Electromagnetic Field Propulsion

or
How to Build a Flying Saucer
December 31, 1987
by Harold A. Lamkin
GEnie mail box : HAL-LAMKIN
BACKGROUND INFORMATION :
With most subjects, one just start describing the
subject. When one attempts to describe how to build a flying
saucer, he first supplies enough background information to
convince the public that he is not crazy. This situation is
frustrating. Your idea does not appear even in the wildest
proposals for spaceflight. Yet to have your idea evaluated
by independent sources, you might acquire the reputation of
a loony.
A case in point is the infamous Dean Drive. The
inventor used a drill motor and wheels for his device. The
written description which I read testified that it produced
a horizontal force on his kitchen floor. The impression I
received from this report is that the machine vibrated
across the floor. The inventor did choose where the machine
operated. The inventor would not let anyone else work on his
vaguely worded patent. I do not think he wanted the public
to find out that it did not work. In any event a Dr. Dean
was convinced the single event was real. He tried to invent
new physics to explain the event. He obtained a very
unfavorable reputation in the process.
The engine described in this article is far different
from the Dean Drive. No new physics is required. In fact,
the physics is straight out of a physics text book. The
basic unit is like a particle accelerator, not a drill
motor. The basic principles are electromagnetic, not
mechanical. Most important, I want others to work on and to
test this engine even if I forfeit patent rights in the
process.
The common point for both systems is the subject
matter. They attempt to turn energy into linear motion. No
reaction mass (a rocket) is required. Any device in this
category will raise critical eyebrows. I have nightmares
that the "Lamkin Drive" will be held up as a point of
ridicule. I made every attempt to make this article a

Page 1

conservative, scholarly work. I hope the public will view it

as a noteworthy first step.
The basic idea occurred to me when attending a physics
class on electrical theory. The professor was busy filling
the blackboard with equations. The students were busy
copying them down. The subject was on page 744 of the text
("Physics" volume 2 by Paul Tipler, Worth Publishers). Under
some very specialized conditions one electron in motion can
exert a force on another electron in motion without any
force exerted on the first electron. The professor said that
the whole system will move. I raised my hand to stop this
mad flow of mathematics. I asked "You mean the system
containing both electrons will move?" He verbally answered,
"Well, yes." His facial expression contained surprise that I
had interrupted the class with such a trivial question. My
grade was only a "B," but I got far more out of that class
than any other student. I found out how to build a flying
saucer. In fact, I drew a saucer spaceship around the force
diagram in the text.
The physical situation is an unbalanced physical force
which does not violate any physical law. The physics needed
to describe this situation has been known for a hundred
years. Momentum is conserved. The momentum in the line of
motion is balanced by the momentum carried off by
electromagnetic radiation in the opposite direction. Yet,
this unbalanced physical force is the stuff that rocket type
propulsion systems are made of. Electrical energy can cause
physical motion even in the vacuum of space.
This article includes enough general discussion to be
of interest to the general reader. It also incudes enough
mathematics to prove the point. The math uses calculus and
vectors. If you are not mathematically inclined, just skip
over the math notations. Even though my chosen field is not
physics, I think the math is correct. I would like to hear
from anyone who can advance, correct, or physically test
this propulsion system.
THE SUBJECT MATTER :
The Subject matter is not whether or not flying saucers
exist. The saucer shape is not forced onto a spacecraft. The
source of electrical energy is not discussed. This article
is how a propulsion system exerts a physical force. It is
not even the design of a system which could lift itself off
the ground.
THE SYSTEM :
One electron can exert a physical force on another
electron without a reciprocal action in one very specialized
Page 2

situation. The electrons' motion must be perpendicular with

respect to each other. Consider the following diagram. The
two arrows are the path of two electrons in motion. The "d"
stands for differential. It can be considered as a small
distance. The length of l2, that is its distance traveled,
can be of any length. This is not the case for l1. The
motion of electron 1 must be restricted to the infinitesimal
distance where the perpendiculars would meet if l2 was
extended downward.
^
/ \
|
|
|
->
d l
1

->
d l
2

<-Figure 1

( CENTER ARROWS ARE PERPENDICULAR ELECTRON PATHS )

Consider two situations. Use the right hand rule (if you
know it) to determine the magnetic lines of force of l1. For
the second situation, do the same thing for l2. You may want
to use "arrow notations" on two separate diagrams. Assume an
arrow is shot in the direction of the line of force. If the
line of force goes into the paper, the feathers will leave
an "X." Mark an "X" for these lines. When an arrow comes out
of the paper, the first thing you see is a point or "."
Keep in mind that a force on one electron is only
exerted when it crosses the lines of force created by
another electron. Consider the lines of force created by l1
as indicated below.
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

^
/ \
|
|
|

->
d l
2

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

Figure 2
LINES OF FORCE CREATED BY l1

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

Page 3

Electron 2 definitely cuts through the lines of force

created by electron 1. This force by electron 1 on electron
2 is denoted by the symbol F12.
Now consider the lines of force created by l2. They are
in a circle around l1 as indicated. Keep in mind that l1 is
very short.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

->
d l
1

X
X
X
<-- X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

Figure 3
LINES OF FORCE CREATED BY l2
The electron 1 is inside the cylindrical lines of force
created by l2. Electron 1 does not cross any lines of force
because it is only at the zero point. The force by electron
2 on electron 1 is zero or F21 = 0. The electrons are still
in motion. As such, an electromagnetic pulse is generated.
The force F12 is in the direction of l1, or to the
left. The force F21 is zero. The energy which is not used in
F21 is left to generate electromagnetic radiation. Note that
the electron motion is not in a circuit. If the circuit is a
completed circle, the forces would cancel out. An unequal
force is only created with current segments such as those
created by a particle accelerator.
MATHEMATICAL PROOF :
If you are not into math, just skip this section. The
forces F12 and F21 can be calculated. The two basic physical
equations are as follows :
Equation #1
->
MAGNETIC FORCE = dF = I

Equation #2

->
d l

->
B

->

BIOT-SAVART

->
= dB = K
m

( I dl X r )
---------------( r r )

where K = 0.0000001 Newtons per Amp squared

m

Page 4

A Newton is the force required to accelerate one kilogram

one meter per second squared. It is equal to .2248 lbs. By
substitution the force of one current upon another is found.
Equation #3
->
d F12 = I2 dl X

->
^
( I1 dl X r )
K --------------m
( r r )

If it were not so hard to type equations which can be

sent over a modem, I would step by step derive the values of
F12 and F21. The main idea is just to know when the cross
product is zero and when not. It just follows the above
logic. The results are :
Equation #4.a
dF12 =

->
I1 I2 (0.0000001) d l2
---------------------------( r r)

->
d l1

Equation #4.b
dF21 = 0
THE MACHINE :
The trick is to devise a machine which uses the above
principle. The force F12 is like one half cycle on a gas
engine. The cycle must be repeated many times. What will
such an engine look like?
The lines of magnetic force generated by l1 are the
necessary ones. The electron 2 must cross these lines.
Visualize this situation. The lines of force of l1 are like
cylinders around l1. Electron 2 can travel any radius away
from l1. If any radius will do, why not use all radii. This

means that the propulsion unit is a disk with l1 at the

center. The first principle of designing the engine is that
the unit is in the form of a disk.
The next obvious observation is that electrons which do
not complete a circuit can not constantly travel in one
direction. Electrons would pile up in one spot. This leads
to the question, "What happens when the currents in l1 and
l2 are reversed simultaneously?" The answer is that another
force is created which has the same direction as the first
force because the direction of the lines of force are
reversed. The second principle of design is that currents in

Page 5

l1 and l2 are constantly reversing. This is the cycle of the

engine.
What kind of material will carry the currents l1 and
l2? This is more of an engineering problem and no small one
at that. If the concepts presented here are valid, I
visualize crystalline structure which does not offer any
resistance in the directions of l1 and l2. The new high
temperature superconductive materials might have this
quality. However, for experimental purposes a vacuum will
do. The electrons can bounce back and forth in a sort of
magnetic bottle.
THE FORCE :
Now that we have some idea of what the engine looks
like and how it works, the next question is "How much force
does it produce?" I do not see any reason to have different
current levels in l1 and l2. Because we want to know how
much force per amp of current, let I1 and I2 each equal one
amp in the last equation (equation #4.a) which determines
the force F12. Additionally move dl1 to the left side of the
equation. With the units of measure included in the
equation, the results are :
Equation #5
dF12
F = ----d l1

( 1 A A) (0.0000001 N/(A A))

-----------------------------r r

->
d l2

This equation only gives the force along one radius outward
from l1. Use cylindrical coordinates to integrate the right
side of the equation ( excuse the way the integration sign

looks).
Equation #6
/2||
F =

|
/o

/r

0.0000001
----------r r

|
/o

->
d l2 da

where a = the theta coordinate angle

If r, the distance between electrons is constant, the result
in Newtons per one Amp is :
Equation #7
__
F = 2|| (0.0000001)

Page 6

This is the equation for force for one pulse of current. In

the actual engine the current is alternating. Because time
is required to accelerate electrons, alternating current is
less than the maximum direct current. The equation from the
books state that
Equation #8
I
(average)

= .5 I
(maximum)

therefore
Equation #8
F

__
= 0.0000001 ||

= 0.00000031415927 Newtons

This is probably a conservative reduction for the

alternating nature of the current. The electrons would not
have to stop at the end of l1. Slow speed electrons could
travel beyond the length limit of l1. Then l1 would just
contain the high speed electrons. Further, the acceleration
of electrons would not have to have the same sin wave
pattern of alternating current. Even so, we will consider
the last equation as the force per amp per one half of a
cycle.

This is not a very large force. But we are not through

with the basic operations of the engine. Two other aspects
must be considered.
The first is the number of cycles per second. If the
number of cycles is 10 to the power of 7, then the force per
amp is more respectable. This frequency is also in the high
visible light range (actually a little higher). The curious
side effect is the electromagnetic radiation produced. As
previously stated, radiation carries away momentum on one
side of the force diagram which makes the system move in the
other direction. If the cycles are in the visible light
range, then the engine will glow like a light bulb. This is
not just a side effect. If it doesn't glow, it doesn't go.
The second consideration is the quantity F = dF12/dl1.
This is the force per small length of l1. This length is
restricted to the area where there are no lines of force
produced by l2. If the lines from l2 are contorted to leave
a bigger gap, then the length of l1 could be increased.
Force per cycle should increase. There is only one problem.
I do not have any clear idea on how to do it. It does
appears possible.

Page 7

With these considerations it should be possible for 100

amp currents to lift 70 lbs. This should be enough at least
for some space based orbit keeping functions.
SIMILARITIES TO OBSERVED FLING SAUCERS :
Even if this article does not comment on flying
saucers, I must note the similarities between the engine
just described and the better flying saucer observations. I
should also note that many observations do not correlate to
the behavior of this engine.
(1) Soil samples of some reported landing sites show traces
of high radiation treatment. Reportedly a Dr. Zellar from
the University of Kansas did the test (From the book In
Search of Extraterrestrials by Alan Landsburg). Dr. Zellar
did not believe in saucers. The described engine should have
the same effect.
(2) The reported saucers landings left deep depressions
where the landing legs had rested. Reportedly saucers are
heavy. The engine described in this article will most likely
be heavy.

(3) Electrical current in old, mechanical ignition system

cars do not work around saucers. The engine in this article
would probably disrupt nearby electrical equipment because
of the strong alternating magnetic properties. In fact, it
would probably zap a computer chip or destroy a modern auto
ignition system with IC chips (I can't wait to see if
someone destroys their car just to claim extra terrestrial
contact).
(4) People around the reported saucer do not have the
ability to move. They are frozen just as if an electric
current was applied to all areas of their body. The safety
effects of the described engine should not be ignored. I
will not build this engine in my basement even if I had the
equipment to do so. I expect that the alternating magnet
will disrupt the nervous system which also uses electrical
charges between nerve cells. In extreme cases it could stop
the heart.
(5) Flying saucers are lens shaped. The optimal shape for
the described engine is also lens shaped. The l1 direction
is the short central thickness. The l2 direction is the
radius. The more efficient engines will have a longer l1
(thickness). Even with the longest l1 direction, the overall
shape will be like a lens. The force is in the direction of
l1. The flat, disk side faces Earth.
(6) As saucer speed increases the light emitted is in the
higher frequency spectra. The described engine increases its
force as frequency increases.
WHAT DO I WANT :
If I could ignore the slings and arrows of reality, I
would like two basic commodities -- fame and fortune. I
Page 8

would like to be known as the inventor of the one practical

space craft. I also like money. Because reality will not
tolerate my greed, I must make much more modest request.
Above all else I want this engine evaluated and promoted. I
would like to see physical tests and working models.
Everyone should feel free, and encouraged, to work on this
model. I do request to be informed of the results. I await
your comments.

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