The gravitor and the professor
In the 1920s, a high school student named Thomas Townsend Brown noticed something peculiar while experimenting with a Coolidge X-ray tube. When he placed the tube on a sensitive scale and applied a high voltage, its weight seemed to change depending on its orientation. This observation sparked a lifelong pursuit of what he believed was a link between electricity and gravity. Brown later attended Denison University for one year, from 1924 to 1925. During this time, he associated with professor of physics and astronomy, Dr. Paul Alfred Biefeld. Brown claimed they conducted experiments together, leading him to name the observed phenomenon the "Biefeld-Brown effect."
The effect describes the thrust generated by an asymmetric capacitor when a high voltage is applied. This capacitor typically consists of a small or sharp electrode and a larger, smoother one. When energized with voltages ranging from a few kilovolts to megavolts, a force is produced that pushes the device towards the smaller electrode. Brown was so convinced of the effect's potential that he patented a device he called a "gravitator," which he envisioned propelling future vehicles, from ocean liners to "space cars," without any moving parts. However, the nature of Brown's association with Biefeld and the extent of their collaboration remains unclear. Denison University archives have no official record of joint experiments or any paper on the effect co-authored by the two.