Ning Li (physicist)

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Ning Li (January 14, 1943 – July 27, 2021) was an American scientist known for her controversial anti-gravity research. In the 1990s, Dr Li worked as a research scientist at the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville. In 1999, she left the university to form a company, AC Gravity, LLC, to continue anti-gravity research.

Anti-gravity claims[]

In a series of papers co-authored with fellow university physicist Douglas Torr and published between 1991 and 1993, she claimed a practical way to produce anti-gravity effects. She claimed that an anti-gravity effect could be produced by rotating ions creating a gravitomagnetic field perpendicular to their spin axis. In her theory, if a large number of ions could be aligned, (in a Bose–Einstein condensate) the resulting effect would be a very strong gravitomagnetic field producing a strong repulsive force. The alignment may be possible by trapping superconductor ions in a lattice structure in a high-temperature superconducting disc. Li claimed that experimental results confirmed her theories.[1][2][3][4] Her claim of having functional anti-gravity devices was cited by the popular press and in popular science magazines with some enthusiasm at the time.[5][6] In 1997 Li published a paper stating that recent experiments reported anomalous weight changes of 0.05-2.1% for a test mass suspended above a rotating superconductor. Although the same paper describes another experiment that showed the gravitational effect of a non rotating superconductor was very small, if any effect existed at all.[7]

Li is reported to have left the University of Alabama in 1999 to found the company AC Gravity LLC. AC Gravity was awarded a U.S. DOD grant for $448,970 in 2001 to continue anti-gravity research. The grant period ended in 2002 but no results from this research were ever made public.[8] No evidence exists that the company performed any other work, although as of 2021, AC Gravity still remains listed as an extant business.[9]

Death[]

On July 27, 2021, Ning Li died at the age of 79.[10]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "CSPAAR - Research [Gravity]". Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR) at University of Alabama in Huntsville. August 11, 1998. Archived from the original on May 20, 2000.
  2. ^ Li, Ning; Torr, DG (January 15, 1991). "Effects of a gravitomagnetic field on pure superconductors". Physical Review. D43 (2): 457–459. Bibcode:1991PhRvD..43..457L. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.43.457. PMID 10013404.
  3. ^ Li, Ning; Torr, DG (September 1, 1992). "Gravitational effects on the magnetic attenuation of superconductors". Physical Review. B46 (9): 5489–5495. Bibcode:1992PhRvB..46.5489L. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.46.5489. PMID 10004334.
  4. ^ Li, Ning; Torr, DG (August 1, 1993). "Gravito-electric coupling via superconductivity". Foundations of Physics Letters. 6 (4): 371–383. Bibcode:1993FoPhL...6..371T. doi:10.1007/BF00665654. S2CID 122075917.
  5. ^ Wilson, Jim (October 1, 2000). "Taming Gravity". Popular Mechanics. 177 (10). Archived from the original on January 1, 2010.
  6. ^ Powell, Corey (May 1999). "Zero Gravity – Antigravity devices". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on January 2010.
  7. ^ N. Li; D. Noever; T. Robertson; R. Koczor; et al. (August 1997). "Static Test for a Gravitational Force Coupled to Type II YBCO Superconductors". Physica C. 281 (2–3): 260–267. Bibcode:1997PhyC..281..260L. doi:10.1016/S0921-4534(97)01462-7.
  8. ^ "Annual Report on Cooperative Agreements and Other Transactions Entered into During FY2001 Under 10 USC 2371". DOD. p. 66. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  9. ^ "Business Entity Details, AC Gravity, LLC". Alabama, Secretary of State. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  10. ^ Batesville, Inc. "Obituary for Ning Li at Berryhill Funeral Home & Crematory". berryhillfh.com. Retrieved August 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

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