Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a plane which flights without propellers or jet engines, meaning it uses no fuel.
The team said the electro aerodynamic-powered plane uses a propulsion system to fly, which opens up possibilities for aircrafts that are ‘quieter, mechanically simpler’ and do not produce fossil fuel emissions.
One of the researchers, Steven Barrett, said the future of flight ‘shouldn’t be things with propellers and turbines’.
‘[It] should be more like what you see in Star Trek, with a kind of blue glow and something that silently glides through the air,’ he said.
Take a look at the plane here:
The aircraft, which was created over the course of two years from 2016–2018, has a wingspan of 5 metres and weighs around 2.45 kilograms.
A number of thin electrodes run across the plans wings, while the back of the plane has a curved surface, called an aerofoil, to produce the lift that happens in a regular plane wing.
There are also thin wires at the front of the plane, which as charged to positive 20,000 vaults. The aerofoil at the back is charged to negative 20,000 volts, creating a strong electric field.
