what if cigars could fly?

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Fri May 18, 2007 11:51 am

I was talking to an older coworker out here who swears that back in the 80's he saw a large, black cigar-shaped object with perfectly flat ends hovering or moving slowly over new mexico in broad daylight. This is the first time I've personally heard a UFO story from a source I trust. It got me thinking. Assuming for the discussion that cigars actually can fly, how would they do it, and why are they shaped like cigars?

The answer I came up with was at least partial magnetic levitation based on the earth's own magnetic field, or if not levitation, at least maneuvering. Imagine a ring of electromagnets pulsing on and off starting at the top and chasing eachother down both sides of the ring like the lights on a movie theatre sign only much more rapidly. This probably assisted by a lighter than air gas as magnetic fields are pretty easy to disrupt and generally weak to start with. Three shapes come to mind. a vertical saucer, a sphere or a tube. the saucer would be difficult/impossible to control or land and probably not hold enough gas if it were relying on it. A sphere would be very difficult to house especially descreetly. But a cigar might just make a decent choice. Now these magnets wouldn't necessarily have to be in metal rings inside. they could probably be wolven into the skin as well.

My coworkers cigar was also pretty low, which doesn't rule out the possibility of a tether for power, but it's location suggests that isn't likely. Magnets have come a long way in the last 20 years, but even this this wouldn't strike me as an especially useful method of transport. It still should even be a simple matter to see how much lift can be generated by building a small, stable, vertical ring on a scale and seeing if it could decrease its weight any. I'm sure somebody must have tried it.

I'm a computer geek, not a physics geek, so I'm talking completely out my rear especially since I've done exactly zero research on it. But how do you think cigars fly? And try to make the assumption that they do.

dman762000 · Post by **dman762000** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:01 pm

sounds to me like he was trippin on some shrooms

Sir Games-A-Lot · Post by **Sir Games-A-Lot** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:21 pm

The first thing I thought of when I read your description was this thing:

http://www.watchondemand.co.uk/8m_solar_airship.jpg

Not quite cigar shaped, but darn close.

Here's a video of it in flight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIE49i-07cY

bgnome · Post by **bgnome** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:27 pm

Sir Games-A-Lot wrote:The first thing I thought of when I read your description was this thing:

http://www.watchondemand.co.uk/8m_solar_airship.jpg

Not quite cigar shaped, but darn close.

Here's a video of it in flight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIE49i-07cY

you can do that out of trash bags.

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:27 pm

You do realize that technology has advanced to the point of the ability to develop, build & fly an airbourne vehicle, right? They have them now. They're called "Airplanes".

teraflop122 · Post by **teraflop122** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:37 pm

Having a number of magnets arranged as described would give no more advantage than a single, properly oriented magnet. That being said, I have never seen a magnet that can levitate without the aid of at least a metal base. Current magnets appear to be far to weak.

Take a compass and turn the needle so that tip marked as North is facing south. The magnet in the needle is now oriented in such a way that an upwards force is exerted upon it. Assuming the needle magnet was both incredibly powerful and incapable of rotating back to its normal orientation it would lift into the sky.

The ionocraft is the closest thing I've seen to a real levitating vehicle. It uses an electric field moving from top to bottum to "blow" downwards and push itself upwards. However, ionocraft are tethered to large, heavy power supplied.

bgnome · Post by **bgnome** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:49 pm

teraflop122 wrote:The ionocraft is the closest thing I've seen to a real levitating vehicle. It uses an electric field moving from top to bottum to "blow" downwards and push itself upwards. However, ionocraft are tethered to large, heavy power supplied.

i remember seeing that thing on mythbusters. i was under the impression that it had less to do with moving the electric field and more to do with the "blowing" as you put it. the electric field strips the air molecules of electrons and ionizes them. the continued generation of ionized air molecules causes them to repel eachother, creating an air current, which then provides thrust to the device.

ganonbanned · Post by **ganonbanned** » Fri May 18, 2007 7:22 pm

dman762000 wrote:sounds to me like he was trippin on some shrooms

haha I was just thinking the same thing

toby dawg · Post by **toby dawg** » Fri May 18, 2007 7:38 pm

a blunt?

Twisted Warthog · Post by **Twisted Warthog** » Fri May 18, 2007 8:29 pm

Well my friend it sounds like your friend saw the Reptiloids an evil type of alien race that tortures human beings and eats them like chicken. No joke. Theirs some effed up crap out there man seriously. Look into it you guys they have been here for along time now and the government has proven that they have had contact with them they are just hiding it. But eh i know no ones going to believe me so yeah haha.

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Sat May 19, 2007 10:06 am

When he says he saw something, he saw something--nobody's suggesting it came from outer space, even he won't believe that, but he saw something very large and very long. without reference he can't say for sure the size, aside from "really big."

and from a quick internet search he's not the only one in that area. I imagine the discovery channel experimental plane documentaries are going to get really crazy about 15 years from now. This thing was big, long and panneled with something.

now I'm kind of thinking it may not have been a lift experiment at all, but just a stealth spy airship test. if it had a rigid hull like an airship, nothing says that it's cabin and navigation couldn't be ducted through the inside making a very stealthy craft. There are literally half a dozen airship hangar locations in that area of CA/NM/NV--I've seen the moffett hangars in person, simply beautiful. Talking about airship hangars is what brought the topic up to start with.

Here's an article, perhaps not from the best source, that talks about the possibility of stealth airships:
http://www.dreamlandresort.com/black_pr ... blimp.html
the thing that the article mentions that I found interesting is that he's not nearly the only one to see objects like that--specifically in new mexico.

another link with mention of lockheed martin blimp or airship order
so they must have at least one design in testing now.

Twisted Warthog · Post by **Twisted Warthog** » Sat May 19, 2007 11:31 am

Well i heard the only anti gravity airships the government are using right now are the huge black triangles with three lights at the bottom. Over 300 people saw one in i forgot what city and its just the government testing anti gravitational airships. But so far the cigar shaped airship your friend saw does not point to the government it points to something else...