Biefeld-Brown, ion-wind, and electrogravitic propulsion research encompasses nearly a century of attempts to turn electric fields into useful motion. This catalog highlights 40 notable patents, device designs, and experiments, bringing together Townsend Brown’s early work, atmospheric ion-propulsion systems, asymmetric capacitors, and contemporary electric-field propulsion proposals. Each entry identifies the people involved, relevant dates, the device’s basic architecture, and links to patents or original sources.

Categorizing Biefeld-Brown, Ion-Wind & Electrogravitic Designs

These devices are all characterized by the use of high-voltage electricity and shaped electrode geometries intended to engineer electric fields: changing electrode shapes, introducing unequal electrode areas, arranging different dielectric materials, shaping field gradients, and varying electrical excitation. These approaches recur across designs whose inventors sometimes offer substantially different explanations for the forces they expect to produce. Comparing the hardware provides a way to investigate that history without assuming that every device operates through the same mechanism.

An important distinction runs through the catalog. Ion-wind devices transfer momentum to surrounding air, while other proposals seek propulsion from insulated capacitors, solid dielectrics, or more complex electrical assemblies. Related electrokinetic transducers and generators are included where they illuminate the development of the underlying technology. Purely mechanical and inertial propulsion proposals are excluded; electrically driven systems with moving components are retained where the proposed force mechanism depends on electric-field interactions.

This is a curated historical selection, not an inventory of every homemade lifter or individual replication. Some entries represent successive patents within a research program, while others document a later prototype or an independent attempt to reproduce an earlier design.

40 Notable Patents, Designs & Experiments

In the list below, dates generally identify the cited patent’s publication or grant year, a documented experiment, or an approximate development period—not necessarily the original invention date. Published applications are identified separately from granted patents. The descriptions summarize the disclosed designs and their intended operation; a patent is not, by itself, independent verification of propulsion performance.

1. Gravitator / Method and Apparatus for Producing Force or Motion (1928) — Inventor: Thomas Townsend Brown. An early electrically stressed assembly of conductive plates and insulating material, associated with Brown’s proposed directional-force effect. This is the earliest patent in the catalog. Patent: GB300311A.
2. Electrostatic Motor (1934) — Inventor: Thomas Townsend Brown. Electrode and dielectric arrangements intended to produce motion under electrical excitation, including rotary configurations. Brown’s description emphasizes the distribution and mass of dielectric material as factors in the proposed force-producing system. Patent: US1974483A.
3. Electrokinetic Apparatus (1960) — Inventor: Thomas Townsend Brown. High-voltage arrangements combining a relatively small electrode with a larger electrode or body. The specification discusses accelerated ions and interaction with a surrounding dielectric medium, making this an important connection between Brown’s work and atmospheric electrohydrodynamic propulsion. Patent: US2949550A.
4. Electrical Thrust Producing Device (1960) — Inventor: Agnew H. Bahnson Jr. Unequal, shaped electrodes mounted on an insulating support, with intermediate elements intended to modify the electric-field distribution. The design makes field shaping an explicit part of the proposed thrust-producing architecture. Patent: US2958790A.
5. Cosmic Flight Machine (1961) — Inventor: Marcel-Jean-Joseph Pagès, also rendered Pages. A historical electric-propulsion proposal cataloged under electromagnetic-field propulsion without mass expulsion. The accessible patent record establishes the title, inventor, and date, but does not provide a detailed apparatus description; its precise relationship to asymmetric-capacitor designs remains an archival question. Patent: FR1253902A.
6. Electrokinetic Transducer (1962) — Inventor: Thomas Townsend Brown. Groups of shaped electrodes interacting with a dielectric medium, intended to support conversion between electrical and mechanical energy. Included as a related development in Brown’s electrokinetic research rather than simply another aircraft-thruster configuration. Patent: US3018394A.
7. Electrokinetic Generator (1962) — Inventor: Thomas Townsend Brown. An electrical-generation application involving a moving stream and electrode arrangement. Although not a standalone propulsion device, it documents another application of Brown’s electrokinetic concepts and helps place his propulsion work within a broader engineering program. Patent: US3022430A.
8. Ionized Boundary Layer Fluid Pumping System (1963) — Inventor: Gilman A. Hill. Charged particles and successive electric-field regions are used to accelerate fluid along surfaces. The proposed applications include pumping, aerodynamic control, and vehicle support, placing the design within the ion-wind and electrohydrodynamic branch. Patent: US3095163A.
9. Flying Apparatus (1964) — Inventor: Glenn E. Hagen. An atmospheric aircraft concept using high-voltage emitting elements and collecting grids to accelerate ions and transfer momentum to surrounding air. The patent combines the electrical propulsion arrangement with an aircraft structure intended to develop lift. Patent: US3120363A.
10. Ionocraft (1964) — Inventor: Alexander P. de Seversky. High-voltage emitters and collector grids accelerate atmospheric ions, which transfer momentum to neutral air molecules. The design represents an explicitly atmospheric ion-wind approach to electrically generated lift and propulsion. Patent: US3130945A.
11. Flying Body with Electrostatic Propulsion (1964) — Inventors: Erich Halik and Hans-Werner von Engel. A flying-body concept that uses charged-particle emission and electrostatic generators to establish charge distributions and interact with natural or artificial electric fields. The related publications describe several possible vehicle shapes and arrangements. Patent family: AT236800B, GB1061733A, and DE1406416A1.
12. Electrokinetic Apparatus / Sphere-and-Toroid Configurations (1965) — Inventor: Thomas Townsend Brown. Electrode and dielectric geometries designed to create nonuniform electric fields, including a sphere positioned relative to a toroidal electrode. This patent provides a particularly useful architectural comparison with later field-gradient experiments. Patent: US3187206A.
13. Electrical Thrust Producing Device / Combined AC–DC Excitation (1965) — Inventor: Agnew H. Bahnson Jr. A development applying direct voltage to some electrodes and alternating voltage to others. The specification attributes the intended thrust enhancement to increased ion production and acceleration through the surrounding medium. Patent: US3223038A.
14. Electrical Thrust Producing Device / Auxiliary-Electrode Configuration (1966) — Inventor: Agnew H. Bahnson Jr. A further arrangement of main and auxiliary electrodes mounted on an insulating support. It extends Bahnson’s investigation of how additional electrodes and their electrical potentials could alter the proposed thrust-producing field. Patent: US3227901A.
15. Electrical Thrust Producing Device with Steering (1966) — Inventor: Agnew H. Bahnson Jr. A related configuration using multiple auxiliary electrodes around the device’s longitudinal axis. Selectively energizing those electrodes is intended to create an asymmetric thrust distribution and a steering or canting action. Patent: US3263102A.
16. Quasi-Corona-Aerodynamic Vehicle (1969) — Inventor: Ernest C. Okress. A pulsed electroaerodynamic vehicle concept using brief, high-voltage discharge conditions to accelerate charged particles and transfer momentum to surrounding gas. Its emphasis on electrical timing distinguishes it from continuously energized ion-wind arrangements. Patent: US3464207A.
17. Dipolar Force Field Propulsion System (1987) — Inventor: James E. Cox. A proposal involving electric and magnetic fields acting on dipolar matter to produce propulsion. This is a related electromagnetic approach rather than a conventional stationary asymmetric capacitor. Cox’s later patent develops a corresponding dipole-acceleration method. Patents: US4663932A and US4891600A.
18. Isolated Electrostatic Propulsion System / Lafforgue Thruster (1991) — Inventor: Jean-Claude Lafforgue. Shaped conductive elements and dielectric arrangements intended to produce a resultant electrostatic force within an isolated assembly. Filed in 1989 and published in 1991, the application later became a source for independent construction and analysis. Patent publication: FR2651388A1.
19. Electrick Rocket (1991) — Inventor: Tom Kennedy. A capacitor-array propulsion proposal referenced in the independent experimental literature. Naudin’s archived source list identifies an original Kennedy document dated August 1991, but a corresponding patent and a sufficiently complete original technical record have not been established for this catalog. Patent: Not verified. Source: Contemporary reference list.
20. T-Shaped Capacitor (1990s–2000s) — Inventor: Alexander “Alex” Frolov. An asymmetric electrode-and-dielectric arrangement using a dielectric barrier to shape the field between conductive elements. Frolov dates related laboratory work to 1994 and identifies a subsequent Russian filing. Related application: No. 2004105178, filed February 20, 2004, as reported in his publication register; no grant is established here. Faraday
21. Frolov’s Hat / ELG-Hat Experiment (2000) — Originating concept: Alexander Frolov; experimental adaptation: Jean-Louis Naudin. A central disk and surrounding annular electrode are separated by a vertical dielectric wall, creating an asymmetric field arrangement. Naudin documented the apparatus in May 2000. Patent: No separate Hat patent verified. Source: Naudin’s ELG-Hat experiment.
22. Asymmetrical Capacitor Thruster / Two-Dimensional Module (2001) — Inventor: Jonathan W. Campbell. A NASA-associated capacitor module combining a cylindrical conductive element with a smaller, axially displaced electrode and dielectric separation. The patent proposes generating thrust by applying a sufficiently high voltage across the assembly. Patent: US6317310B1.
23. Asymmetrical Capacitor Thruster / Modified Module (2002) — Inventor: Jonathan W. Campbell. A related NASA design addressing the construction of the asymmetric-capacitor module through changes in electrode geometry and dielectric support. It forms part of the same development sequence as Campbell’s earlier thrust-generating capacitor. Patent: US6411493B2.
24. Lafforgue Field Propulsion Thruster Replication (2002) — Researchers: Jean-Louis Naudin, with accompanying analytical work involving Mike Ady. Naudin constructed and tested a configuration based on Figure 7 of Lafforgue’s patent. This entry records a later replication, not a separate invention by Lafforgue in 2002. Underlying patent publication: FR2651388A1. Sources: JLN Labs experiment and Naudin–Ady analysis.
25. Serrano Field Effect / Electric-Field Propulsion Device (2002) — Inventor: Hector L. Serrano, associated with Gravitec. A propulsion concept built from electrode-and-dielectric cells, with arrangements intended to shape the electrical fields and combine the effects of multiple units. The patent places the proposal within the earlier electric-field propulsion literature. Patent: US6492784B1.
26. Dual-Dielectric Cylindrical Thruster (2003) — Designer: Zoltan Losonc; builder and tester: Steven Dufresne. Concentric electrodes separated by two solid dielectric regions selected to introduce material and field asymmetry. Dufresne’s construction record reports a null result. Patent: No matching patent verified; Bates’s later GB2467114A discusses Losonc’s work. Source: Rimstar experimental record.
27. Cylindrical Asymmetrical Capacitor Devices for Space Applications (2004) — Inventor: Jonathan W. Campbell. A further NASA development incorporating asymmetric electrodes, dielectric structures, and configurations with a shroud and supplied gas for operation outside an atmosphere. The supplied gas provides a working medium, distinguishing these embodiments from strictly self-contained propulsion proposals. Patent: US6775123B1.
28. High-Voltage Capacitor Movement Experiments (2004) — Researcher: Doyle R. Buehler. An experimental investigation of apparent forces on high-voltage capacitor arrangements. The published paper reports observations, preliminary analysis, and comparisons with an ionic lifting grid, while acknowledging that a complete explanation had not been established. Patent: Not verified. Source: Exploratory Research on the Phenomenon of the Movement of High Voltage Capacitors.
29. Asymmetric Wavy Capacitor with Zero-Potential Casing (2005) — Inventor: Athanassios Nassikas, listed in the patent record as Athanasios Nasikas. Wavy and flat conductive elements arranged asymmetrically within a strong insulating dielectric and surrounded by a conductive casing. The application also considers arrangements of multiple capacitor elements. Patent publication: WO2005122384A1.
30. Field Converter for Thrust Generation (2005–2006) — Inventors: Douglas G. Torr, José G. Vargas, and Michael H. Graff. Proposed thrust-generating cells combining electrodes with materials selected for their dielectric and density properties. The related U.S. application appeared in 2005, followed by the international publication in 2006. Patent publications: US20050099761A1 and WO2006033817A2.
31. Dynamical Biefeld–Brown Capacitor Experiments (2008) — Researcher and theorist: Takaaki Musha; underlying experiments: a Honda R&D research group, as described in Musha’s paper. The publication examines reported capacitor weight changes under alternating electric fields and proposes a zero-point-field interpretation. Patent: Not verified. Source: Explanation of Dynamical Biefeld-Brown Effect from the Standpoint of ZPF Field.
32. Reactionless Electric-Field Thruster (2010) — Inventor: Terence Bates. Concentric cylindrical or spherical capacitor arrangements containing dissimilar dielectric regions. Bates proposes combining multiple elements into a compact thruster and explicitly discusses earlier work, including Lafforgue’s patent and Losonc’s analyses. Patent publication: GB2467114A.
33. Static Displacement Field Drive (2010s) — Inventor: Richard Banduric. Rotating and stationary charged structures, including disk configurations, intended to produce an interaction between complex and static electric fields. Although the apparatus contains moving components, its proposed propulsion mechanism is electromagnetic rather than a conventional inertial-drive mechanism. Relevant patents: US9337752B2 and US10027257B2.
34. Field Propulsion / Complex Electric-Field Patent Family (2016–2020) — Inventor: Richard Banduric. The broader development program encompassing the preceding drive and later configurations using conduction currents and magnetic materials. This entry tracks the expansion of the patent family rather than treating every version as the same rotating-disk apparatus. Patents: US9337752B2, US10084395B2, US10320312B2, and US10855210B2.
35. Electromagnetic Segmented-Capacitor Propulsion System (2018) — Inventor: James Wayne Purvis. A segmented capacitor combined with rotating and electromagnetic components, intended to produce propulsion through coordinated electric and magnetic fields. It represents a related capacitive-electromagnetic branch rather than a simple static asymmetric capacitor. Patent: US10006446B2.
36. Thruster Device / Internal Charged-Particle Acceleration (2021) — Inventors: Frank M. Becker and Ankur Bhatt. An apparatus using internal electrodes and charged-particle acceleration to generate a proposed force on the device. The patent is associated with the researchers’ broader capacitor and electrical-discharge propulsion investigations. Patent: US11187213B2.
37. Asymmetrical Electrostatic Pressure Propulsion System (2022) — Inventors: Andrew Neil Aurigema and Charles Raymond Buhler IV. Charged surfaces and electric-field distributions arranged so that the inventors propose a nonzero resultant force from electrostatic pressure. This is the principal granted patent associated with the Exodus research discussed below. Patent: US11511891B2. Earlier application publication: US20200255167A1.
38. IVO Quantum Drive / Thrust Production via Quantized Inertia (2020s) — Patent inventor: Richard Marion Mansell; associated theoretical collaboration: Mike McCulloch. IVO’s electric-propulsion program is associated with quantized-inertia interpretations. Mansell’s published applications disclose multilayer conductive and dielectric structures intended to accelerate electrons and produce thrust. Patent applications: US20230208321A1, WO2023122673A1, and US20250211136A1.
39. Exodus Electrostatic Thruster Prototypes and Later Applications (2020s) — Inventors and developers: Charles Raymond Buhler IV, Andrew Neil Aurigema, and collaborators. Experimental configurations associated with asymmetric-electrostatic-pressure propulsion. This entry follows the development program beyond its principal grant; individual prototypes should not be assumed to correspond one-to-one with separate patents. Relevant patent and applications: US11511891B2, US20230121805A1, and US20240011469A1.
40. Pulsed E-Field Propulsion System (2024) — Inventor: James Wayne Purvis. A later capacitor-based proposal using controlled electrical pulses and rapidly changing fields to produce a claimed unidirectional force. The application was published in 2021, with the cited patent granted in 2024. Patent: US11961666B2. Application publication: US20210159005A1.

A Recurring Engineering Idea

The value of this catalog lies in the comparisons it makes possible. Electrode geometry, dielectric composition, charge distribution, field gradients, and electrical timing provide a common set of engineering questions—even where the proposed mechanisms differ. Looking across these designs can reveal whether a later development changes the underlying architecture, introduces a new material, improves the experimental method, or offers a different interpretation of a familiar arrangement.

Some historical connections are explicit. Naudin’s Lafforgue experiment identifies the earlier patent drawing it follows, while Bates’s application discusses both Lafforgue and Losonc. Such records provide firmer evidence of influence than visual resemblance alone.

The larger task is to distinguish documented development, independent reinvention, and superficial similarity. Patent drawings, contemporary publications, laboratory records, and correspondence can help establish who knew of earlier work and what they changed. Read that way, Biefeld-Brown, ion-wind, and electrogravitic propulsion become more than a collection of isolated announcements: they offer a history of recurring engineering ideas, experimental challenges, and attempts to turn electric fields into practical propulsion.

References

These references explain the terminology and physical principles behind Biefeld-Brown, ion-wind, and electrogravitic propulsion research. They complement the individual patent links with theoretical analysis and experimental studies of electrically generated thrust.

• Electrokinetics as a Propellantless Propulsion Source — Thomas Valone, Physics Procedia (2012). Discusses the history of electrogravitics and electrokinetics, including the distinction the author draws between proposed electrical interactions with gravity and electrically generated mechanical forces.
• Force on an Asymmetric Capacitor — Thomas B. Bahder and Chris Fazi, Army Research Laboratory (2003). Introduces the Biefeld-Brown effect, reviews Brown’s patent history, and investigates forces on capacitors with differently sized electrodes.
• Asymmetrical Capacitors for Propulsion — Francis X. Canning, Cory Melcher, and Edwin Winet, NASA contractor report (2004). Examines capacitor configurations, operating voltages, electrical connections, and pressures.
• Analytical Model of Electro-Hydrodynamic Flow in Corona Discharge — Yifei Guan, Ravi Sankar Vaddi, Alberto Aliseda, and Igor Novosselov, Physics of Plasmas (2018). Explains the ion-wind mechanism: corona discharge produces ions, an electric field accelerates them, and collisions transfer momentum to neutral gas molecules, creating airflow.
• Biefeld-Brown Effect: Misinterpretation of Corona Wind Phenomena — Martin Tajmar, AIAA Journal, 42(2), 315–318 (2004). Examines the distinction between ordinary corona-wind thrust and a proposed additional Biefeld-Brown force independent of airflow.