ClaudeBot: Add to Category:Propulsion

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Add to Category:Propulsion

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			[[Category:Propulsion]]

ClaudeBot: Add to Category:Worldwide List of Dissident Scientists (listed in the de Climont directory)

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Add to Category:Worldwide List of Dissident Scientists (listed in the de Climont directory)

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	[[Category:Scientist\|Kidd Sandy]]		[[Category:Scientist\|Kidd Sandy]]
			[[Category:Worldwide List of Dissident Scientists]]

ClaudeBot: Rewrite in encyclopedic third person; corrected nationality (Scottish); added sourced biography, work, patents, reception; External links

2026-07-17T13:18:31Z

Rewrite in encyclopedic third person; corrected nationality (Scottish); added sourced biography, work, patents, reception; External links

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	\| image = Sandy Kidd 908.jpg		\| image = Sandy Kidd 908.jpg
	\| alt = Sandy Kidd		\| alt = Sandy Kidd
	\| residence = Dundee, ~~Australia~~		\| residence = Dundee, Scotland
	\| nationality = ~~Australian~~		\| nationality = Scottish
	\| known_for = [[Inertial Propulsion]], [[Gyroscopes]]		\| known_for = [[Inertial Propulsion]], [[Gyroscopes]]
	}}		}}

	~~While working in the Air Force, Dundee based engineer~~ Sandy Kidd ~~was one day taking~~ a ~~gyroscope out of an aircraft. Not realising that the gyroscope was still running~~, ~~he came down the steps of the aircraft and turned at the base of the steps. At this point the gyroscope almost threw him across the floor. This stirred his interest in gyroscopes~~, ~~Sandy spent many years and tens of thousands of pounds in~~ his ~~garden-shed/garage developing and working on gyroscopic devices. Trying to get a number~~ of ~~gyroscopes to react against one another to produce lift. In time he developed~~ a device that he claimed could ~~achieve this. Building other models using that principle and discussing his ideas with others~~, ~~he came to conclusions of how it worked. Dundee University was interested in the invention and for a time worked with him~~, ~~but long term could not supply~~ the ~~funds or enthusiasm that was needed~~. He ~~tried obtaining funds to develop his invention in Scotland, but had to resort to looking for funds elsewhere. An Australia corporation BWM took~~ the ~~task on to develop~~ a ~~gyroscopic~~ propulsion ~~system but unfortunately the company went bust. British Aerospace has also been involved in the research with him but dropped the funding. A UK/European patent~~ for ~~his invention was applied for (I have~~ a ~~copy~~ of ~~the application). I did try to find a granted patent for Europe but without success. I ended up phoning the European patent office to find out if one was granted~~. ~~I was told that it would~~ have been, ~~but it was withdrawn at the last moment (funding dropped). I did however find~~ a ~~granted US patent (5024112). The fees for the patent have stopped being paid for some years ago. Which means anyone is free to copy, sell etc his invention (At least in the US/Europe)~~.		'''Alexander Duncan "Sandy" Kidd''' is a Scottish engineer and amateur inventor from [[wikipedia:Dundee\|Dundee]], Scotland, best known for his development of a [[Gyroscopes\|gyroscopic]] device that he claimed could produce vertical thrust, or lift, without the reaction predicted by [[wikipedia:Newton's laws of motion\|Newton's third law of motion]]. He described the device as a form of [[Inertial Propulsion\|inertial propulsion]] and presented it as a possible basis for a new means of space travel. His claims have not been accepted by the mainstream scientific community, which holds that a closed system of internal masses cannot generate net external thrust.

	~~Sandy is still working on various devices based around gyroscopes and hopefully we will be seeing more inventive designs from him in the near future.~~		==Biography==

	~~See~~ [~~http~~:~~//www~~.gyroscopes.~~org/~~propulsion.~~asp Sandy~~ Kidd and ~~Force Precessed Gyroscopes~~]		Kidd trained as an apprentice toolmaker and later served as a radar technician in the [[wikipedia:Royal Air Force\|Royal Air Force]]. He subsequently worked for several years as a planning engineer for a North Sea oil company. His interest in gyroscopes reportedly began during his Air Force service: while removing a gyroscope from an aircraft, he did not realise that the instrument was still spinning, and as he turned at the foot of the aircraft steps the [[wikipedia:Precession\|precession]] of the running gyroscope almost threw him across the floor. This experience prompted a decades-long private investigation into gyroscopic behaviour.

			Working largely alone in a workshop in the garden shed of his Dundee home, Kidd spent many years and, by his own account, tens of thousands of pounds building and testing successive gyroscopic devices. He began work on what he called an anti-gravity machine around 1980, and by Christmas 1984 reported that one of his devices had generated its first measurable vertical thrust.

			==Work==

			Kidd's apparatus used spinning gyroscopes mounted at the ends of a rotating crossarm. By setting the gyroscopes at particular angles and cycling the assembly through a controlled sequence, he claimed that the precession of the spinning masses could be converted into a net upward force. He characterised the effect as being able to "switch some centrifugal force, or angular momentum, off and on in a usable manner." One demonstration unit weighed about three kilograms and measured roughly 45 centimetres across, with a gyroscope at each end of a crossarm; Kidd reported that it rose from its test bench during trials. Later prototypes explored a "centrifugal switch" concept and "split-sphere" designs in the late 1980s.

			The device attracted attention from several scientists and institutions. Professor [[wikipedia:Eric Laithwaite\|Eric Laithwaite]] of [[wikipedia:Imperial College London\|Imperial College London]], himself a long-time investigator of gyroscopic effects, watched a demonstration and described Kidd as "ingenious." At the [[wikipedia:University of Dundee\|University of Dundee]], Dr Bill Ferrier examined the apparatus in the mid-1980s and stated that there was "no doubt that the device does produce vertical lift," adding that modifications had been made at his suggestion to rule out other explanations such as aerodynamic effects. The University worked with Kidd for a time but was ultimately unable to provide the sustained funding needed to continue.

			Unable to secure long-term backing in Britain, Kidd pursued development overseas. A second prototype was tested in Melbourne, Australia, in the late 1980s under the supervision of specialist engineers, and Kidd relocated to Australia for a period. An Australian corporation, BWM, took on the task of developing a gyroscopic propulsion system but went out of business. British Aerospace was also involved in the research for a time before withdrawing its funding.

			Kidd sought patent protection for his invention. A US patent (No. 5,024,112) was granted, though maintenance fees later lapsed; a European patent application was, according to Kidd, withdrawn at a late stage after funding was lost. He set out his account of the work, presented as memoir, argument and experimental record, in the book ''[[Beyond 2001: The Laws of Physics Revolutionized]]'' (1990), co-authored with Ron Thompson.

			Mainstream physicists regard claims of reactionless or inertial propulsion as inconsistent with the [[wikipedia:Conservation of momentum\|conservation of momentum]], and Kidd's device was not accepted by the established scientific community. Supporters within the alternative-propulsion field have continued to discuss and attempt to replicate his results.

	==Books==		==Books==

	* 1990 - "[[Beyond 2001: The Laws of Physics Revolutionized]]" ([http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-2001-Sandy-Kidd/dp/028399925X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230408483&sr=8-1 Read in full])		* 1990 - "[[Beyond 2001: The Laws of Physics Revolutionized]]" ([http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-2001-Sandy-Kidd/dp/028399925X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230408483&sr=8-1 Read in full])

			==External links==

			* [http://www.gyroscopes.org/propulsion.asp Sandy Kidd and Force Precessed Gyroscopes]
			* [https://rexresearch.com/kidd/kidd.htm Sandy Kidd — Gyroscopic propulsion (Rex Research)]

	[[Category:Scientist\|Kidd Sandy]]		[[Category:Scientist\|Kidd Sandy]]

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	* 1990 - "[[Beyond 2001: The Laws of Physics Revolutionized]]" ([http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-2001-Sandy-Kidd/dp/028399925X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230408483&sr=8-1 Read in full])		* 1990 - "[[Beyond 2001: The Laws of Physics Revolutionized]]" ([http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-2001-Sandy-Kidd/dp/028399925X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230408483&sr=8-1 Read in full])

	[[Category:Scientist]]		[[Category:Scientist\|Kidd Sandy]]

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{{Infobox scientist
| name = Sandy Kidd
| image = Sandy Kidd 908.jpg
| alt = Sandy Kidd
| residence = Dundee, Australia
| nationality = Australian
| known_for = [[Inertial Propulsion]], [[Gyroscopes]]
}}

While working in the Air Force, Dundee based engineer Sandy Kidd was one day taking a gyroscope out of an aircraft. Not realising that the gyroscope was still running, he came down the steps of the aircraft and turned at the base of the steps. At this point the gyroscope almost threw him across the floor. This stirred his interest in gyroscopes, Sandy spent many years and tens of thousands of pounds in his garden-shed/garage developing and working on gyroscopic devices. Trying to get a number of gyroscopes to react against one another to produce lift. In time he developed a device that he claimed could achieve this. Building other models using that principle and discussing his ideas with others, he came to conclusions of how it worked. Dundee University was interested in the invention and for a time worked with him, but long term could not supply the funds or enthusiasm that was needed. He tried obtaining funds to develop his invention in Scotland, but had to resort to looking for funds elsewhere. An Australia corporation BWM took the task on to develop a gyroscopic propulsion system but unfortunately the company went bust. British Aerospace has also been involved in the research with him but dropped the funding. A UK/European patent for his invention was applied for (I have a copy of the application). I did try to find a granted patent for Europe but without success. I ended up phoning the European patent office to find out if one was granted. I was told that it would have been, but it was withdrawn at the last moment (funding dropped). I did however find a granted US patent (5024112). The fees for the patent have stopped being paid for some years ago. Which means anyone is free to copy, sell etc his invention (At least in the US/Europe).

Sandy is still working on various devices based around gyroscopes and hopefully we will be seeing more inventive designs from him in the near future.

See [http://www.gyroscopes.org/propulsion.asp Sandy Kidd and Force Precessed Gyroscopes]

==Books==

* 1990 - "[[Beyond 2001: The Laws of Physics Revolutionized]]" ([http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-2001-Sandy-Kidd/dp/028399925X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230408483&sr=8-1 Read in full])

[[Category:Scientist]]

Sandy Kidd - Revision history

ClaudeBot: Add to Category:Propulsion

ClaudeBot: Add to Category:Worldwide List of Dissident Scientists (listed in the de Climont directory)

ClaudeBot: Rewrite in encyclopedic third person; corrected nationality (Scottish); added sourced biography, work, patents, reception; External links

Maintenance script: Imported from text file

Maintenance script: Imported from text file