Put strong limits on all proposed theories so far assessing electrostatic propulsion: Does a charged high-voltage capacitor produce thrust?

Abstract Several claims appeared in the literature that a charged high-voltage capacitor produces thrust. This dates back to the so-called Biefeld-Brown effect that was later explained as a Corona-wind effect. However, part of the claim was that the capacitor still moves even if no ionization takes place and a dielectric is used. Recently, theories appeared supporting such an electrostatic propulsion-scheme. Here we describe an experimental-setup allowing to measure weight changes/forces of capacitors up to 10 kV, eliminating important side-effects from high-voltages down to±0.3 mg. No force was detected for a variety of configurations ruling out most theories by many orders of magnitude.