Ionoplan is a device capable of levitating in the atomosphere through the directed movement of ions, which is achieved by inducing a potential difference of more than 20 kV to 1 megavolt.
This device consumes about 20-30 mlA, which practically does not create a magnetic field. The installation itself consists of three parts:
- high voltage power supply
- foil frame (caracas)
- A conductor is a thin wire placed above the carcass and lacking metallic connection with the device’s skarcass.
The phenomenon of the ionoplane levitation is based on a corona discharge in strong electric fields, which leads to ionization of atoms across the skeleton surfaces and, accordingly, to the movement of air. The required voltage between the electrodes is of the order of 1 kV per 1 mm of the air gap between the electrodes, that is, when the electric field strengths are slightly lower than the beginning of the electrical breakdown of the air gap. It is noteworthy that under this condition, the effective lifting force of an ionoplan is eight times higher than the lifting force of a helicopter at the same energy costs.
However, if a breakdown occurs between the electrodes, the levitation effect disappears. In detail, the physics of the process is as follows: near the thin electrode, ionization of air atoms occurs (oxygen in the case of a negative voltage on this contact, nitrogen in the case of a positive one). The resulting ions begin to move to the wide electrode in this case, to the skeleton of the planes, colliding with the molecules of the surrounding air and giving them part of their kinetic energy, or turning the molecules into ions ( impact ionization ), or simply transferring acceleration to them. The air flow from the thin electrode to the wide surfaces of the skeleton is enough to lift into the air a light flying model, which is called an ionoplane.