- 3210 - SOLAR WINDS - a new form of energy? Are the Solar Wind dangerous, or, a new form of energy? The Solar Wind gets captured by the Earth’s magnetic field creating a powerful source of electricity high above our heads. Is there a way to tap into all this energy that the Sun sends us?
------------------ 3210 - SOLAR WINDS - a new form of energy?
- The solar wind is a stream of charged particles continually blown outward in all directions from the surface of the Sun. The particles emanate from the Sun’s Corona that is heated to over 1 million degrees Kelvin.
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- There are holes in the Corona atmosphere caused by magnetic lines of force projecting through the holes out into space and snapping like broken rubber bands. The energy released creates a spiral of charged particles that follow the magnetic lines of force reaching an immense velocity, enough to escape the Sun’s gravity.
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- These charged particles are traveling at 1,118,000 miles per hour as a solar wind heading towards Mother Earth. At these speeds they will reach Earth in 2 to 3 days.
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- When they arrive their electric charges create geomagnetic storms in the Earth’s magnetosphere. You can see these storms at the north magnetic pole as the Northern Lights high in Earth’s atmosphere. The magnetic disturbance can reach the surface of Earth and cause radio interference, electric power outages. Satellites in orbit can go off the air with damaged electronics.
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- In March of 1989 the Air Force temporarily lost 2,000 satellites that went off the air. Canada’s Quebec Hydroelectric Grid collapsed for 8 hours before electric power could be restored.
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- The magnetosphere can cause electrical disturbances, but, at the same time it is critical in protecting the Earth’s atmosphere. Without it the charged particles from the Solar Wind would constantly pelt the exosphere and strip ionized gas away from the top of our atmosphere into space. Without this protection our atmosphere would eventually be swept away.
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- Our neighbor planet Mars has less of this protection and much of its atmosphere has been swept away due to the Solar Wind. Mar’s atmosphere is only 1% as dense as Earth’s atmosphere.
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- On the other hand Jupiter’s magnetosphere is 20,000 stronger than Earth’s It’s magnetosphere is so strong it begins deflecting the Solar Wind some 1,900,000 miles above the planet.
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- Earth’s magnetic field is like a giant bar magnet with north and south magnetic poles. The charged particles from the Solar Wind get trapped spiraling along the magnetic lines that exist between the poles. The trapped charge particles actually get bounced back and forth between the poles.
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- Positively charged protons, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms, accumulate into a region called the Lower Van Allen Radiation Belt that is 1,900 miles above the Earth. The negatively charged electrons accumulate into a region Higher Van Allen Radiation Belt that is 9,600 miles above the Earth. Both of these Belts protect the International Space Station that is only 300 miles above the Earth.
- See Review 3209 to learn how the Earth’s magnetic field protects us from the Solar Wind. This review contains the physics and math of the process.
- See Review 1249 to learn the health dangers of radiation contained in the Solar Wind.
- The positive and negative Van Allen Belts are like a giant battery. If we could run a wire between the 2,000 to 10,000 mile elevations we could have a powerful source of electricity. In fact, just putting a wire out into the Solar Wind and catching the charged particles could collect enough electricity to power the entire Earth’s electrical needs.
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- The Washington State University did a study and calculated that a 1,000 foot copper wire attached to a 6 foot wide receiver and a 33 foot solar sail would generate enough electricity to power 1,000 homes. These dimensions could be scaled up to generate as much electrical energy as we wanted.
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- The “catch“, how do we get all that electrical power back down to the surface of the Earth? We might use a laser beam and beam it back to an antenna on the surface. However, calculations are that the laser beam would spread out too much traveling through the atmosphere.
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- Even if we could solve this problem of focusing the beam to hit a small area on Earth, what happens if it accidentally gets aimed incorrectly. It could wipe out a city instead of powering the city with electricity.
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- There is a lot of power up there above the Earth. We need to set our kids working on this problem. How do we tap the power of the Solar Wind? How do we power the Earth without destroying it?
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- July 4, 2021 SOLAR WINDS - a new form of energy? 1247 3210
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--------------------- --- Monday, July 5, 2021 ---------------------------
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