Salvatore Cezar Pais is an American aerospace engineer and inventor who works at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River. His patent applications on behalf of his employers have attracted international attention for their potential military and energy-producing applications, but also doubt about their feasibility, and speculation that they may be misinformation intended to mislead the United States' strategic adversaries about the direction of United States defense research.
Education and doctoral research
Salvatore Pais received his advanced education at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, graduating with an MS for a thesis titled "Design of an experiment for observation of thermocapillary convection phenomena in a simulated floating zone under microgravity conditions" in 1993. Pais received his PhD in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Case Western in 1999 on the subject of "Bubble generation under reduced gravity conditions for both co-flow and cross-flow configurations" for which he endured a number of parabolic flights in order to produce a low-gravity environment. His doctoral advisers were Yasuhiro Kamotani and Simon Ostrach who had carried out spacelab experiments in low-gravity aboard the space shuttle STS-50 in 1992. Pais's research was sponsored by NASA.
Career
Pais works as a scientist, aerospace engineer, and inventor, at the United States Navy's Naval Air Station Patuxent River. His patent applications on behalf of his employers have attracted international attention for their futuristic-sounding technology and potential military and energy-producing applications, but have also led to speculation that they may be misinformation intended to mislead the United States' strategic adversaries about the direction of United States defense research. Pais responded to questions via email to Brett Tingley of The War Zone blog in January 2020 regarding the veracity of his inventions. Pais defended his design for a compact fusion reactor in the IEEE TPS journal to Tingley stating that the journals acceptance should "...speak volumes as to its importance and credibility - and should eliminate all misconceptions you may have in regard to the veracity of my advanced physics concepts". Pais detailed his discovery of the 'Pais effect' which comprises the "generation of extremely high electromagnetic energy fluxes generated by controlled motion of electrically charged matter subjected to accelerated vibration and/or accelerated spin, via rapid acceleration transients". Pais added that manipulation of the Pais effect can "give rise to the Enablement of Macroscopic Quantum Coherence". His patent applications include:
An "electromagnetic field generator and method to generate an electromagnetic field", the principal stated application of which is to deflect asteroids that may hit the Earth. The patent is assigned to the US Secretary of the Navy.
A "craft using an inertial mass reduction device", one embodiment of which could be a high speed "hybrid aerospace/undersea craft" able to "engineer the fabric of our reality at the most fundamental level", the patent application for which was supported by the Naval Aviation Enterprise's chief technical officer on the grounds that the Chinese military were already developing similar technology.
A "piezoelectricity-induced room temperature superconductor" with the function of enabling "the transmission of electrical power with no losses.". The Institution of Engineering and Technology commented that no evidence was presented to show that the device worked and that the highest temperature superconductors so far created worked at around -70 °C.
A "high frequency gravitational wave generator" that may be used "for advanced propulsion, asteroid disruption and/or deflection, and communications through solid objects.".
A "plasma compression fusion device", described by Popular Mechanics as a "compact nuclear fusion reactor" that "seemingly stretch the limits of science."
