Free electricity from the Earth rotating through its own magnetic field using the homopolar generator

effect.

The homopolar generator has a conducting disc rotating along with an axially mounted cylinder magnet; the disc is cemented near the pole of the magnet. Rotating through the magnetic field, a potential difference is between the center of the disc and its rim. Brushes pick up voltage here. The truly unique invention made December 26, 1831 consisted of the discovery that the magnet and disc could be cemented together, rotated jointly, and the same voltage could be obtained by sliding contacts touching the centre and edge of the conducting disc as was obtained when the magnet was fixed and the disc rotated alone. [By cementing a copper disc on top of a cylinder magnet, and rotating the magnet and disc together, Faraday created an electrical potential. After pondering this phenomenon for many years, he concluded that when a magnet is rotated, its magnetic field remains stationary. Thus, he reasoned, the metal of the magnet moves through its own field, and the relative motion is translated into electrical potential. Faraday's experiments led him to the revolutionary conclusion that a magnetic field is a property of space itself, not something attached to the magnet, which merely serves to induce or evoke the field.] The Earth is doing essentially the same thing; it rotates through its own magnetic field. The rotating Earth is therefore a big homopolar generator. However, any circuit contacts used to pick up voltage potential difference on the Earth, would be rotating along with the Earth. So sliding contacts or brushes would not be needed, and also, a rotating conductive disk would not be needed. All that would be needed is conductive cables. Emf is generated in a conductor which is perpendicular to the flux lines and velocity. Near the magnetic poles of the Earth the flux lines are pointed upward, and the rotation of the Earth would carry the conductive cables in a west to East motion as the Earth rotates through its own magnetic field. So, just like there is a charge separation in faradays rotating disc from the center of the disc to its rim, on the rotating Earth there would be a charge separation from the Earths north magnetic pole to the end of any conductive cable that is positioned running southward. There is a fundamental problem with picking up potential difference voltage on the Earth: Sliding contacts were needed, brushes, with the rotating Faraday generator

because the wiring does not rotate with it. When the wiring *does* rotate, you get an equal and opposite EMF induced in it. Result - no current. In the case with the rotating Earth, this would be true if the potential difference is picked up between both ends of the cable, and the result would be no current. You can overcome this problem by picking up an electrical potential between only one end of the cable (the end away from the magnetic pole), and a ground wire positioned near this end. In this case there would be no opposite EMF and you would get a direct current. So here is the wiring set-up that I think would work to get electricity from the Earths rotation through its own magnetic field: Run cables from the magnetic north pole going like spokes in a wheel with one end of the spokes at the pole. The cables are run over ground that is an insulator or poor conductor. There would be a separation of charge in the conductive cables and not in the ground under the cables. There should be a potential difference voltage between the other ends of the cables, that are southward, and ground wires near those ends. A constant current should be produced between the cable ends and the ground wires as the Earth rotates through its own magnetic field. Direct current motors could be set up and attached to the ground wires and the cable ends. These motors turn Alternating Current generators, and the AC that is produced is stepped up to high voltage by transformers and then fed into high voltage power lines for distribution to the cities. These are the two important aspects that would make this work: [This should work without sliding contacts because you are taking voltage from only one end of the cable and are not taking it from both ends, so there should be no back EMF voltage to interfere with it. There would be separtaion of charge in the cables, and no separation of charge in the ground, so you should have a potential difference voltage between the cable ends and the ground wires.] This whole thing could be set up at the south magnetic pole. There are also other considerations. Because this is done in a cold climate, near the poles, there would be less resistence in the cables. Also, large diameter cables could be used to decrease resistence. Experiments could be done on different lengths of cable to find out how long it needs to be to get any useful current and how long the cable should be to get the maximum current. Also, if large voltage is acquired then the direct current motors could be the type that run on large voltage. If only small voltage and large amperage is acquired, then the direct current motors could be of a type that run on large amperage and low voltage depending on how the motor coils are wrapped in the motor. Also the homopolar generator is much more efficient than an induction coil and the magnetic field of the Earth should be stronger near the poles. The magnetic poles and the geographic

poles are not the same, but they are probably close enough that this would not matter much. Also the lay out of the cables could be adjusted to take advantage of this and still produce useful electricity.

This is very similar to the Nasa Tether Experiment and should work in the same way using air for the return current instead of the ionosphere which provided the return flow in the tether experiment. It would probably look like corona discharge at the polar ends of the cables. Nasa Tether Experiment: Read about it at this website. http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html