit negative but in my opinion, today, patents are really used as amo in IP lawsuites. It's a game of which company can throw more patents at the wall. I've consulted on both sides of such lawsuits and always find its much more a game of trying to find a way to get rid of competitors than actually protecting true IP, although not always. BTW: If the patent holder loses in court just once, the patent is null and void for everyone. Its a risk not all patent holders are actually willing to take. -Robert |
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