Mini Ion Thruster

I was browsing the internet when I stumbled upon something that intrigued me: bladeless, combustion-free thrusters, known as ion thrusters.

Ion Thruster Concept

The principle is simple:

Electricity ionizes the air at the first pole.

The ionized air is attracted to the second pole.

The ions become trapped at this second pole, while the entrained air continues forward, creating an air current (this current generates propulsion).

There are some fundamental details for this to work:

The initial pole, where the air is ionized, needs to have very sharp points to concentrate the electrical charge well.

The final pole must be round and without edges, precisely to avoid charge concentrations.

The distance between the poles must be carefully chosen (neither too short nor too long).

If these conditions are not met, the charge ceases to be distributed uniformly and, instead of having smooth ionization, an electric arc appears.

In theory it seemed simple. In practice… I ended up making that mistake 😅

Initial Prototype Tests

In my initial tests, one of the poles wasn't properly rounded. As a result, a constant electric arc formed, and there was no useful airflow.

After some investigation, I realized the flaw, remade the pole, and everything changed.

As you can see in the images, the thruster started producing that uniform purple glow along the ring (a sign that ionization is happening as it should).

I also had to experiment with various distances between the poles. Too close, and the electric arc reappeared. Too far, and the thruster power dropped. Eventually, I found the right balance.

Images