Eric Roberts Laithwaite (14 June 1921 – 27 November 1997) was a British
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the ...
, known as the "Father of
Maglev
Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation''), is a system of train transportation that uses two sets of electromagnets: one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the elevated train ahead, taking advantag ...
" for his development of the
linear induction motor
A linear induction motor (LIM) is an alternating current (AC), asynchronous linear motor that works by the same general principles as other induction motors but is typically designed to directly produce motion in a straight line. Characterist ...
and
maglev
Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation''), is a system of train transportation that uses two sets of electromagnets: one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the elevated train ahead, taking advantag ...
rail system.
Biography
Eric Roberts Laithwaite was born in
Atherton,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
, on 14 June 1921, raised in
the Fylde
The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...
, Lancashire and educated at
Kirkham Grammar School. He joined the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
in 1941. Through his service in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, he rose to the rank of
Flying Officer, becoming a test engineer for
autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
technology at the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...
in
Farnborough Farnborough may refer to:
Australia
* Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone
United Kingdom
* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England
** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
.
On
demobilization in 1946, he attended the
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...
to study
electrical engineering. His work on the
Manchester Mark I computer earned him his master's degree. His subsequent doctoral work started his interest in linear induction motors. He derived an equation for "
goodness
Goodness may refer to:
* Good
* ''Goodness!'', a 1969 album by jazz saxophonist Houston Person
* Goodness and value theory
* Goodness (band)
* Goodness (Goodness album), ''Goodness'' (Goodness album)
* Goodness (The Hotelier album), ''Goodness'' ( ...
" which parametrically describes the efficiency of a motor in general terms, and showed that it tended to imply that large motors are more efficient.
He became professor of heavy electrical engineering at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...
in 1964 where he continued his successful development of the
linear motor
A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque ( rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. Characteristic ...
. He was involved in creating a self-stable
magnetic levitation
Magnetic levitation (maglev) or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Magnetic force is used to counteract the effects of the gravitational force and any other forces.
The ...
system called
Magnetic river which appeared in the film ''
The Spy Who Loved Me'' where it levitated and propelled a tray along a table to decapitate a seated dummy.
He also worked at applying linear motors on the
Tracked Hovercraft until its cancellation.
In the 1980s, he was involved in creating a device to extract
energy from sea waves. Although the technology was successful in trials, it could not be made storm proof, so it never became a commercial success.
Laithwaite was an able communicator who made many
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
appearances. Notable among these were his
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–1942 because of the Second World War. The lectures present sci ...
to young people in 1966 and 1974. The latter of these made much of the surprising properties of the
gyroscope.
In 1974, Laithwaite was invited by the
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
to give a talk on a subject of his own choosing. He decided to lecture about gyroscopes, a subject in which he had only recently become interested. His interest had been aroused by an amateur inventor named Alex Jones, who contacted Laithwaite about a
reactionless propulsion drive he (Jones) had invented.
After seeing a demonstration of Jones's small prototype (a small wagon with a swinging pendulum which advanced intermittently along a table top), Laithwaite became convinced that "he had seen something impossible". In his lecture before the Royal Institution he claimed that gyroscopes weigh less when spinning and, to demonstrate this, he showed that he could lift a spinning gyroscope mounted on the end of a rod easily with one hand but could not do so when the gyroscope was not spinning. This was discussed in the BBC science series 'Horizon - 2015-2016: 2. Project Greenglow - The Quest for Gravity Control'.
In his 1974 lectures, Laithwaite suggested that
Newton's laws of motion
Newton's laws of motion are three basic laws of classical mechanics that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws can be paraphrased as follows:
# A body remains at rest, or in moti ...
could not account for the behaviour of gyroscopes and that they could be used as a means of reactionless propulsion. The members of the Royal Institution rejected his ideas and his lectures were not published at the time, a first for the Royal Institution. His lectures were subsequently published independently as ''Engineer Through The Looking-Glass'' and also on the Royal Institution website.
Despite this rejection and the fact that Laithwaite later acknowledged that gyroscopes behave fully in accord with
Newtonian mechanics
Newton's laws of motion are three basic Scientific law, laws of classical mechanics that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws can be paraphrased as follows:
# A body remains at re ...
, he continued to explore gyroscopic behaviour, maintaining the belief that some form of reactionless propulsion could be derived from them. Laithwaite set up Gyron Ltd with William Dawson and, in 1993, applied for a patent entitled "Propulsion System". A United States Patent, Number 5860317, was granted in 1999. To this very day, research is conducted to account for the physics behind gyroscopic effects, directly pointing to Laithwaite's work as motivation.
Although Laithwaite is best known for his ideas concerning gyroscopes, he also held an idea concerning
moths
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...
. He proposed that they communicate via ultra short wave electromagnetic phenomena (Inventor in the Garden of Eden, E R Laithwaite 1994 page 199). He persisted in this belief even after the pheromone which they actually use had been isolated and could even be bought "over-the-counter" — seemingly contradicting his account. However, he had argued in 1960
that there must be ''two different mechanisms'' for detecting pheromones: (i) The orthodox account of chemical-gradients (effective only at short-range), and (ii) some method for long-distance detection (> "100 yards") even when the wind was in an unfavourable direction — and the only credible solution then had to be electromagnetic (probably
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...
). This explanation did not account for where the necessary energy might come from — a matter later taken up by P. S. Callahan, though he too suffered considerable controversy (largely due to Laithwaite's detractors overlooking his "(i)/(ii)" distinction).
Laithwaite retired from Imperial College in 1986, but was offered no other research post until 1990, when he became Visiting Professor at the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
. He was persuaded by George Scelzo of PRT Maglev Systems in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
to submit a proposal to NASA for an electromagnetic launch assist track originally inspired by
John C. Mankins of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...
. He died within weeks of the contract being awarded.
The initial stage has been successfully continued by William Dawson and the contract with PRT for this development is still active. The track uses both levitation coils and linear induction motors and it can be seen in the "Magnets" episode of ''Modern Marvels'' on the
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...
.
Personal life
Laithwaite was also a keen
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
and the co-author of ''The Dictionary of Butterflies and Moths'' (1975); he had one of the finest British collections of specimens. He married, in 1951, Sheila Gooddie; they had two sons and two daughters.
Published works
Articles
''A Radiation Theory of the Assembling of Moths''The Entomologist, June–July 1960, vol. 93 (1166–1167), pp. 113–117, 133–137 +plate (III)
* Eric Laithwaite
"Linear motors for high-speed vehicles" ''New Scientist'', 28 June 1973, p. 802-805
*
Eric Laithwaite defies Newton, ''New Scientist'', 14 November 1974, p470
''The multiplication of bananas by umbrellas''Electrical Review, 20–27 December 1974, pp. 822–824
''The bigger they are, the harder they fall''Electrical Review, 14 February 1975, pp. 40–42
''1975 – A space odyssey''Electrical Review, 28 March – 4 April 1975, pp. 398–400
''Roll Isaac, roll – Part I''Electrical Review, Vol. 204, No. 7, 16 February 1979, pp. 38–41
''Roll Isaac, roll – Part II''Electrical Review, Vol. 204, No. 11, 16 March 1979, pp. 31–33
''Give us a sign''Electrical Review, Vol. 207, No. 3, 18 July 1980, pp. 40–42
* "Gaze in wonder: an engineer looks at biology", (1988), ''Speculations in Science and Technology'', vol.11(4), 341–345.
* ''The influence of Michael Faraday on power engineering''. Power engineering journal, Vol.5, No. 5, September 1991, pp. 209–219
Books
* ''Propulsion without wheels'' (1965)
* ''Induction machines for special purposes'' (1966)
* ''The engineer in wonderland'' (1967) — The Royal Institution of Great Britain Christmas lectures, 1966/67. With illustrations, including a portrait.
* ''The linear motor and its application to tracked hovercraft'' (1971)
* ''Linear electric motors'' (1971)
Mills & Boon Monographs and Technical Library Mills & Boon Monographs and Technical Library are short works on advanced technical engineering subjects published in the early 1970s by Mills & Boon, a British publisher better known for its romances.
The monographs are in series, for example: Me ...
* ''Experiments with a linear induction motor'' (1971)
* ''Exciting electrical machines'' (1974)
* ''All things are possible: an engineer looks at research and development'' (1976)
* ''Transport without wheels'' ed. (1977)
* ''How to invent'' (1977) co-written by
Meredith Thring
Meredith Wooldridge Thring (17 December 1915 – 15 September 2006) was a British inventor, engineer, futurologist, professor and author.
Education and career
Thring was born in Melbourne, Australia, but moved to England when he was four years ...
* ''Why does a glow-worm glow?'' (1977) illustrated by Mike Jackson
* ''Electric energy: its generation, transmission and use'' (1980) co-written by L.L. Freris
''Engineer through the looking glass''(1980)— a revised and expanded version of his Royal Institution of Great Britain Christmas lectures, 1974/75. With illustrations, including a portrait.
* ''Invitation to engineering'' (1984)
* ''Shape is important'' (1986)
* ''Force: a basic ingredient'' (1986)
* ''A history of linear electric motors'' (1986)
* ''Using materials'' (1987)
* ''Size is vital'' (1987)
* ''An inventor in the Garden of Eden'' (1994)
Honours
*
S. G. Brown Medal
S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet.
S may also refer to:
History
* an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer (historian), Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics
* Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s ...
of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
(1966)
*
IEEE Nikola Tesla Award
The IEEE Nikola Tesla Award is a Technical Field Award given annually to an individual or team that has made an outstanding contribution to the generation or utilization of electric power. It is awarded by the Board of Directors of the IEEE. The ...
of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...
* Fellow of
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...
(1991)
* Honorary Fellow of the
Institution of Electrical Engineers
The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of T ...
(1992)
See also
*
List of maglev train proposals
*
UK Ultraspeed
References
External links
Obituary at Keelyneta NASA page discussing Laithwaite's demonstration.
* Th
Foster-Miller
project, which has a picture of their linear motor subscale system.
The Royal Institution’s 1974-75 Christmas Lecture video
This is the Heretic program about Eric Laithewaite towards the end of his career. It explains the battle he had trying to get the scientific community to accept or even investigate his ideas.
"How Popperian positivism killed a good-but-poorly-presented theory — Insect Communication by Infrared". Ondwelle: Melbourne. (Dec.2005)
— a critique of a "debate" over insects and infrared, in which Laithwaite was cited, and yet partly ignored!
"Critique of the 1977 debate on infra-red 'olfaction' in insects — (Diesendorf v. P.S.Callahan)"; Conference of the Australian Entomological Society; at Orange, NSW, (30 September 2008).
Imperial college 1984 video of Laithwaite's magnetic river in operation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laithwaite, Eric
1921 births
1997 deaths
British electrical engineers
English entomologists
Academics of Imperial College London
Academics of the University of Sussex
Alumni of the University of Manchester
Magnetic levitation
Royal Air Force officers
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
People educated at Kirkham Grammar School
People from Atherton, Greater Manchester
Linear induction motors
20th-century British zoologists
Presidents of the Association for Science Education