Ionic wind, a phenomenon first reported in 1709, is generated when high voltage is applied between asymmetric electrodes in air, stripping electrons from gas molecules and creating charged ions in an electric Generation of torque and rotation in the electrohydrodynamic propeller-cylinder system. Source: Adrian Leta and Marius Chiritafield. The first ionic wind rotational device was documented in 1760, and the first ionic wind-activated device to spin and lift off in air has now been reported by researchers at the State University of New York College at Oswego.

The system design used a metal cylinder as the counter electrode around a propeller with aerofoils functioning as the sharp electrode, and the emitter electrodes on propeller edges were made from copper tape and pins. Voltage is applied along the shaft as the cylinder intensifies both the electric field and the ionic wind it generates. The propeller spins around the shaft running down the axis of the cylinder, lifts up the shaft and takes off.

As described in the Journal of Electrostatics, these electrohydrodynamic propellers are the first rotational ionic devices to fly. Future developments might include new types of electric motors, ionic drones, ionic fans and sensors.