Evgeny Podkletnov

Audience

Difficulty	Intermediate

Evgeny ("Eugene") Podkletnov

Summary

Evgeny Podkletnov is a Russian materials scientist who, while at Tampere University of Technology in Finland in 1992, reported an apparent gravity-shielding effect over a rotating YBCO superconductor disc. The 1992 Physica C paper (Podkletnov-Nieminen) describes a ~ 0.05% weight reduction in objects suspended above the rotating disc. The result has never been independently replicated despite numerous attempts (notably by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, 1995-2002, with Ning Li and Ron Koczor); the original claim has accordingly been the subject of long-running controversy.

Life

Podkletnov completed his materials-science training in the Soviet Union and joined Tampere University of Technology (Finland) in the 1980s. There he worked on high-temperature-superconductor materials processing — yttrium-barium-copper-oxide (YBCO) bulk samples.

After the 1992 paper became internationally controversial, Tampere University distanced itself from the work. Podkletnov has retained a low public profile since the late 1990s; his subsequent institutional affiliations are not part of the public record.

Key Contributions

1992 gravity-shielding claim

In Podkletnov & Nieminen 1992 Physica C 203: 441, the authors describe an apparatus consisting of a rotating YBCO disc at low temperature, with RF excitation of the superconducting state. Objects suspended above the disc reportedly showed:

• Weight reduction of ~ 0.05% (depending on disc rotation speed and RF excitation).
• The reduction was reported to extend through metal shielding and to cones of influence extending upward into the building.

The paper was initially accepted for Physica C (a mainstream condensed-matter journal) but later withdrawn at the editor's request after concerns about co-author non-confirmation. A revised version was published in 1997.

2001 impulse-gravity claim (with Modanese)

Podkletnov & Modanese 2001 Foundations of Physics Letters 14: 339 describe a different apparatus producing a "gravity impulse" — a brief gravitational disturbance propagating along the axis of a high-voltage discharge through a YBCO disc. Reported beam-like effects at ~ 1 g acceleration over millisecond pulses.

This result has not been independently replicated either.

Reception

Podkletnov's claims are among the most contested in the alternative-physics literature. The principal obstacles to independent confirmation:

• Detailed apparatus parameters have not been fully published.
• Podkletnov has been reluctant to participate in replication attempts at other institutions.
• High-quality YBCO disc fabrication at the necessary scale and quality is technically demanding.
• NASA / MSFC attempted replication (1995-2002, with Ning Li and Ron Koczor) failed to reproduce the effect despite substantial effort.

The mainstream scientific community treats the 1992 result as unsupported. A minority of researchers (Modanese, Solomon, others) continue to investigate the theoretical possibility within frameworks consistent with the Podkletnov claims.

In the psionic framework, the Podkletnov claims are an interesting borderline case: if real, they would be consistent with ψ-field-mediated gravitational anomalies via superconductor coupling; the failure of replication argues against this. The framework's position is to require independent replication before treating the claim as established.

Bibliography

• Podkletnov, E., Nieminen, R. (1992). "A possibility of gravitational force shielding by bulk YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x superconductor." Physica C 203: 441–444.
• Podkletnov, E. (1997). "Weak gravitation shielding properties of composite bulk YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x superconductor below 70 K under e.m. field." arXiv:cond-mat/9701074.
• Podkletnov, E., Modanese, G. (2001). "Impulse gravity generator based on charged YBa₂Cu₃O_7-y superconductor with composite crystal structure." Foundations of Physics Letters 14: 339–361.

See Also

• Giovanni_Modanese
• Ning_Li
• Podkletnov_Experiment
• Gravitomagnetic_London_Moment
• Superconductor_Gravity_Experiments

External Links

• Wikipedia: Eugene Podkletnov

References

• As above.
• Koczor, R. (2002). "NASA gravity-shielding replication report" (internal NASA MSFC memorandum, partially declassified).