Patent ID: 8112982

Claim:
A method of producing one or more forces on an object comprising, operatively connecting to the object one or more charged particle jet engines of the type having a source of charged particles to be accelerated by a charged particle accelerator; and a charged particle accelerator comprising: a plurality of accelerating electrodes connected to at least one electrical potential, at least one of the electrodes being an exit electrode; one or more electric fields produced by potential differences between electrodes; at least one of said electrodes, when immersed in a gaseous or liquid medium, being configured to allow the medium to pass through or around it; wherein size, shape, and position of the at least one electrodes in the medium create different regions of the medium used by the charged particle jet engine; introducing low energy charged particles from the charged particle source at any point in said medium or separated from other charged particles that are already in the medium such that majority of charged particles in a region are of one polarity; accelerating the charged particles with the one or more electric fields produced by the potential differences between the accelerating electrodes; wherein the accelerated charged particles travel a sufficient distance in the medium such that the number of collisions of said accelerated charged particles with neutral particles of the medium result in transfer of energy and momentum from the charged particles to the neutral particles; wherein the energy and momentum of the neutral particles that have collided with the accelerated charged particles exceeds remaining mass, energy and momentum of the accelerated charged particles after leaving the region of the charged particle jet engine where the charged particles were accelerated; wherein all electrodes where the charged particles are neutralized after reaching, or passing through, or around said electrodes are exit electrodes; and wherein the charged particles are not created by high voltage ionization due to the electric fields of any of the exit electrodes so that the one or more electric fields of the charged particle accelerator regions which accelerate the charged particles is distinct from any electric fields associated with the source of charged particles.