Professor Eric Laithwaite Magnetic River 1975

I was browsing thru Youtube while checking out some videos on how the Sahara was once a tropical paradise before it turned into the desert it is today when I came upon this video where Professor Eric Laithwaite talks about his Magnetic River concept in terms of transportation. Check it out.



Very cool stuff! I especially like the part where he discusses how they figured out using two alternating currents to stabilize a magnetic field in lieu of movement on what he calls a "magnetic river." Which got me thinking about the conspiracy side of things.....? If this was understood way back in the 70's how to control magnetiic currents for travel then why don't we have more of this tech employed now? There are some trains which use this type of tech, I believe, but I just think its use should be more widespread by now after almost 50 yrs. What does ATS think? Suppressed Tech or am I reading too much into this?

That is pretty cool. It helps me understand how they originally designed the trains. I would bet they have come a long way since 1975

a reply to: lostbook
Very cool! It reminds me of the monorail in Seattle, Washington!

Yeah, magnetism ... it almost does seem to have been "back shelved" as a transportation opportunity for some reason or other (Rockefeller again?).

As far as I can suss from a relatively physics poor background, there is force present without any "fuel." Surely, more could be done with such a property?

My other question for the more physics enriched is I thought aluminum(iam for UKers) was not magnetic, yet it was effected by the magnetic fields ... so it looks like I'll have to sit through some elementary physics vids on magnetism or hit Wiki to catch up to my 4th grade self.

originally posted by: lostbook
If this was understood way back in the 70's how to control magnetiic currents for travel then why don't we have more of this tech employed now? There are some trains which use this type of tech, I believe, but I just think its use should be more widespread by now after almost 50 yrs. What does ATS think? Suppressed Tech or am I reading too much into this?

It's very difficult for me to understand your thinking here. You apparently acknowledge that we have trains using this technology (which is the application demonstrated by a model in the video), so you seem to acknowledge it's not being suppressed. Then you ask if it's being suppressed.

If you have any ideas of where else you think it could or should be used, you didn't share them. If you come up with any such ideas you should be able to watch the video you linked, and come up with reasons why it's more suited to railways than other applications like say, roadways.

Anyway people have become wealthy by taking underexploited technologies and further exploiting them, so if you think you can do that, nobody is stopping you or supressing you. That's sort of how Elon Musk got rich. In fact Elon Musk has a "Hyperloop" concept which is supposed to be the next evolution of maglev using low pressure tubes to reduce air friction (one of the biggest energy costs in high speed trains is overcoming air friction), but if you are interested in learning about the challenges related to that, you can watch this video:

The Hyperloop: BUSTED!


a reply to: Baddogma
The crystalline structure of aluminum is unlike that of iron which doesn't allow it to become a permanent magnet, but both are good conductors so are susceptible to induced currents which can create electromagnetic fields. Note he doesn't use aluminum in the "static" experiments, he uses that in the "alternating current" experiments. You can induce currents in aluminum by dropping a magnet through an aluminum tube but as with alternating currents this is not a static situation, with the magnet in motion. There's nothing wrong with not understanding how this works if you're not a scientist or engineer, unless you claim to be a senior scientist, and make some stupid comment regarding antigravity for this effect that's different from the known explanation based in Lenz' law taught to college students in electrical engineering and physics, as one pathetic "hero" of the UFOlogy field has done.

This is not a non fuel system. Yes, magnets are used but Electro magnets, ie, they need an electric supply to work. Short distances, great. long distances, not viable. That's why this technology has been shelved.
If you like Eric Laithwaite please look up his Christmas lectures, especially the one on gravity and centrifugal forces.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

I see what you are saying. What I'm saying is that I think this technology could've or should've been expanded into other avenues; aside from the obvious application in the transportation field, there are several other fields where this tech could be applied. For example: cemeteries- I think this tech could be employed in cemeteries whereas multilevel bldgs. could be used to house floating caskets for those who don't want to cremate but run into land issues where it applies to burials. I think this could be a solution, sports-there could be new sports developed as a result of this tech or current sports could be updated like basketball where the hoop moves back and fourth, what about sliding doors? This tech could easily be employed to sliding doors where there are doors that are too heavy.....

These are some ideas from the top of my head.

originally posted by: lostbook
a reply to: Arbitrageur

I see what you are saying. What I'm saying is that I think this technology could've or should've been expanded into other avenues; aside from the obvious application in the transportation field, there are several other fields where this tech could be applied. For example: cemeteries- I think this tech could be employed in cemeteries whereas multilevel bldgs. could be used to house floating caskets for those who don't want to cremate but run into land issues where it applies to burials.

Why do they need to float though? My father is entombed above ground, in a cemetary which has rows and rows of above-ground shelves just wide enough to accept the coffin, then there are more rows of shelves above and below. The coffin just sits on the shelf, why does it need to float?

I think this could be a solution, sports-there could be new sports developed as a result of this tech or current sports could be updated like basketball where the hoop moves back and fourth

I have a hard enough making a three-pointer without the hoop moving!

what about sliding doors? This tech could easily be employed to sliding doors where there are doors that are too heavy.....

They already exist, technology not suppressed. For example:

Innovative automatic sliding door with linear magnetic drive


There are patents for magnetic bearings, which is a little different from magnetic drive:
US3346993A - Magnetically supported sliding doors and panels

They might be OK for mall entrances as an alternative to the other automatic doors, but I wouldn't want them for the sliding doors at home since first, if they use so called "permanent magnets", because those are not really "permanent" despite the misleading name.

If the magnets are not permanent which would be the case with the linear magnetic drive, that means it's consuming power. Consuming power means higher electric bills, and burning more fossil fuels to power the door contributing to increased CO2 levels and possibly global warming.

I'm surprised you didn't mention "back to the future" style hoverboards, everybody wants those, but they require "underground" or at least under the board infrastructure. This one is from 2014, eight years ago:

Tony Hawk Rides World's First Real Hoverboard - Hendo Hover

That's a real hoverboard but can't go anywhere like in "back to the future".
The other "hoverboards" with wheels some call "hoverboards" are not hoverboards; Wikipedia more accurately calls them Self-balancing scooter but it adds they can be referred to as "hoverboards" which is a misnomer.

originally posted by: Baddogma

aluminum(iam for UKers)

Its not so much the end of the word we pronounce c̶o̶r̶r̶e̶c̶t̶l̶y̶ differently

From what i have heard Americans emphasise the first U differently then UKers

UK the first syllable is alu-min-ium


US the first syllable seems to be just the a-lu-min-ium
and then lu seems stretched, more like loooo while the 2nd i seems to dissapear sometimes, as you have shown

As to the OP I only wish i could contribute more, other than as Arbitrageur has posted I watch all episodes of Thunderf00t for my limited knowledge, but as far as I am aware magnetism is not free, it costs energy to magnetise things BUT there are existing magnetised materials which surely we could use, again as Arbitrageur has shown with the door mechanism, so seemingly quite limited.

Which leads to as with any 'alternative' energy being supressed at the hands of big oil, there will be no change to the current fuel used for most vehicular transportation until we show we are not willing to pay $40,50,60 (£s to us UKers)a litre of petrol, as while oil constantly becomes less available the price will simply rise, its these companies that currently control the transport market and until they have got there mitts over any alternate its gonna be oil for the forseeable.

Magnetism is a fascinating property. It can seem magical but it does follow the rules, in particular the first one.

You can do cool tricks with magnetism. You can do cool stuff with magnetism. But it's gonna cost something. Laithwaite knew this.

a reply to: Phage

nice to see you back, hope all is well

a reply to: Arbitrageur

Thank you. Your explanation is far better and more succinct than my alternatives.

Unfortunately, a whole lot of ignorance and pretense suffuses too much of every human endeavor ... even scientists and engineers are not immune, though the percentages of balderdash rise astronomically when free energy and antigrav are broached.

a reply to: UpThenDown

Thanks ... and yeah, my edit was a typo - but I left it; otherwise I'd be stuck in autist loops with a page of edits per post.

I used to scoff at the myriad conspiracies- and know many are fantasies - but there seems a lucrative reason for energy suppression and some credible tales associated with it. I know energy must first cause magnetism, but the pay-off seems very efficient.

Either way, something physical is buzzing around without exhaust... imo.

originally posted by: Phage
Magnetism is a fascinating property. It can seem magical but it does follow the rules, in particular the first one.

You can do cool tricks with magnetism. You can do cool stuff with magnetism. But it's gonna cost something. Laithwaite knew this.

I see. I think the potential benefits for use(s) of magnetic technology outweigh the drawbacks by a significant amount. Think 3-D sports, hoverboards & flying cars, floating cities, magnetic shields, military applications, etc.......

I even think the ancient world had a better grasp of magnetism and it's why they were able to move such large/ heavy objects into place with perfect alignment. I think they were even able to generate power using magnets.

The possibilities seem endless.

a reply to: Arbitrageur

Yeah, the Tony Hawk video is cool. I get what you're saying from your professional perspective( I assume you're some kinid of scientist). I just think that after 50 years this technology could be way more expanded than it is now. The Power players haven't realized its full potential yet.