[ How many Hydrogen bombs detonated simultaneously would be required to produce the same energy as a gigantic Birkeland current of five seconds duration? (: > })) ]
Transmutation?
Several elements can be converted into other elements; usually these are results of energetic nuclear reactions and radioactive isotopes. Mercury was converted into gold in 1924 and 1941.The Spallation Neutron Source has a liquid mercury target which will be transmuted into gold, platinum, and iridium, which are lower in atomic number than mercury.
But is it be possible that the very large voltages and currents of negative and positive ions that exist in the plasma of Birkeland currents could also create transmutations? If so, then the rings might have elements that are contain one or two electrons more those in the elements outside of but close to the ‘Eye’ if those rings were created by an immense negative voltage (and current); and the other rings created by an immense positive voltage (and current) might have one or two electrons less that those elements outside of but close to the ‘Eye’. In addition, these transmuted elements might be more plentiful near the centre than at the extremity because the voltage, current and energy is greater at the centre than at the outside ring. A plot of abundance of elements versus distance from the centre of the ‘Eye’ might be indicative of a Birkeland current. Radial plots could be taken every 30 (45) degrees, for a total of 12 (8) samples that could be added together to create a single cumulative radial plot.
Could a Birkeland current melt, fuse and change sand into different geological rocks? Would + ions create different substances and elements than - ions? It seems so, although the descriptions which follow are in the language of currently-accepted geological terminology and ideas.
http://WWW.Wikipedia.org/wiki/richat_structure displays: “The Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of the Sahara, is a prominent circular feature. This structure is a deeply eroded, slightly elliptical, 40 km in diameter dome. The sedimentary rock exposed in this dome ranges in age from Late Proterozoic within the center of the dome to Ordovician sandstone around its edges.
... Exposed within the interior of the Richat Structure are a variety of intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks. They include rhyolitic volcanic rocks, gabbros, carbonatites and kimberlites. .... According to field mapping and aeromagnetic data, the gabbroic rocks form two concentric ring dikes. The inner ring dike is about 20 m in width and lies about 3 km from the center of Richat Structure. The outer ring dike is about 50 m in width and lies about 7 to 8 km from the center of this structure. Thirty-two carbonatite dikes and sills have been mapped within the Richat Structure. ... These intrusive igneous rocks are interpreted as indicating the presence of a large alkaline igneous intrusion that currently underlies the Richat Structure and created it by uplifting the overlying rock. [The included diagram would not produce circular rings.]
Scar? Transmutation?
In my speculation, an immense Birkeland current could produce both a circular scar and transmuted desert sand simultaneously. I further speculate that the “Eye of Sahara” is such a Scott Scar. Perhaps various measurements - mechanical, electrical, magnetic and electromagnetic - can be conducted on the ‘Eye’ which will indicate/prove or discount/disprove my speculations.
Is the “Eye of the Sahara” a Scott Scar, an example of transmutation, or both?
A Scott Scar?
In Donald Scott’s 2014 presentation on ‘Modeling Birkeland Currents’ (presently on Youtube.com/watch=?vYIFR67sekK0), near minute 16:30 he shows a cyclic X_Y graph of an alternating voltage where the +peaks decrease by the square-root of distance. The negative voltage peaks also decrease by the square root, with the first negative peak midway between the first and second positive peaks. The distance between each peak is a wave length and therefore each peak is equal distance from adjacent similar + or - peaks, which means that the bottoms of the valleys are the same distance apart as are the tops of the peaks
In fact, the Y-axis is the centre of a Birkeland current and as such the 2D graph should extend in both right and left directions from the y-axis. In reality, it would extend in three dimensions, which would create a 3D graph that consists of a series of equally-spaced rings about a common centre, with the value of each +peak and each -peak gradually reduced.
Images of the ‘Eye of the Sahara’, generated by a
http://www.goole.com search for ‘Eye of the Sahara’, does indeed look like a series of equally-space circular rings with a common centre. Although the peaks appear to be of approximately the same height (most views are from above), one image might show the centre to be slightly higher than the rest and a gradual decrease with height with greater distance from the centre. If a dome, could it be curved in a manner reminiscent of a square-root function?
One very important aspect of Donald’s graph is that the voltages vary from a high positive value to a low negative value and back up to a slightly less high value, down to a etc., etc. This means that Birkeland currents are flowing simultaneously into the Sahara desert and out of the desert. This could cause some excavation of the desert, and perhaps, add some material to adjacent rings. Being ignorant of the attributes and action of plasma, I won’t guess whether the + or - voltages could do the excavation. Also, I have trouble visualizing magnetic field being adjacent to each other without cancelling each other, but it might be possible to determine magnetic direction at the peaks and valleys. ??
Could the “Eye of the Sahara” be a scar left behind from a massive Birkeland Current? The eye of the Sahara is circular, or almost circular, concentric valleys and peaks exist (perhaps due to evacuation and deposition), the bottoms of the valleys appear to the same distance apart as are the peaks, and the dome might? exhibit a square-root decrease in height from centre to extremity. If these and other measureable properties exist, and there might be others, then it is probable that the ‘Eye of the Sahara’ was created by a huge Birkeland current.
Currents going into the desert would have a magnetic field about them and currents going out of the desert would have a magnetic fields of opposite polarity and direction. Have there been any magnetic surveys done from ground vehicles or very low flying aircraft? If so, what did the magnetic field look like?
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Are Birkeland Currents usually/always twinned?
John Plaxton