"Now researchers have created a prototype thruster capable of generating plasma jets with propulsive forces comparable to those from conventional jet engines, using only air and electricity.
An air compressor forces high-pressure air at a rate of 30 liters per minute into an ionization chamber in the device, which uses microwaves to convert this air stream into a plasma jet blasted out of a quartz tube. Plasma temperatures could exceed 1,000 °C. ... The scientists estimated the jet pressure from their device reached 2,400 newtons per square meter, comparable to that from a commercial airplane jet engine. ... All in all, “I think that within five years, one could use a scaled-up plasma engine to power small pilotless airplanes or heavy-duty drones to carry cargo for shipping,” ..."
One of the interviewed scientists working on this is: "Jau Tang, a physicist at Wuhan University [this university is located in Wuhan city] in China and senior author of a new study describing the work". What a coincidence!
Plasma Jets May One Day Propel Aircraft - IEEE Spectrum Plasma thrusters could help jet planes fly without fossil fuels
Here is the underlying research paper: Jet propulsion by microwave air plasma in the atmosphere
