Tajmar Experiments

Tajmar Experiments

Audience

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Notation on this page

Experiment at a glance

The Tajmar experiments are a series of laboratory investigations led by Martin Tajmar (Austrian Research Centers / Seibersdorf 2003–2010; TU Dresden 2010–present) into gravitomagnetic and inertial-mass anomalies produced by rotating superconductors and accelerated superconductors. The most-cited result is the 2006–2008 detection of a gravitomagnetic London moment approximately 28 orders of magnitude larger than standard GR predicts.

This page covers the experimental programme as a whole. For the specific gravitomagnetic London moment claim, see Gravitomagnetic_London_Moment. For Tajmar himself, see Martin_Tajmar.

Programme overview

The Tajmar programme has spanned roughly 2003–present, in three phases:

1. 2003–2005 — Theoretical work (with Clovis de Matos). Predicted that a Cooper-pair condensate in a rotating superconductor should produce an anomalously large gravitomagnetic field.
2. 2006–2010 — Experimental phase at ARC Seibersdorf (Austria). Multiple experimental setups; primary positive result reports.
3. 2010–present — Continued experimental work at TU Dresden. Refined apparatus; new measurement geometries.

Funding sources have included ESA-ESTEC, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), and TU Dresden.

Experimental setups

Setup A: rotating niobium ring (gravitomagnetic London moment)

A niobium ring (~ 1 cm radius) is cooled to ~ 4 K and rotated at angular velocities up to a few hundred rpm. An array of accelerometers (typically 4–8) around the rotor measures induced acceleration.

• Key result: acceleration signals of ~ 10⁻⁴ g during angular acceleration phases.
• Sign and orientation: consistent with frame-dragging-like field aligned with ω.
• Temperature dependence: signal vanishes above T_c.

Setup B: accelerated bulk YBCO

A YBCO bulk superconductor sample is subjected to mechanical acceleration. Fiber-optic gyroscopes nearby measure rotation-like signals.

• Key result: gyroscope readings show small but reproducible signals correlated with the YBCO acceleration phase, vanishing above T_c.

Setup C: rotating disc with gradient magnetic field

A YBCO disc is rotated in a gradient magnetic field. Accelerometers measure induced gradients.

• Reported anomalies in the 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁴ g range.

Key publications

• Tajmar, M., de Matos, C. J. (2003). "Gravitomagnetic field of a rotating superconductor and a rotating superfluid." Physica C 385: 551–554.
• Tajmar, M., Plesescu, F., Marhold, K., de Matos, C. J. (2006). "Experimental detection of the gravitomagnetic London moment." arXiv:gr-qc/0603033.
• Tajmar, M., Plesescu, F., Seifert, B., Marhold, K. (2007). "Measurement of gravitomagnetic and acceleration fields around rotating superconductors." arXiv:0707.3806.
• Tajmar, M., Plesescu, F., Seifert, B. (2008). "Anomalous fiber-optic gyroscope signals observed above spinning rings at low temperature." AIP Conference Proceedings 969: 1080.
• Tajmar, M., Plesescu, F., Seifert, B. (2009). "Anomalous acceleration signals above spinning superconductors." Journal of Physics: Conference Series 150: 032101.

Replication landscape

Mixed status:

• Graham et al. (2008, University of Canterbury, NZ) — null result with a lead-superconductor apparatus. Geometry and accelerometer placement differ from Tajmar's; the Tajmar group has argued that Graham's apparatus does not adequately test the same effect.
• Liu et al. (2011, Lockheed Martin / UCLA) — partially-confirmed signals, with significant systematic concerns.
• Hathaway, Cleveland & Bao (2003, Canada) — testing the related Podkletnov claim, null result; not a direct Tajmar replication.
• Tajmar's continued work (2010–present) — refined apparatus continues to report positive results.

No independent group has reproduced the original positive results with the same magnitude and unambiguous systematics.

Systematic concerns

The principal challenges to Tajmar's interpretation:

1. Mechanical-vibration coupling to the accelerometers during angular acceleration phases. Tajmar has spent considerable effort on isolation; whether the isolation is fully adequate is debated.
2. Cryogenic boil-off thermal effects producing spurious accelerations.
3. Magnetic-field coupling between the rotating superconductor and nearby accelerometer electronics.
4. Statistical signal-to-noise considerations.

Tajmar et al. address each in their papers; the community remains divided.

Why this matters

If real, the Tajmar effect would constitute the first laboratory-scale demonstration of strong gravitomagnetic coupling beyond pure GR — and a direct empirical hint that ψ-coupling is operating at room scales in coherent superconducting condensates. See Modified_Einstein_Equations_with_Psi.

It would also be sister to the Tate Cooper-pair mass anomaly, providing two independent channels probing the same underlying phenomenon (effective mass / inertia changes in coherent condensates).

A clean, high-precision, multi-laboratory replication is one of the highest-priority outstanding experiments. See Open_Questions_in_Psionics.

Sanity checks

• Above T_c → no condensate, no anomaly. ✓ (Tajmar reports.)
• ω = 0, constant temperature → no signal. ✓
• ψ → 0 → only the unmeasurably-small standard GR/GEM prediction. ✓
• Single-electron limit → standard physics. ✓ (Sanity_Check_Limits §6.)

See Also

• Gravitomagnetic_London_Moment
• Martin_Tajmar
• Cooper_Pair_Mass_Anomaly
• Tate_Experiment
• Podkletnov_Effect
• Ning_Li
• Gravitoelectromagnetism
• Modified_Einstein_Equations_with_Psi
• Famous_Experiments
• Open_Questions_in_Psionics

References

(See key publications above.)