Earths Magnetic Field

[seasmith]

∞
Hi Stefan,

Im not quite sure, in what way does the following answer your question? :

Thanks for the good info on Terra's plasmasphere, etc.

To your question, their descriptions don't much answer my question, as they seem to have limited all the interactions to atmosphere and above.
My question was about transfer of charge (of either polarity) from sun to earth (leaving out cosmic rays for the moment); and Earth receiving, transforming and recycling that charge to produce plasmasphere with plumes, (and possibly in the past, atmosphere itself).

I don't think, in the larger scheme of things, that earth can be separated from atmosphere, plasmasphere, magnetosphere and the rest. After all, with no earthing centroid of mass at c.o.g / center,
there would not exist those other 'spheres' .

[seasmith]

A follow-up article just met my mailbox:

Earth’s magnetic field, or magnetosphere, stretches from the planet’s core out into space, where it meets the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emitted by the sun. For the most part, the magnetosphere acts as a shield to protect the Earth from this high-energy solar activity.

But when this field comes into contact with the sun’s magnetic field—a process called “magnetic" [ reconfiguration]—powerful electrical currents from the sun can stream into Earth’s atmosphere, whipping up geomagnetic storms and space weather phenomena that can affect high-altitude aircraft, as well as astronauts on the International Space Station.

Now scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and NASA have identified a process in the Earth’s magnetosphere that reinforces its shielding effect, keeping incoming solar energy at bay.

By combining observations from the ground and in space, the team observed a plume of low-energy plasma particles that essentially hitches a ride along magnetic field lines—streaming...

which the scientists call the “merging point,” the presence of cold, dense plasma slows magnetic reconnection, blunting the sun’s effects on Earth.

Mapping Earth’s magnetic shield

For more than a decade, scientists at Haystack Observatory have studied plasma plume phenomena using a ground-based technique called GPS-TEC, in which scientists analyze radio signals transmitted from GPS satellites to more than 1,000 receivers on the ground. Large space-weather events, such as geomagnetic storms, can alter the incoming radio waves—a distortion that scientists can use to determine the concentration of plasma particles in the upper atmosphere. Using this data, they can produce two-dimensional global maps of atmospheric phenomena, such as plasma plumes.

These ground-based observations have helped shed light on key characteristics of these plumes, such as how often they occur, and what makes some plumes stronger than others. But as Foster notes, this 2-D mapping technique gives an estimate only of what space weather might look like in the low-altitude regions of the magnetosphere. To get a more precise, 3-D picture of the entire magnetosphere would require observations directly from space.



Toward this end, Foster approached Walsh with data showing a plasma plume emanating from the Earth’s surface, and extending up into the lower layers of the magnetosphere, during a moderate solar storm in January 2013. Walsh checked the date against the orbital trajectories of three spacecraft that have been circling the Earth to study auroras in the atmosphere.

As it turns out, all three spacecraft crossed the point in the magnetosphere at which Foster had detected a plasma plume from the ground. The team analyzed data from each spacecraft, and found that the same cold, dense plasma plume stretched all the way up to where the solar storm made contact with Earth’s magnetic field.

A river of plasma

Foster says the observations from space validate measurements from the ground. What’s more, the combination of space- and ground-based data give a highly detailed picture of a natural defensive mechanism in the Earth’s magnetosphere.

“This higher-density, cold plasma changes about every plasma physics process it comes in contact with,” Foster says. “It slows down reconnection, and it can contribute to the generation of waves that, in turn, accelerate particles in other parts of the magnetosphere. So it’s a recirculation process, and really fascinating.”

Foster likens this plume phenomenon to a “river of particles,” and says it is not unlike the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current that influences the temperature and other properties of surrounding waters. On an atmospheric scale, he says, plasma particles can behave in a similar way, redistributing throughout the atmosphere to form plumes that “flow through a huge circui~lation system, with a lot of different consequences.”

“What these types of studies are showing is just how dynamic this entire system is,” Foster adds.

Just another aether-electric circuit ∞?∞


http://www.rdmag.com/news/2014/03/river ... gainst-sun

[Sparky]

Are they talking about the van allen belts , reaching out toward the sun?

[seasmith]

«
More like, as StefanR's article describes, the ionosphere reaching up in to the magnetosphere (plasmasphere), and then the magnetosphere and the sun interacting. Hence, the 'circuit' view.

More detailed image here:

https://victoriastaffordapsychicinvesti ... aly-winds/

[Sparky]

Thanks...

https://victoriastaffordapsychicinvesti ... aly-winds/

LOts going on.... Difficult to see...

[seasmith]

(may have mentioned this before


Right-click on image In the Article,
select "open in new window",
go browser's View drop-down menu,
click ZOOOM

[StefanR]

Scientists have discovered a new, persistent structure in Earth’s inner radiation belt using data from the twin NASA Van Allen Probes spacecraft. Most surprisingly, this structure is produced by the slow rotation of Earth, previously considered incapable of affecting the motion of radiation belt particles, which have velocities approaching the speed of light.

Data from the Van Allen Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) on board each of the twin spacecraft orbiting Earth revealed that the highly energized population of electrons of the inner radiation belt is organized into very structured patterns that resemble slanted zebra stripes. Scientists had previously believed that increased solar wind activity was the primary force behind any structures in our planet’s radiation belts. These zebra stripes were shown to be visible even during low solar wind activity, which prompted a search for a new physical mechanism of their generation. That quest led to the surprising discovery that the stripes are caused by rotation of Earth

"Zebra stripes" in the inner radiation belt: An example of energetic electron spectra, measured on June 18, 2013 by NASA's twin Van Allen Probes in the inner radiation belt during quiet time during low solar activity. The striped, banded pattern is caused by the rotation of the Earth, previously thought to have no effect on the highly energetic particles of the radiation belt.
Credit: A. Ukhorskiy/JHUAPL

“It is because of the unprecedented high energy and temporal resolution of our energetic particle experiment, RBSPICE, that we now understand that the inner belt electrons are, in fact, always organized in zebra patterns,” said Aleksandr Ukhorskiy of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., co-investigator on RBSPICE and lead author of the paper. “Furthermore, our modeling clearly identifies Earth’s rotation as the mechanism creating these patterns. It is truly humbling, as a theoretician, to see how quickly new data can change our understanding of physical properties.”

Because of the tilt in Earth’s magnetic field axis, the planet’s rotation generates an oscillating, weak electric field that permeates through the entire inner radiation belt. To understand how that field affects the electrons, Ukhorskiy suggested an analogy: “If the inner belt electron populations are viewed as a viscous fluid, these global oscillations slowly stretch and fold that fluid, much like taffy is stretched and folded in a candy store machine,” he said. This stretching and folding process results in the striped pattern observed across the entire inner electron belt, extending from above Earth’s atmosphere (about 500 miles, or 800 kilometers, above the planet’s surface) up to roughly 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers).

“This is another fundamental understanding made possible thanks to the highly detailed data being returned from these remarkable spacecraft,” said Louis Lanzerotti, distinguished research professor of physics at the Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, principal investigator for RBSPICE, and a co-author on the paper. “It is amazing how Earth’s space environment, including the radiation belts, continue to surprise us even after we have studied them for over 50 years. Our understanding of the complex structures of the belts, and the processes behind the belts’ behaviors, continues to grow, all of which contribute to the eventual goal of providing accurate space weather modeling.”

http://vanallenprobes.jhuapl.edu/newsce ... 140319.php

Van Allen Probes See Zebra Stripes
http://youtu.be/GfuSuv7Bylg
As material moves through Earth's radiation belts, it can fold over on itself like taffy, creating zebra stripes of electrons with different energies.

[jtb]

What is Thunderbolts position concerning the origin of geomagnetism?

Earth's magnetic field is supposedly generated due to rotation, which in turn contains its atmosphere.

Tidally locked celestial bodies don't have a magnetic field or an atmosphere. Could it be that they are not rotating?

[D_Archer]

What is Thunderbolts position concerning the origin of geomagnetism?

In EU an electric current generates a magnetic field, you can not have one without the other. So the earth magnetism is current in at the poles, the magnetic field of the earth is the result of that. The origin is not in the past it is continually generated by the incoming current.

Earth's magnetic field is supposedly generated due to rotation, which in turn contains its atmosphere.

The more rotation, the more current can enter the poles (as current is charge flow in, rotation causes a well for charge to enter, as it is flung out at the equator), the stronger the magnetic field. Atmosphere is contained by gravity, not rotation*, the more massive a body is the bigger its atmosphere can be (or with new young planets, the bigger it is, the better it can retain its atmosphere.

Tidally locked celestial bodies don't have a magnetic field or an atmosphere. Could it be that they are not rotating?

They are rotating slower, that means less current, less magnetism. They could still have an atmosphere but a thin one, every planetary body should have an ionosphere at least and probably some ionized dust in the atmosphere. (like the moon)

Regards,
Daniel


*at least rotation would fling the atmosphere away, gravity is what locks it down, whatever gravity is, imho, as gravity is still a mystery.

[jtb]

jtb wrote:
Earth's magnetic field is supposedly generated due to rotation, which in turn contains its atmosphere.

The more rotation, the more current can enter the poles (as current is charge flow in, rotation causes a well for charge to enter, as it is flung out at the equator), the stronger the magnetic field. Atmosphere is contained by gravity, not rotation*, the more massive a body is the bigger its atmosphere can be (or with new young planets, the bigger it is, the better it can retain its atmosphere.

Thanks Daniel. All the concensus visual representations showed the magnetic field entering and leaving the poles, contrary to what I understood would be EUs position.

Just to make sure I understand: does the current enter both the N & S Poles and exit at the equator? The magnetic field would be perpendicular to the flow of current.

I wasn't clear in my statement about what contains the atmosphere. The magnetic field, caused by rotation, is what I read contains the atmosphere. Is that possible?

The reason I ask, Venus is tidally locked to the sun, has no magnetic field, is ~ the size of Earth, yet has an atmospheric pressure 93 times that of Earth. I read that the excessive atmospheric pressure of Venus is caused by its proximity to the sun.

Earth and Venus are unique in that they are the only rocky celestial bodies in the solar system with an appreciable atmosphere. To me, gravity containing the atmosphere makes more sense than a magnetic field due to rotation.

[CharlesChandler]

To me, gravity containing the atmosphere makes more sense than a magnetic field due to rotation.

The other possibility is that the positively charged atmosphere is bound to the negatively charged Earth by the electric force. Then it would make sense that Venus' atmosphere, which is so thick that little light makes it to the surface, would be so highly electrified. Without sunlight reaching the surface, there shouldn't be much in the way of convection, since there shouldn't be any differential heating, and thus no stirring mechanism. And without convection, there shouldn't be much of a charging mechanism. But there is constant electrical activity in Venus' atmosphere. This can only mean that it is highly charged for its own reasons (i.e., it's a charged double-layer clinging to an oppositely charged surface).

[jtb]

Charles,
Have you viewed the Thunderbolts video "Earth's Electric Environment" by Dr Michael Clarage? If I understand him, he is saying Earth is surrounded within 2 double layers at different distances from Earth. During daylight hours current is flowing into the north pole and into the south pole simultaneously. During the night current is flowing out of the north pole and out of the south pole simultaneously toward the sun.

If the above is true, Earth's magnetic field could not be caused by the flow of this particular current. Magnetism should be perpendicular to the flow of current. There must be an additional current causing Earth's magnetic field.

I glanced over your link on geomagnetism, but would like your opinion on the video before I study your article in depth.

Venus is rotating so slowly it can be said only one side of Venus is always facing the sun. The resulting current into and out of the poles should be constant or possibly canceling each other. As you mention in your article, Venus has nearly no magnetic field.

Thank you.

[CharlesChandler]

Have you viewed the Thunderbolts video "Earth's Electric Environment" by Dr Michael Clarage? If I understand him, he is saying Earth is surrounded within 2 double layers at different distances from Earth. During daylight hours current is flowing into the north pole and into the south pole simultaneously. During the night current is flowing out of the north pole and out of the south pole simultaneously toward the sun.

Clarage didn't speak in such specific terms about anything, and while he asserted that the Earth is a giant transformer, he really didn't say what it was doing. Here is a more accurate depiction of how charged particles stream in and out of the Earth, from the Wikipedia article on Birkeland currents:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... ystems.png

That doesn't exactly make the Earth a "transformer", nor particularly complex. And it certainly doesn't establish any sort of external power source for the Earth. It merely shows that there are Pederson Currents across the poles.

If the above is true, Earth's magnetic field could not be caused by the flow of this particular current. Magnetism should be perpendicular to the flow of current. There must be an additional current causing Earth's magnetic field.

Exactly. The Earth's toroidal field can only be caused by rotating currents. Axial currents would create different B-fields.

Venus is rotating so slowly it can be said only one side of Venus is always facing the sun. The resulting current into and out of the poles should be constant or possibly canceling each other. As you mention in your article, Venus has nearly no magnetic field.

And with no magnetic field, there won't be any aurora. The Birkeland currents are formed by charged particles impinging on the geomagnetic field, where the particles experience a Lorentz force. This gets the particles spiraling around the magnetic lines of force. Then they follow those lines down to the surface of the planet. No geomagnetic field would mean no Birkeland currents, no aurora, and no Pederson currents across the surface. So I don't think that Venus has any axial currents at all.

[jtb]

Charles, I am restating your theories as fact. Please correct me if I misrepresent your article or omit pertinent information.

The electric force between the positively charged atmosphere and the negatively charged surface contains Earth's atmosphere; not Earth's magnetic field. Venus is ~ the same size of Earth, its rotation is rapidly slowing, has a negligible magnetic field, yet has a thick atmosphere. Therefore, rotation may be the cause of Earth's magnetic field but not what contains its atmosphere. (is this statement true?)

The solar system moving diagonally through the galactic magnetic field results in oppositely electrically charged double layers rotating within Earth at different rates that generate opposing magnetic fields resulting in a positively charged center and a negatively charged surface.

This movement through the galactic magnetic field also causes prograde rotations and orbits. The rapid slowing of Venus's retrograde rotation is evidence of this force.

Areas where current is flowing between the double layers results in molten fluid rock reducing friction that would otherwise cause the layers to rotate at the same speed. The combination of the reduced friction and the acceleration caused by magnetic pressure allows different rotation rates to remain constant.

Fluctuations in the galactic magnetic field cause one rotating layer to slow and the other to accelerate, which results in flipping of Earth's magnetic poles. End

Since the retrograde rotation of Venus is rapidly slowing, it will enter a period of non-rotation before achieving prograde rotation. An argument I make in my thread “Does the Moon Rotate?” is that a non-rotating object is impossible with the current theory of tidal locking, or synchronization. Venus would transition instantaneously from one retrograde rotation to one prograde rotation; an absurdity.

[CharlesChandler]

Charles, I am restating your theories as fact.

I totally agree that this is a useful exercise. Strip out all of the conditional statements, and just say it, and see what objections it raises. You can cloak even the thinnest of arguments in enough verbiage to make them sound OK, but as bald assertions, you might realize you have nothing. So this is a good way to find out what you actually have.

Just about all of what you said was spot on.

Therefore, rotation may be the cause of Earth's magnetic field but not what contains its atmosphere. (is this statement true?)

Yes.

The solar system moving diagonally through the galactic magnetic field results in oppositely electrically charged double layers rotating within Earth at different rates that generate opposing magnetic fields resulting in a positively charged center and a negatively charged surface.

I would suggest a slight rewording. The charge separation inside stars/planets happens for a different set of reasons (i.e., electron degeneracy pressure). Then, the fact that charged double-layers are "moving diagonally through the galactic magnetic field results in oppositely electrically charged double layers rotating within Earth at different rates". So the charge separation has to come first. Then the double-layers will behave differently if the assembly is moving through a magnetic field -- one goes one way and the other goes the other. And the Earth-generated field is actually from any remaining conflicts. Imagine just one of those layers, as it moves through the galactic field. If it is moving at just the right rate, there will be no local field. If the galactic field is accelerating or decelerating that layer, there will be a local field due to the conflict. Now imagine double-layers. If one layer is rotating at the correct rate to be in harmony with the galactic field, the local field will be from the back-pressure on the other layer. In a totally frictionless environment, the two layers could achieve a perfect equilibrium, rotating in opposite directions at precisely the right speed, leaving no Earth-induced field. But just a little friction will result in some sort of conflict, producing a weak net field (as is the case).

All of your other statements are quite correct IMO.

The only other thing that I would add is that this scenario explains rotational precession. In order to get precession, you need angular momentum, and you need an axial force. Consider a child's spinning top. As the rotation slows, the angular momentum relaxes, and the downward force of gravity becomes more significant, such that the top starts to wobble. So if the Earth's rotation is wobbling, we should suspect that there is an axial force. The standard model has no such force, but if the Earth is being subjected to a galactic magnetic field, and if the Earth wasn't already rotating with its axis in line with that field, the result will be precession.

Please feel free to register on my site, so that you can enter comments, corrections, suggestions, and your own contributions. We're putting together a new workgroup, with some existing and some new members. Every time we do this, the whole thing reaches a new plateau, in terms of the scope of the theory, and in terms of the accuracy. It's already clearly superior to the standard models, on a wide variety of topics. We no longer bother seeking the approval of the mainstream with what we're doing -- they're just not qualified to critique a body of theory that is this far ahead of them. So we're just continuing onward, knowing that we're blazing the trail for future generations. Since you have a good comprehension of mechanical reasoning, you're qualified to add your name to the list of people who have helped build the framework. And never underestimate what a citizen scientist can accomplish. After all, by contemporary standards, Galileo was an amateur.