Paul ILIADIS
Back to all work
High-Voltage Hardware ProjectEngineering & technology

Atmospheric Ion Engine

Tabletop electrostatic propulsion driven by a scrap-built ~12 kV DC power supply

A simple atmospheric ion thruster powered by ~12 kV DC from a self-resonating scrap transformer and a Cockcroft–Walton multiplier — strong enough to blow out a lighter flame.

The full setup: the 12 V self-resonating driver, scrap-built transformer, multiplier, and needle-and-washer thruster.

01 / The question

The goal

An atmospheric ion engine produces thrust with no moving parts: a strong electric field at a sharp electrode ionizes the air, and the ions drifting toward the other electrode push air along with them, creating an "ionic wind".

I wanted to build one from what I had at hand, which meant designing the high-voltage supply myself.

03 / Iteration

What changed and why

  1. 01

    Self-resonating driver

    A simple self-resonating circuit runs from 12 V DC and drives the primary of the step-up transformer.

  2. 02

    Scrap-built transformer

    I made the transformer from scrap parts; it steps the 12 V DC input up to roughly 3 kV AC.

  3. 03

    Cockcroft–Walton multiplier

    A CW multiplier rectifies and multiplies the ~3 kV AC into roughly 12 kV DC.

  4. 04

    Electrodes

    The anode is a sharp needle from a syringe and the cathode is a small washer I found lying around.

05 / Evaluation

Results against my success criteria

Output
~12 kV DC (approximate)
Observed thrust
Enough to blow out a lighter flame

Voltages are approximate. High voltage is dangerous: this was a supervised, careful experiment and should not be copied without proper knowledge and precautions.

07 / Looking ahead

Why it matters for electrical engineering

This build combined power electronics, transformer construction, and voltage multiplication into one working system — and made an invisible physical effect, ionic wind, directly visible.

About the project

A simple atmospheric ion engine running from a ~12 kV source. A self-resonating circuit drives a transformer I wound from scrap parts, stepping 12 V DC up to ~3 kV AC; a Cockcroft–Walton multiplier then turns that into ~12 kV DC. A syringe needle is the anode and a small washer is the cathode, and the setup produces enough thrust to blow out a lighter flame.

A long exposure in the dark, showing the ionization at the needle tip.

More projects