In 1996, the experiments of a Russian scientist were jeered at by the physics world. Writing in the journal Physica C, Dr Yevgeny Podkletnov claimed that a spinning, superconducting disc lost some of its weight. And, in an unpublished paper on the weak gravitation shielding properties of a superconductor, he argued that such a disc lost as much as 2% of its weight.
However, most scientists believe that such anti-gravity research is fundamentally flawed. It goes against what we know about the physical Universe and is therefore impossible, they say.
"One can only conclude that at the higher levels of these organisations there are people who don't have a very sound grounding in fundamental physics.
"You can invest a little money in far-out projects if they have some chance of success - it's called Pascal's Wager. In this case, most scientists would say there is zero chance of success."
Nonetheless, this view will not stop anti-gravity devices from continuing to be a popular feature of science fiction and the inspiration for countless fixed-gear websites. (link)
Bob Park knows the score...