One thing that stands out is Henry Wallace. It would seem that he didn't provide complete information in his patents...but the concept caught the eye of the DoD, and they spent some time researching it as well.
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/weird/wallc/wallct.txt
Quote:
New Scientist, 14 February 1980, Patents Review
This article is one of the only references to Wallace's work anywhere
in the literature. The article provides a brief summary of his
invention and ends with this intriguing paragraph. "Although the
Wallace patents were initially ignored as cranky, observers believe
that his invention is now under serious but secret investigation by
the military authorities in the US. The military may now regret that
the patents have already been granted and so are available for anyone
to read."
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That was written in 1980 by a somewhat respected, albeit somewhat "pulpy" science magazine. New Scientist is not known for making broad, crankpot assertions.
Then, in 1990, Dennis Cravens of Science Applications International Corp filed a report with Edwards AFB (yes, thats right, EDWARDS AFB) entitled, "Electric Propulsion Study" (i cannot find the actual report right now...i am still searching and would be appreciative if anyone in the audience would let me know if they find it...look for AL-TR-89-040. there are many references to it, but no actual report yet. Also, it is reported that it is registered under DTIC as ad-a227121 but i cannot find it there, either). Dennis Cravens summary is something along the lines of:
Quote:
"The
patents are written in a very believable style which include part
numbers, sources for some components, and diagrams of data. Attempts
were made to contact Wallace using patent addresses and other sources
but he was not located nor is there a trace of what became of his work.
The concept can be somewhat justified on general relativistic grounds
since rotating frames of time varying fields are expected to emit
gravitational waves."
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Perhaps Wallace's work, and mimicry of results achieved by others such as Brown, Carr, and Searle, is what had caught the eye of the DoD. Whether you believe the aforementioned individuals to be cranks or not, the underlying theme behind their claims has a sort of sameness that demands further investigation.
Now, having shown that the science behind the matter is feasible (and had the attention of our DoD, as well as NASA), i would like to point your attention to the fact that we have the technology to pull it off. The anecdotes state that she was able to levitate a bowling ball above her superconducting disk (i would LOVE to have video of that). That would intimate that the technology is available.
Besides, i have a friend that is very, very well attuned to the field of materials science, specifically nano's. I can assure you that we have the technology from a superconductor standpoint. I could likely post some level of proof on this, but i literally have hundreds of emails covering different nanotechnological patents, and finding what i am looking for can be difficult.
Remember, even a 2% loss in relative weight would yield HUGE financial impacts, especially when considered alongside the DoD "Heavy Lift" program.