The search for alternative sources of electricity has become massive in recent decades. The threat of depletion of fossil energy resources has stimulated research on the use of renewable resources: air energy, water, geothermal heat. An army of inventors has joined the scientists working in the field of alternative energy, which has "flooded" the information space today with projects for obtaining "free" energy.
One of the most popular areas of their development is the use of atmospheric electricity. Observing the riot of the elements during thunderstorms, there is a great temptation to tame the electrical forces of the Earth, to use them for the benefit of man.
Let's try to assess how realistic it is to get close to these forces and use them in practice. To begin with, let's answer the question of whether the Earth's reserves of electricity are really large? Almost everyone has heard or knows about a capacitor. Some worked with them, others remember from the school physics course.
According to modern concepts, the Earth is an analogue of just such a detail of radio engineering circuits. This huge, spherical capacitor is charged and creates an electric field around us.
From now on, you need to operate with numeric values, since many projects for the use of the Earth's electric field rely on completely mythical mechanisms for taking energy from such a capacitor.
First, about the capacity of the Earth. Already at this stage, discrepancies arise. When calculating the capacity of the Earth, as a solitary spherical conductor in space, a value of about 700 μF was obtained. And calculating the capacitance of the capacitor formed by the Earth's surface and the ionosphere located at an altitude of 60-80 km gives a value close to 1F. The discrepancy between the results is more than 1000 times! And this is just the beginning of the uncertainties associated with atmospheric electricity.
The earth's capacitor is charged to a voltage of approximately 300 kV, with the earth's surface negatively charged and the ionosphere positively charged. The field strength between the "plates" of such a capacitor is 120-150 V / m at the surface and drops sharply with height.
Promotional video:
Like any real capacitor, it has a leakage current. Geophysicists managed to measure its value quite accurately. These currents are very small: in clear weather, the leakage current density is only 10 to the minus 12 power of Am2. But recalculation for the entire surface of the Earth gives a total leakage current of about 1800 A. The electric charge of the Earth (and, accordingly, of the ionosphere) is estimated at 5.7x10 to the 5th power of the coulomb. Then the earth's capacitor should be discharged in … 8-10 minutes, and the electric field should disappear.
In practice, we do not see such a picture. This means that there is a natural generator with a capacity of more than 700 MW, which compensates for the loss of charge of the Earth-ionosphere system.
Modern science has proven powerless to explain the mechanisms of charging a capacitor. Today there are more than 10 theories and hypotheses describing the mechanisms and processes for maintaining a constant charge on the Earth. But experimental verification and refined calculations show that the amount of generated charges is insufficient to maintain a stable value of the Earth's field.
Among the candidates for charge generators were considered thunderstorms, the circulation of currents in the molten mantle of the Earth, the flow of particles from the Sun (solar wind). Even an exotic hypothesis has been put forward about the existence of a natural MHD generator operating in the upper atmosphere. The result is disappointing - today science does not know exactly where the charges of a natural capacitor are replenished from. It is possible that each of these mechanisms contributes to the replenishment of the charge of the earth storage.
And now about the possibilities of using the energy of a natural capacitor. As noted above, the field strength (or potential gradient on the surface) averages 130V / m. But this does not mean that a tall person has a 260V potential between the heels and the crown of the head. Air is an excellent insulator, and the human body is a good conductor. Therefore, we, regardless of growth, always have the potential of the Earth.
Attempts to use the strength of the Earth's field for utilitarian purposes have been undertaken for over two centuries and continue today. The best achievement of structures for collecting atmospheric electricity using balloons made it possible to obtain a power of about 1 kW, and modern, actually working circuits allow you to power a low-power LED or recharge a mobile phone.
The fact is that the conductivity of atmospheric air is only 10 to minus 14 degrees S / m (Siemens / meter). It is simply impossible to take away noticeable power from such a high-resistance source. For this, the parts of the "generator" must have more reliable insulation. But the conductivity on the surface of the insulators exceeds the conductivity of air, so the generator quickly "short-circuits".
The latest information from Brazilian scientists about the possibilities of obtaining electricity from the humid atmosphere of the tropics is rather of theoretical value. The efficiency of such a generator is 100 million times lower than that of a solar cell.
If it is impossible to use the energy from the surface layer of the atmosphere, can you try to "discharge" the global capacitor? Unfortunately, the opportunities here are not great. The conductivity of the atmosphere was mentioned above. The conductivity of the ionosphere is 10 orders of magnitude higher, but numerically it is only 5x10 to minus 4 degrees S / m.
When the gap between the surface of the Earth and the ionosphere is "short-circuited" by a plasma bundle obtained, for example, from a laser, an insignificant current of hundreds of milliamperes will flow in the circuit. It is determined by the internal resistance of the ionospheric "plate" of the capacitor, which is 5-10 kΩ / m. To obtain a gas-light "lamp" 60-80 km long is the limit of the possibilities of this method. And this is for the sake of an energy reserve of slightly more than 2500 kWh - this is exactly the energy of a charged global capacitor.
There is one more consideration against human interference in the electrical processes of the Earth. They formed over billions of years and played an important role in the origin of life on our planet. The combination of these processes constitutes a global chain of generation and compensation of electrical charges, a kind of analogue of the human nervous system.
We still have no idea about many of the mechanisms of this chain. One need only mention the recent discovery of lightning into the ionosphere. Therefore, to intervene in such a chain without understanding the laws of its functioning and the possible consequences of the intervention is at least stupid. Therefore, even if you find the keys to the pantry of natural electricity, they should be abandoned immediately.