Friends,
Seeing that there has been an extreme amount of interest in exactly how the Smith Cell (which lies at the heart of the Black Box) works, we have decide to make a disclosure that does not give away any construction secrets, but does reveal the basic concepts at work. We hope you will find this of some value.
-Bob
Aether Audio Black Box
Smith Cell Technology Revealed
The underlying principles governing the operation of the Smith Cell device within the Aether Audio Black Box and the NuForce Magic Cube are a synthesis of simplicity and sublime complexity. While its construction is based on unique…yet deceivingly modest techniques, the arrangement of its components invokes seemingly mysterious and previously “hidden” aspects of electromagnetism that have only recently been documented by scientific research. While we admit the Smith Cell employs the use of powerful permanent magnet materials at its heart, it’s the unique geometry thereof as well as that of the signal carrying conductors that is key in unleashing this hidden set of forces.
To be sure, permanent magnets are not considered to be mysterious in any general sense and have certainly been used by others in the recent past for imparting various effects in audio applications. Our observations regarding their use suggest though that previous designers have overlooked a potentially serious negative side effect resulting from the configurations most commonly used. Also, previous devices are not optimized in their ability to take advantage of the recently documented subtle forces mentioned above, and as they are in the operation of the Smith Cell. Specifically, most designs employed in speaker and/or interconnecting cable formulations force the signal-current to flow through a PM by soldering input and output wires to its ends. This naïve and simplistic method runs the risk of distortion resulting from signal-current induced magnetic saturation of the PM material, while also reducing the level of the fundamental forces that actually produce the desired effects. Conversely, the Smith Cell’s proprietary arrangement of magnet/conductor materials completely avoids any possibility of such distortion under all operating conditions, while also optimizing the intensity of the desired underlying forces.
Succinctly, the Smith Cell’s fundamental function is to “spin-align” the primary axis of signal-current electrons, such that they exhibit a common magnetic moment while passing through the cell. Spin polarization as a byproduct of the powerful magnetic field “strips” away any secondary phonon modulation (1/f noise, distortion, etc.) that has been imparted upon and accumulated by the signal electrons during their passage through the conductors, as well as their passage through any associated electronic circuits ahead of the cell in the signal chain. This effect would be of little consequence though if the effect were not also transmitted along the length of the conductors and to either side of the cell. This is because if it were not, thermal phonon vibrations would simply re-modulate the electrons immediately after leaving the vicinity of the cell, such that the effect of the cell would be nullified and consequently, no net advantage would be realized. The extension of the Smith Cell’s spin-polarizing effect down the length of the conductors is a complex process though, and therefore beyond the scope of this paper.
Finally, the most vital aspect of Smith Cell operation is that in order to avoid any signal-current induced PM material saturation/distortion, electron spin-polarization must be accomplished without the signal-current doing any “work” against the magnetic field generated by the PM material. In short, the magnetic material must impart a spin-aligning force upon the electrons without the signal-current flow imparting a reverse force against the field of the magnetic material. Although seemingly a mutually exclusive process, the cutting edge research of Christian Monstein has shown that such is not the case. Since his initial experiments, the “Monstein Effect” has been reproduced in laboratories around the world and gives us new insight into the deeper aspects of EM Theory that have been essentially dismissed ever since Heavyside’s simplification of Maxwell’s original EM wave equations. Further theoretical support is provided in Einstein-Cartan-Evans Theory, and other experimental evidence abounds as well. As examples, the well documented Aharonov–Bohm Effect and even Faraday’s century old “Homopolar Generator” both seem to be based in the same underlying physics. This “phenomenon” of EM Theory is commonly referred to as “Scalar Wave” propagation and critics of orthodox theory point out that before Heavyside essentially “threw them out,” Maxwell’s original EM wave equations predicted their very existence. It is also suggested that in his later years, the great and mysterious inventor Tesla was actually working with Scalar EM waves long before others had even conceived of them.
While theories abound and debate still rages in scientific circles as to the theoretical interpretations thereof, repeatable experimental evidence such as the Monstein and Aharonov–Bohm Effects cannot be refuted. In particular, whether due to Scalar EM waves or otherwise… the Monstein Effect is a documented fact. As a practical consequence, we are employing its effects in the Smith Cell to good use in order to achieve the necessary spin polarization of signal electrons and the desired effects thereof, while avoiding the potential negative effects at risk by other less sophisticated and inferior devices.
