Humans could finally have found a way to defy Earth's gravity

Gravity is a key component to human life on Earth - but can this powerful force be defied?

One space company has shared how they've created a propellantless propulsion drive that defies the laws of physics to overcome Earth's gravity.

Here is everything you need to know about this research.

Who is behind the findings?

Exodus Propulsion Technologies is behind the technology, co-founded by NASA engineer (this work is not affiliated with the space agency or US government) Charles Buhler, who shared what this discovery means.

“The most important message to convey to the public is that a major discovery occurred,” Buhler told The Debrief. “This discovery of a New Force is fundamental in that electric fields alone can generate a sustainable force onto an object and allow center-of-mass translation of said object without expelling mass.”

Buhler has shared his research with the Alternative Propulsion Energy Conference (APEC), which gathers scientists, engineers, and innovators, where anti-gravity methods are discussed.

What was the breakthrough?

Buhler noted how electrostatics contributed to this discovery, speaking with APEC’s co-founder, Tim Ventur, who pointed out that Buhler is an expert in this field.

He previously was in charge of electrostatic discharge (ESD) and ESD safety for the Space Shuttle, the ISS, and Hubble, Dr. Buhler also established NASA’s Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center.

After researching propellantless propulsion ideas for two decades, the team turned to other methods before settling on electrostatics, and it surprised them that this approach would lead to progress as they tested different designs.

“Our materials are composed of many types of charge carrier coatings that have to be supported on a dielectric film,” Buhler told The Debrief. “Our aim is to make it as lightweight as possible, but that is sometimes difficult since the films and their coatings have to have a high dielectric breakdown strength.”

As results became more encouraging, the breakthrough ultimately came in 2023 when this “New Force” generated enough thrust to overcome Earth’s gravity.

“Essentially, what we’ve discovered is that systems that contain an asymmetry in either electrostatic pressure or some kind of electrostatic divergent field can give a system of a center of mass a non-zero force component,” Buhler told the same publication. “So, what that basically means is that there’s some underlying physics that can essentially place force on an object should those two constraints be met.”

A notable climb can be observed in the results between early 2022 and November 2023, progressing from one thousandth, one hundredth, one-tenth of gravity all the way up to one full Earth gravity.

Buhler shared with the publication how their current devices, which “weigh somewhere between 30-40 grams on their own” without the attached test equipment, were able to generate thrust powerful enough to counteract the full force of one Earth gravity.

Previous history

Buhler and his team aren't the first to try and defy gravity, as back in 2001, British Electrical Engineer Roger Shawyer attempted the same feat.

He introduced the "EmDrive" which was described as impossible due to his claim that the drive was reactionless with no propellant needed.

Of course, claiming to overcome the laws of physics will raise eyebrows, but hopes were raised in 2016 with NASA’s Eagleworks team purported to measure thrust from the “impossible” drive.

But alas, studies following this found no thrust.

Therefore, with Buhler's results, they will need to be confirmed through third-party research, which will carry out many more tests for verification purposes.

Elsewhere from indy100, IBS could actually be 'gravity intolerance', and Mysterious giant structures discovered beneath the surface of Mars.

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