Small objects above the disc seemed to lose weight, as if they were being shielded from the pull of Planet Earth. If the shielding effect could be refined and intensified, the implications would be immense. In fact, practical, affordable gravity nullification could change our lives more radically than the invention of the internal combustion engine. Imagine a future in which vehicles can levitate freely. Highways and railroads become obsolete, airplanes no longer need wings, and oceangoing ships can be broken up for scrap.
Citizens gain unprecedented mobility, transcending all geographical and national barriers.
Meanwhile, space travel is now safe, cheap, and fast. Resources can be mined in the asteroid belt and shipped to factories relocated in orbit around Earth, freeing our planet from pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions. Ultimately the old dream of colonizing other worlds may be realized, not just for a handful of highly trained astronauts but for millions of everyday people. Most physicists laughed at Podkletnov's report. Like many scientists, he felt that Podkletnov must have made a mistake, measuring magnetic fields or air currents instead of genuine weight reduction.