> From: Troy Dawson <td@twics.com>
> Newsgroups: sci.physics.research
> Subject: Tampere Replication -- How to
> Date: Saturday, January 11, 1997 5:34 AM
> 
> [Moderator's Note: as directed by the author, please follow up by
> e-mail until this experiment is made public. The author of the article
> has informed me that his intent was primarily to make it known how
> easily reproduced this experiment is, presumably in the hope of
> wide spread replication. Hopefully papers describing these replication
> attempts will be forthcoming for our future discussion. -WGA]
> 
> A researcher in Ohio has attempted to replicate Podkletnov's
> gravity modification superconductor results.
>  
> The Setup
> ---------
> 
>  1) 1" YBCO superconducting disc.
> 
>  2) Magnetic field generator (producing a 600 gauss/60Hz EM field). 
>  
>  3) Pan-and-beam balance:
> 
>     Beam: bamboo, coming to a point on one end (24.6cm long,
>     weight 1.8647g) 
> 
>     Pan: a cardboard rectangle (15.8cm x 10.0cm x 0.131mm) is suspended 
>     from the balance with 28.1cm of cotton string.
>     
>     A polystyrene "pan" (7.2cm x 8.7cm x 1.78 mm) is attached with paper
>     masking tape to the cardboard rectangle.
>  
>     The pan assembly (w/ string, cardboard, tape) weighs 1.6502g.
>  
>     The balance is suspended from the end of a 5' wood beam by ~30cm
>     of monofilament fishing line (8lb. test) attached to the balance's
>     center of mass (5.5cm from the pan end).
> 
>     The other end of the crossbeam is firmly anchored by a heavy
>     steel tripod (normally used for holding photographic lights).
> 
>  4) Thermal and EM isolation is hopefully provided by a glass plate
>     (15cm x 30cm, 0.7cm thick) with a brass screen attachment.
> 
>     This plate-and-brass-screen assembly is held about ~4.5cm below the
>     pan by a '3-finger' ring stand clamp.
>  
>  5) A straightsided, 6" diameter, 10" deep dewar with 3 - 4" of
>     liquid nitrogen is used to cool the sc below its Tc, and is
>     removed from the experiment area before the trial.
>  
>  
> Experiment Procedure
> --------------------
> 
>  1) The YBCO superconductor is placed in a liquid nitrogen bath and
>     allowed to come to liq N temp (as indicated when the boiling of
>     the liq N ceases). The sc will remain below its 90C Tc for the
>     duration of the trial (less than 20sec).
>     
>  3) The disc is then removed from the bath & placed on a strong NdFeB
>     magnet to induce a supercurrent. The Meissner effect is counteracted
>     by a wooden stick. The sc disc has a cotton string attached to it to
>     assist handling.
>     
>  3) The HTSC and wooden stick assembly is placed on the EM field
>     generator, about 33cm below the glass/screen isolation plate.
> 
>     The HTSC is ~40cm *directly* below the pan.
>     
>  4) The AC field generator is then cycled for ~ 5sec with 0.75sec
>     equal-time on/off pulses.
> 
> 
> Experiment Findings
> -------------------
> 
>  o  While AC current was flowing though the AC field generator, the
>     balance pointer was deflected 2.1mm downward.
> 
>  o  When the AC field generator was pulsed with no superconductor
>     present, there was no measurable pointer deflection.
> 
>  
> Experimenter's Comments
> -----------------------
>  
>  o  The additional pan weight required to *raise* the balance pointer
>     2.1mm was later found to be 0.0891g (~5% of the pan's weight).
> 
>  o  The idea was that the 'column' of modified gravity (as described by
>     Podkletnov) HAS to hit the pan somewhere ...as the HTC is only 1"
>     diameter and the pan is larger.
> 
>  o  Only one experimental setup was constructed, with several trials.
>     The experimenter welcomes further replication attempts & comments.
> 
> ==
> 
> Please direct questions & comments to e-mail, as further
> discussion on s.p.r seems unwarranted as of yet.
>