We describe the Sweet vacuum triode at some length in our book, Energy from the Vacuum, 2002.  You might wish to have your university library order the book for the library there.

The VTA used a special method (kept secret by the inventor, Floyd Sweet) to "activate" barium ferrite magnets (common old "brick" magnets at the time, used in audio equipment). Certain type nuclei (probably the barium atom in its arrangements) were tricked (by the activation procedure) to go into sustained self-oscillation at a given frequency (e.g., 60 Hz.). One could place a razor blade or shim stock blade on the surface of the magnet, and the shim stock would oscillate to and fro, approaching and receding from the magnet. Since it was doing work all the while, it proved that energy was being continually dissipated against the air resistance. I once locked such a "kinetic magnet" in a safe for 24 hours, with the shim stock waving to and fro. Then when I opened the safe 24 hours later, it was still going.

(Note: a video of Sweet demonstrating this effect can be purchased from this Website)

Anyway, a "kinetic" magnet activated that way has its magnetic field OSCILLATING to and fro. Any textbook now tells you that a "static" wire in an oscillating magnetic field will have a current and voltage induced in it. In short, a simply coil adroitly made and placed, will have current and voltage (power) induced across it and in a connected resistive load.

When I met Floyd, he was obtaining six watts from his unit. I then furnished him the standard equations of nonlinear optics (barium ferrite is a known optically active material), and Sweet digested those equations and applied them (or adaptations of them). In his next unit, he was able to "activate" so strongly that the unit produced 500 watts output, for a miniscule input (the actual measured COP was 1,500,000).

The entire VTA was also an adaptation of the "negative resistor" that the great Gabriel Kron developed at Stanford University, on a U.S. Navy Contract for modeling EM systems, communications, etc. A large simulator (the "Network Analyzer") was used on many of these modeling problems, and Kron succeeded in powering the entire Network Analyzer with one of his negative resistors. He adjusted things until input power from the outside power source fell to zero, and then just disconnected the external power source, so that the entire negative resistor and Network Analyzer system became "self-powering".

Many odd things befell Sweet and the Vacuum triode, and he died without ever bringing it to market. I do not personally know the full secret of the activation, but only about 80% or 90% or so. But once the magnets are activated and self-oscillating, the system works.

Several independent researchers have been able to get temporary activation of the magnets, including up to some five weeks in one case I know of. But so far as I'm aware, none has been able to achieve the permanent self-oscillation that Sweet's procedure yielded.

The VTA is in fact reproducible by going after self-activation in macroscopic magnets and doing it that way. Self-oscillation in magnetic materials is in fact well known these days, but in materials science and is mostly studied in thin films.

Hope that helps; in the book I also listed many references (Kron, self-oscillation, etc.) that are helpful to a researcher beginning.

Walt Rosenthal, a very good, professional test engineer -- personally and independently observed and tested several of Sweet's VTA devices. By Walt's good graces, he furnished me photos etc. of the "closed loop" (self-powering) VTA that Sweet also built, but I personally never worked with. Thanks to Walt, I was able to include that work and the pictures in my book.

Rosenthal also designed and built at least the major part of one of Sweet's main "discharge activation" devices.

For a second edition of my book (hopefully some time in the future), I will also include a little known fact from thermodynamics that enables a better understanding of the activation procedure. That must remain unwritten at present because of a nondisclosure agreement.

Hope this helps, and good luck in your research.

Best wishes,

Tom Bearden

Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:42:15 +0100

Great Master,

I've have heard of your fortune during your research of the truth. I hope I will go further as you during my life. I'm a 19 old Italian student. My curiosity asked me some time ago to start replicating the Sweet's experiment and I know that you were in contact with him in the past. Now my curiosity tells me to ask you some facts upon this device. Can you tell me something about the VTA?

Best regards,

Mevio