Much Ado About Bismuth

Time and again, in the course of my researches on the interweb and elsewhere, the element bismuth crops up in connection with one aspect or another of antigravity. Bismuth is an unusual metal, being a poor conductor (verging on a semiconductor), the most diamagnetic, having the highest Hall effect and second-lowest thermal conductivity. In addition, its liquid phase is denser than its solid phase.

Significantly, it is also immediately above (and, we could reasonably infer, possesses similar properties to) Element 115 (a.k.a. Ununpentium, a.k.a. Eka-Bismuth) in the periodic table. Element 115 may have some very stable isotopes, being smack in the middle of the theoretical nucleonic "island of stability", and has of course also featured in the Area 51 tales of Bob Lazar, apparently playing a role in gravity control.

If bismuth is similar to element 115, then it could lend more credence to the gravity studies of Charles F. Brush and the patents of Henry Wallace, both of which involve the use of bismuth. It has even been investigated by respectable university departments (sponsored by Project Greenglow, as it happens).

In the case of the Wallace patents, bismuth is rotated in a magnetic field, in a manner reminiscent of Podkletnov's experiments with superconductors.

To quote from the excellent Electrogravitics Reference List of Robert Stirniman:

Dr. Charles Brush, in a series of reports in the PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY around 1922 found, in some well-thought-out experiments, that weight was not only proportional to mass, but was affected by the atomic structure of the substances. For example, he found that for a given unit of
mass and shape, BISMUTH falls faster than zinc or aluminum.

Bismuth is also a major constituent of "Art's Parts", mysterious fragments of unknown origin presented to radio host Art Bell in 1996. Some reports suggested that they levitated under high voltages (though many materials would!). It appears, however, that they are most likely interestingly-shaped bits of industrial waste.

All this talk of unusual effects resulting from spinning strongly diamagnetic or superconducting material may indicate a connection to torsion physics, but it's difficult to reach any firm conclusions because of the controversy in the torsion physics field and the difficulty in defining exactly what torsion is.

Whatever Happened To...Marcus Hollingshead?

In late 2002, Marcus Hollingshead seemed to be promising a great new device, derived apparently from his efforts to create a mechanical model of the Earth's magnetic field. This device appeared to accidentally generate antigravitational effects. Some more background can be found here.

Initially those who communicated with him had a good feeling about it - he seemed a genuine person in emails and on the phone, produced pages of detailed technical specs, and promised (somewhat) public demonstrations. Personally I felt, as I think did he, a sort of bond through similar upbringings (both being half-Usanian and half-Ukanian) Alas, nothing came of all the fuss (unless the MIB know different, of course!) and Marcus himself variously claimed it was a hoax or had gone into secret development (solid state versions were mentioned). In any event, nothing has been heard from him, to my knowledge, since this 2004 interview.

The jury remains out as to whether he was genuine and has been "got at" by The Powers That Be, or if it was all just a hoax that went too far. Personally, my sympathies are for his wife, who seems to have borne the brunt of fielding an awful lot of phone calls.

If you know different...or even if you *are* Marcus and want a right of reply...please get in touch!