Most planes rely on engines, propellers and turbines to move forward. Engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a prototype plane powered by ionic wind without any moving parts and does not rely on fossil fuels, bringing an end to the noisy propellers and turbines.

Ionic wind is generated by a high-voltage electrical field around a positively charged emitter. Batteries supply electricity to make electrons in the air collide with atoms and molecules, which then release other electrons. These draw the positively charged air molecules around the emitter to a negatively charged wire. The movement of molecules between the two wires forms ionic wind that can push a plane forward.

The aircraft is the first of its kind to be propelled in this way, which makes it nearly silent during operation. According to a research report in November, in 10 indoor test flights, the small plane traveled a distance of 40 to 45 meters for almost 10 seconds at a steady height, in some cases even flying as high as half a meter of altitude over the course of a flight.

Though this amazing design overturns the concept of a conventional airplane, longest flight was only 12 seconds. The new plane still needs further upgrades before it’s ready for the real world. There’s still a long way to go before such an airplane can carry passengers around the world.