1/d² gap scaling

Untested

Same emitter and voltage, swap dielectric thickness. Thrust should scale as 1/d².

Result: untested

No test pairs found

Premise. Halving the gap quadruples the field, which quadruples the thrust at constant voltage.

Why it matters. Confirms the field-squared dependency from a different angle than V². If both V² and 1/d² match, you've nailed the (V/d)² product.

Formula. F ∝ 1 / d² (at fixed V, κ, A)

Variable. Dielectric thickness d (mm)

Hold constant

Prediction. Thrust ratio between two thicknesses equals the inverse square of the thickness ratio: F₁ / F₂ = (d₂ / d₁)².

1
Stack identical dielectric sheets
Use 1 mm and 2 mm sheets of the same material so κ is identical. Add 0.5 mm and 3 mm for a richer fit if available.
2
Lock voltage
Pick a voltage that's safe even at the thinnest gap (≤70% of breakdown × 1 mm).
3
Swap-and-measure
Reuse the same emitter and ground plate. Only the dielectric layer changes between runs.
4
Plot F vs 1/d²
On a log-log plot the slope should be −2. Deviation means edge effects or breakdown leakage.