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Diese Suchbegriffe wurden hervorgehoben: low frequency free energy coil antenna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUCKING TESLA GOOD STUFF NEW STUFF SEARCH More Musings On Energy-sucking Radio Antennas Below are some various collected thoughts regarding the idea that a tiny antenna can draw large EM waves into itself. SHORTCUTS Mechanical Antennas Various Questions Phased fields that absorb ...and also emit? Pulse-eating Coils Sucking REAL Energy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MECHANICAL ANTENNAS Here's a more intuitive way to picture the "energy sucking" effect. Suppose I have a bar magnet mounted on an axle so I can flip it over endwise. If I spin it, it flips end-over-end and produces a large oscillating b-field in the environment. If I place a coil near it, then power the coil with AC, I can force the magnet to rotate. Obviously I've just built a synchronous motor. (Yes, I'll probably need to spin the magnet by hand to get it to "lock" onto the AC fields from the coil.) In this synchronous motor, if the bearing friction is low, after the rotating magnet locks itself onto the coil's AC magnetic field, no energy is drawn from the coil. The magnet will synch up with the coil so as to draw zero energy. But phase of the magnet and the AC fields are important. If I now give my spinning bar magnet a frictional load, the magnet phase will begin to lag behind the AC field of the coil, and the magnet will start drawing significant energy from the coil. The magnet is sucking energy out of the space around itself, and the coil is depositing energy back into the space. (It turns out that this phase lag in the magnetic field is the CAUSE of the energy drain.) My synchronous motor is doing some work. Note the details of what's happening here. First the electromagnet coil stores energy as a b-field in the surrounding region. Next, then the magnet partially cancels that field. The magnet simultaneously feels a driving force. It accelerates. The "cancelled" energy didn't vanish. Instead it ends up as kinetic energy in the spinning magnet. The magnet is essentially drawing energy out of the coil, and, if the spinning magnet was not there, the coil would lose no energy. Now, what happens if I pull the coil to a distance from the rotating magnet? The torque will become less, and the magnet will lose synchronization unless I either reduce the frictional load, or MAKE THE BAR MAGNET STRONGER. Suppose I make the magnet stronger. Now the magnet is still extracting energy from the coil at the same rate as before, even though the distance between coil and magnet has increased. What if I increase the distance more and more, yet make the magnet VERY VERY strong? My synchronous motor still works fine. (Note: if we suppose that the frictional load was small to begin with, then my magnet wouldn't have to be THAT strong.) Instead of using a distant coil, what if I drive the magnet with a radio wave from a distant transmitter? The spinning magnet will work as before. It will lag behind the incoming fields, and it will continue to extract energy from the surrounding fields and use it to heat its frictional load. If we plot the energy flow lines (Poynting field), we'll see the radio waves in a large region being focused onto the spinning magnet and diving into it. The magnet will still remain locked to the "drive" fields, and it will lag behind them by 90 degrees at most. The magnet is being spun by the radio waves. The absorbed energy ends up as frictional Notice that the magnet can be MUCH smaller than the wavelength of the radio waves. It's the field of the magnet that intercepts the energy, not the physical magnet poles. Also note that the physical magnet itself is not directly interacting with the incoming waves. Instead, the magnet's NEARFIELD B-FIELD interacts with the radio waves, and this altered b-field then applies a force to the magnet. The static field of the magnet absorbs energy from the radio waves, then it delivers that energy to the magnet as a mechanical force exerted over a distance. The nearfield b-field acts like an antenna! Since energy is absorbed from the radio waves, the spinning magnet must be casting a large "EM shadow," and punching a big hole in the incoming wavetrain. The magnet might be tiny, but its magnetic field can extend to a great distance. It's as if the rotating magnet surrounds itself with a large black "absorber cloud" which blocks the incoming EM waves. Obviously the magnet can only "reach out" within about 1/4 wavelength around itself. My synchronous motor has now become an "energy-sucking" antenna. To make the picture complete, replace the spinning bar magnet with a tiny coil and capacitor, and put a series resistor in the loop to act as a "frictional" load. The radio transmitter could be very far away from the coil, but if the alternating current in the resonator coil can build up and produce an extremely strong magnetic field, this "motor" can still suck lots of energy from the driving fields in the space around it. It's like a synchronous motor with no moving parts. It's like a tiny boat which can erect a huge sail to catch the wind. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PERMANENT MAGNET AS SUPERCONDUCTING ANTENNA In order to cause a tiny antenna to intercept EM waves across a vast area, the "Q" of the antenna mus be very high. In other words, the resistance of the coil of wire must be extremely low. The natural resistivity of everyday metals severely limits how large the "virtual size" of the antenna might be. We need superconductors if you want to "grab" really huge amounts of energy. Or do we? A superconductor coil resembles a permanent magnet. The big difference is that the current in the SC coil is available to external circuts, but the "current" within the electron spins of a ferromagnet are not. However, there's a trick we can play. If we SPIN a permanent magnet, or WIGGLE a permanent magnet, it behaves like a superconducting coil for AC. It produces an intense AC magnetic field, and if the phase of this field is correct, it can "suck energy" from incoming EM waves. A powerful permanent magnet, if it is allowed to wiggle, acts like a large loop antenna. To tap the received energy, simply place an inductive pickup coil near the wiggling magnet. Obviously this will only work when the received frequency is fairly low. A large rotating neodymium magnet can "grab energy" from 60Hz radiation, but not from 10KHz radiation. Even so, there might be places where rotating magnets could serve as miniature antennas. If you build a micro robot, how will you power it? With effing humongous chemical batteries? Maybe you could use solar cells (need large area), or transmit energy to an onboard inductive pickup coil (hard to wind such a thing.) A resonant pickup coil would be good, but the Q-factor needs to be high. What if you place lots of tiny magnets on lots of tiny fibers so the magnets resonant mechanically? At the resonant frequency, the array of magnets will act like a fairly large "virtual pickup coil." Wind a one-turn coil around your magnet array, and you've got a fairly high voltage AC power supply on board your robot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VARIOUS QUESTIONS How can an electron in a conventional antenna absorb any energy from EM waves? Each electron in an antenna is far too small to interact with longwave EM fields! Right, but the *fields* of electrons perform the interaction, and the physical diameter of the particle is not very important. The electron can be infinitely small as long as its fields occupy a significant region. Incoming EM waves "collide" with the fields of the electron rather than hitting the electron itself. If the electron's fields are altered, they can drag the electron along. Antenna wires contain mobile electrons, but normally the fields of these electrons are cancelled by the fields of the protons. To be able to interact with EM waves, the electrons and protons must extend their fields outwards. To do so, they must be relatively moving and/or separated from each other. In other words, to intercept lots of EM energy, make sure your antenna creates a strong field of its own. But this implies that, even for conventional antennas, the antenna is not just a passive absorber. Instead it's an active, field-generating device. The fields of the nearfield region *are* the antenna, and the electrons and protons are not. The fields of the nearfield region *are* the antenna, and the metal parts of the antenna are not. But if the wiggling electrons in an antenna can generate a field in the nearfield region, and if this EM pattern can behave as an "absorbtive surface" which in turn applies forces to the electrons ...then the fields of the nearfield region are "sucking energy" from the surrounding space and delievering it to the thin antenna wire. Even though conventional quarter-wave dipole is electrically long, it still needs the "energy sucking effect" in order to present a large "absorbtive surface" which couples it to the incoming EM waves. Researchers of 1900 were not too wrong when they laid out large copper sheets to act as radio antennas. They wanted to provide a large-area absorber for the incoming waves. Eventually they found that thin wires work equally well. Yet thin wires lack the area, so how can they absorb much EM energy? Simple: it's the wire's *fields* that act as the large-area wave absorbers. Once we realize this, then the "energy sucking antennas" seem far less weird. How can the magnetic field and the electrostatic field around a small antenna absorb any EM energy, since these fields are 90 degrees out of phase? Ah, if we actually plot the E and M fields we'll discover that IT'S BETTER if the two fields are 90deg out of phase! (The E and M fields of the incoming EM wave are in phase, of course. Only the antenna's fields are in quadrature phase.) This is really cool. As the small antenna operates, its dipole-shaped e-field wants to sit at the crossover point of the e-field timing of the incoming wave. That way it can best distort the incoming waves in order to suck them into the antenna. When the antenna's e-field is in that position, the "leading" face of the dipole e-field is oriented so as to strengthen the wave's own field, while the "trailing" edge of the antenna's field weakens it. This bends the EM waves inwards. As the EM wave moves along, the antenna's field cycles past its maximum value, and when the e-field of the EM wave reaches maximum, the antenna's dipole field is zero. The antenna's e-field lags behind the e-field of the incoming EM wave by 90 degrees. On the other hand, the antenna's circular magnetic field works best if it sits at the strongest part of the incoming wave. (The antenna's b-field is in phase with the b-field of the incoming wave.) The "leading" part of the antenna's circular b-field can strengthen the incoming b-field, while the "trailing" part of the antenna's field can weaken it, which again bends the energy-flow vectors inwards. By being 90deg out of phase, the fields generated by the antenna have the ideal timing to absorb the incoming EM energy. I suppose this means that they alternately draw their energy first from the e-field of the incoming wave, then from its b-field. If an antenna is like a waterwheel, then this "waterwheel" has a set of alternating buckets, one for "E", the next for "M", etc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PHASED FIELDS THAT ABSORB... AND ALSO EMIT? When a simple coil is driven with alternating current of low frequency, the magnetic field around the coil grows and shrinks twice per cycle. If we could see the coil's flux lines, they would appear to balloon outwards into space as the current climbs towards maximum, and when the current cycled back to zero, they would seemingly be sucked back into the coil again, and deliver their energy back into it. Because the frequency is low (and the coil is small), the coil emits almost no EM radiation. All of the b-field energy that expands into the space around the coil is regained when the fields collapse again. The coil is NOT a radio transmitter. If the "energy sucking" effect is real, then this expanding/contracting field is a key concept. OSCILLATING fields, but with NO RADIATION. The field around the coil vibrates, but it cannot escape. It's the AC analog of the fields of a bar magnet. Now along comes a freely-propagating EM wave. If the wave has the same frequency as the AC in the coil, and the phase is right, then the coil absorbs energy from the EM wave (which leaves an EM shadow behind it as the wave continues on past.) The fields created by the coil have produced an asymmerical effect on the fields of the EM waves. The trapped and vibrating fields have absorbed the incoming radio waves! This is not just simple superposition. Instead, the coil is screwing up the the b-field of the EM waves, which destroys their ability to propagate (and so they are absorbed by the coil.) I find it fascinating that the coil's fields can disrupt the EM wave, even though the coil itself cannot radiate. Very counterintuitive. Not like normal superposition at all! The fields in the coil's nearfield zone behave almost like a physical object, like a "black absorber cloud" which blocks EM waves. It's like aiming a laser beam at another laser beam and finding that, rather than passing through each other, the first beam swallows up the second one! (This only works with nearfield fields though.) Right away I think: what happens at other phases besides -90 degrees? I plot the superposed fields at a 0 degree phase lag, and also at 180 degrees. I find that, at both these phase values, the coil's field DOES NOT interact with the incoming EM anymore. Instead the coil's field simply expands and contracts as usual, and the EM waves pass right by. OK, what about +90 degrees? Aha! The coil now seems to do the OPPOSITE of absorbtion. It EMITS energy into the EM wave and amplifies it. It creates a "bright shadow." Without the incoming wave, the coil was just an inductor (no radiation.) With the incoming wave present, suddenly the coil can transmit! Heyyyyy. If the coil was a single atom, this would be an example of triggered fluorescence. It's Stimulated Emission. Radio Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A low frequency LASER, but apparently without any Quantum Mechanics! (But then, QM was always wave/particle in the first place, so we should not be suprised if lasers can be viewed entirely as EM-wave beasties.) This is very weird, no? Without the incoming EM waves, the coil just sits there oscillating, but not emitting anything. But when the EM wave arrives with +90 phase, suddenly the coil is able to dump energy and emit genuine EM radiation. Very screwy! Nothing at all like the radio physics I learned in school. Weirdness lurks in the nearfield. Hmmmm. I wonder if, in a real laser, the pumped atoms are constantly oscillating at their resonant frequency? Instead of having a static pumped-up electron shell, do they normally have a trapped, non-radiating EM field-oscillation? If so, then perhaps they only can "lase" when the phase of the stimulating beam is at the proper setting. The light phase might usually be wrong for triggering emission. However, if there is a slight phase-drift between the oscillating atom and the stimulating beam, then eventually the phase will line up correctly, and the atom will suddenly "lase." Maybe it emits a whole long transient rather than a single "photon." If I illuminate a bunch of pumped RLC resonators with an EM wave, will they emit a big pulse? Can I base a radio transmitter on "Q-switching?" Oooooo! What if we get even smaller? Nucleii give off EM waves when they fuse. If I illuminate a radioactive nucleus with the right frequency, might I induce decays and affect the half-life of radioactive materials? Would this even work with NON-radioactives? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PULSE-EATING COILS Here's a thought experiment. If we connect a coil to a capacitor, then illuminate them with EM waves at the resonant frequency, the "energy sucking" phenomenon should occur, but the AC current in the coil can only build up to a certain level. (It will be limited by coil resistance, or by radiation leakage when the fields grow extremely intense.) The resonant circuit should swallow a particular clump of EM energy, then stop absorbing. What happens if the incoming EM waves suddenly cease? If the resonant circuit can only absorb energy when it interacts with EM waves, then maybe the same is true for emission. Maybe the coil can only emit energy when there are external EM waves present. When the EM waves are switched off, the resonant circuit should not radiate, and it should keep oscillating (imagine that the coil is a superconductor.) We've managed to "fill" the coil by hitting it with a pulse of EM energy. When the waves cease, the energy remains trapped in the coil. The decay time of the coil SHOULD NOT match the rise time, since the "rising" requires the presence of both an incoming EM wave and also the coil's own oscillating nearfield magnetism. With the EM wave removed, the coil does not radiate, so its oscillation does not decay. Now what would happen if we hit the coil with a different pulse of EM waves: one where the phase is +90 degrees? This will make the coil "fluoresce" and dump out its contents as an EM wave. I think. First we emit EM waves towards a distant resonator, then we jump the phase of the emitted waves by 180 degrees. First the resonator absorbs energy, then it dumps it again. See what we have here? Signal switching without any switches! If a resonant circuit is "empty", it will absorb energy and take on the phase of any wavetrain that hits it. If later pulses of EM waves are at 0 or 180 phase, the "full" resonator ignores them. And if a "full" coil is hit by a +90 wave, the coil will "lase." ( Maybe. This is only a thought experiment.) Suppose we set up a large array of RLC resonators and pump them full of energy with small oscillator circuits. Suppose all the coils are a couple of wavelengths apart so they won't interact. If a pulse of EM waves should hit this array of coils, they'll all dump their energy into the wave, and a much stronger pulse will come out the other side! This is somewhat like a phase-array antenna. However, the individual coils do nothing until an externally-applied EM wave goes past. It's more like a laser amplifier than like a conventional PA antenna. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sucking REAL Energy Another thought experiment. Suppose we use a superconductor coil as our small antenna. With resistance removed, the current in the coil can rise so high that the field grows REALLY huge, and the antenna can draw energy in from 1/4 wavelength around itself. The "energy sucking" process makes the tiny coil act very large. How much wattage can we grab from a distant transmitter? If the transmitter puts out 10KW at 500KHz, it looks like this: 10KW at 500KHz wavelength = 600 meters "energy sucking" virtual antenna area = 30,000 meters^2 distance to xmitter received power 1km 25 Watts 10km 250 mW 100km 2.5 mW Not so great for motors, but you could drive some headphones. Like crystal radios do! What if we lower the frequency 10 times, to 50KHz? The antenna's effective area goes up as the square of the nearfield radius, so received power goes up by a factor of 100. We can obtain the same results as with 500KHz, but our receivers can be 10x further out. 10KW at 50KHz wavelength = 6 kilometers "energy sucking" virtual antenna area = 3,000,000 meters^2 distance to xmitter received power 10km 25 Watts 100km 250 mW 1000km 2.5 mW We can grab a quarter watt at 100KM distance from the transmitter. (Pretty impressive if the antenna is a little coil inside a desktop radio.) Lets look at something that's much more down to Earth. How about building a tiny tabletop model? Our transmitter will be a flyback transformer running at 30KHZ, 30KV. The receiver will be an identical device. Give both transformers a vertical antenna. How much energy can the receiver extract from the transmitter? If the transmitter's antenna is 10pF to ground, then when charged it carries 1/2*C*V^2 Joules of energy, or 4.5mJ. The transmitter charges and discharges this antenna 30K times per second, for a "sloshing" EM energy flow of 270 watts. If the receiver could "suck" each 4.5mJ pulse out of the fields, it could extract 270 watts at most (if the flyback transformer could handle the current!) A better estimate comes from connecting the two antennas with a capacitance. Suppose the capacitance between the antennas is 1pF. If the load resistance of the receiver causes the resonant voltage on the receiver to rise to a value of 1.414 times less than the transmitter voltage, then we've got a simple voltage divider. 30KV on the transmitter antenna, 21KV on the receiver. The receiver gathers 1.7mA of high-freq current. (At such high voltages, the 1pF between the antennas becomes a significant conductor.) The receiver ends up drawing 35 watts. Actually, if there was no load on the receiver, its voltage would rise until it was near 30KV. Just wind a secondary on the core of the receiving flyback and hook up a light bulb to draw the 35 watts out of the "sky". If Tesla used a megawatt transmitter at 5KHz, he probably could light some bulbs from 100KM away. (Ideally, that gives 2500 watts received.) Suppose we transmit at 100Hz? The wavelength is 3000KM and our receiver is probably within the nearfield region of the transmitter, so it can grab a significant portion of the 10KW. Hey, didn't Tesla believe that lower radio frequencies were better than high ones? For resonant power transmission they are, since the nearfield zone of a resonant receiving antenna is larger at low frequency, yet with no less power from the transmitter, and no less power flowing past the antenna. A small low-frequency resonator coil is "larger," so it intercepts more radiation. None of this takes the Schumann cavity into account. If our VLF radio waves cannot escape from the atmosphere, then the inverse square law no longer applies, and the EM waves near the receiver are much stronger. If the VLF waves remain trapped within the atmospheric cavity, then an ideal energy-sucking antenna could pull in the ENTIRE output from the transmitter. If you go out and invent low-noise amplifiers, this whole issue becomes unimportant for radio receivers. If your antenna is too small, you can simply amplify the signal. But if you want to run motors on wireless power, 1KHz radio is far better than 1MHz. Speaking of this, what could we do with a really powerful superconducting coil at 60Hz? The wavelength is 5000KM, and the effective area of the antenna is 2e+12 square meters. Maybe that coil could "suck energy" from the entire 60Hz power grid. The device would act like a perpetual motion machine, and the clue to its operation would be found in the strong, vibrating magnetic field that surrounds it. This sounds like some famous "Free Energy devices: the Hubbard Coil and the Hendershot Device. What other "free energy" devices involve huge coils? Hey, maybe Joe Newman's energy machine is actually a "Tesla power receiver", and is accidentally tapping into the US power grid! He should try running it at 3600 RPM. ENERGY-SUCKING ANTENNAS http://amasci.com/tesla./tescv2.html Created and maintained by Bill Beaty. Mail me at: . . ------------------------------ TESLA PAGE WEIRD SCI. GOOD STUFF NEW STUFF SEARCH 'Energy-sucking' Radio Antennas, N. Tesla's Power Receiver Here's something that has always bugged me: light waves are about 5000 Angstroms in wavelength, while atoms are more like 1 Angstrom across. Atoms are thousands of times smaller than light waves, yet atoms obviously interact very strongly with light. How can they do this? Perhaps they get around the problem by employing Quantum Mechanics (photon-physics rather than EM waves?) There must be some explanation. After all, when a metal dipole antenna is only one foot long, it certainly cannot absorb much 5000ft-wave radiation. I never encountered a good explanation for this during my physics education. I finally found a couple of physics papers that make things clear. And it's not QM that solves the problem. It turns out that the real explanation is both little-known and fascinating. MORE: Jump down to full article MORE: Clearer diagrams & description MORE: Further thoughts on this... MORE: some email discussions PERPETUAL MOTION?!! Strangely, several people have made the mistaken assumption that this article is about a perpetual motion machine. Why leap to such a conclusion? Who knows. Perhaps I need to point out that in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the "10 megavolt supply" is a distant radio transmitter (an EM energy source, powered by the utility grid.) This article is about the ability of an LC resonator to "funnel" incoming electromagnetic waves towards tiny antennas. These antennas behave as if they were much larger than their physical diameter, as if there was an "invisible lens" focusing more of the incoming EM energy upon the antenna. In conventional terms, it's about enhancing the EA (effective aperture) of small antennas. 1-dimensional model 1-dimensional model w/resonance Some Implications An Update References comments from email Bill b article: Light without photons (NEW 9/99) HOW DO ATOMS DO IT? I stumbled across the answer to my questions in a paper about VLF/ELF loop antennas. Apparently Quantum Mechanics does not supply the answer. Instead the question of small antenna behavior is resolved by a little-known section of classical electromagnetism. It involves resonance, but more importantly, it involves the magnetic and electric fields which surround any antenna. (I guess I should have expected this. After all, much of physics works fine with classical concepts, with photons and EM waves both explaining the same phenomena.) An "electrically small" antenna is one where the physical antenna size is far smaller than the EM wavelength being received. At first glance, electrically small antennas aren't all that strange. If we use them to transmit radio waves, they work just as you'd expect. In order to force a tiny antenna to send out a large amount of EM energy, we can simply give it a huge driving signal (high voltage on a tiny dipole, or high current on a tiny loop antenna.) If the EM fields are strong at a distance of 1-wavelength from the small antenna, then the total EM radiation sent out by the antenna will be significant. It's almost as if the EM fields themselves are acting as the antenna. Weak fields act "small," while intense fields behave as a "large" antenna. This explains how a tiny antenna can transmit lots of EM. But what about reception? It turns out that a similar idea works for reception; for "input" as opposed to "output." By manipulating the EM fields, we can force an electrically-small receiving antenna to behave as if it was very, VERY large. The secret is to intentionally impress an artificial AC field upon the receiving antenna. We'll transmit in order to receive, as it were. Conventional half-wave antennas already do exactly this because their electrons can slosh back and forth, generating their own EM fields. For example, the thin wires of a half-wave antenna are far too thin to block any incoming radio waves and absorb them. However, the current in such an antenna, as well as the voltage between the two wires, these send out large, wide, volume-filling EM fields which have a constant phase relative to the incoming waves. Because of the constant phase, these fields interact very strongly with those incoming waves. They create the lobes of an interference pattern, and this pattern has an odd characteristic: some of the incoming energy has apparently vanished. The fields produced by the antenna have cancelled out some of the energy of the impinging EM waves. TRANSMIT IN ORDER TO RECEIVE?!!! Rather than relying upon the wiggling electrons in the wires of the large half-wave antenna to generate EM fields... what if we used use a power supply instead? If an antenna is 1/10,000 wavelength across, we should be able to force it to behave as if it's huge; perhaps 1/3 wavelength across. We simply have to drive it hard with an RF source. We must drive it at the *same* frequency as the incoming waves, then adjust the phase and amplitude of the power supply to a special value. At one particular value, our transmissions will cause the antenna to be best at absorbing the incoming waves. Take a loop antenna as an example. If we want our little loop-antenna to receive far more radio energy than it normally would, then we need to produce a large AC current in the antenna coil, where the phase of this current is locked in synch with the waves we wish to receive, and is lagging by 90 degrees. The voltage across the antenna terminals stays about the same as when an undriven antenna receives those waves. However, since the current is much higher in the driven antenna, the energy received per second is much higher as well. This seems like engineering blasphemy, no? How can adding a larger current increase the RECEIVED power? And won't our receiving antenna start transmitting? Yet this actually does work. Power equals volts times amps. To increase the RF power received from distant sources, we increase the antenna's amperes intentionally. This sounds really silly. How can we improve the reception of an electrically small antenna by using it to *transmit*? The secret involves the cancellation of magnetic or electric fields in the near-field region of the antenna. The physics of the nearfield region of antennas has a kind of nonlinearity because conductors are present. In the electromagnetic nearfield region, it's possible to change the "E" of a wave without changing the "M" (change the antenna's voltage without changing the current), and vice versa. Superposition of EM traveling waves does not quite apply here because the ruling equations for energy propagation near conductors depends upon V^2 or I^2 separately. In addition, V is almost independent of I in the near-field region. If a very small loop antenna (a coil) should happen to receive a radio wave as a very small signal, we can increase the received *energy* by artificially increasing the current. Or if we're using a tiny dipole antenna (a capacitor,) we can increase the short dipole's received energy by applying a large AC voltage across the antenna terminals. NOT CRACKPOTTY AFTER ALL Note that this does not violate any rules of conventional physics. If we add stronger EM fields, they sum with the incoming EM plane waves and cause these radio waves to bend towards the tiny antenna, and the antenna absorbs them. This increases the antenna's EA (effective area, or effective aperture.) We can use this process to alter the coupling between the antenna and the surrounding space, but the total energy still follows the conservation law. The altered fields only change the "virtual size" or EA of the antenna. More importantly, the phenomenon is quite limited. We can only use it with electrically "small" antennas. We cannot increase the "virtual size" much beyond a quarter wavelength for the waves involved. If we already have a large 1/2-wave dipole, then no matter how large is our artificially-add AC voltage, we cannot make it absorb more incoming waves. However, if we have an extremely small antenna, say, a 10KHz loop antenna the size of a pie plate, we can make that antenna seem very, very large indeed. Think like this: how large is the diameter of the antenna's nearfield region at 10KHz? Around 10 kilometers? What if we could extract half of the incoming energy from that entire volume?!! In theory we can: half can be absorbed, and the other half scattered. In theory a tiny loop antenna sitting on your lab bench can intercept just as much energy as a longwire 1/2-wave antenna which is 10KM long. Bizarre, eh? Here's a way to look at the process. If I can create a field which CANCELS OUT some of the energy in an extended region surrounding a tiny antenna, this violates the law of Conservation of Energy. Field energy cannot just vanish! That's correct: if we cancel out the energy in the nearfield of an antenna, this is actually an absorbtion process, and the energy winds up inside the antenna circuitry. By emitting an EM field, a receiving antenna sucks EM energy into itself. If we ACTIVELY DRIVE an antenna with an "anti-wave", we will force the antenna to produce stronger fields which cancel the incoming waves, and simultaneously the antenna absorbs more energy from the EM fields in the surrounding region of space than it ordinarily would. It also emits some waves of its own. But in antenna theory these waves are identical to the received signals, and they are considered to be reflected or "scattered" from the antenna. It's a general law that we cannot receive EM waves without scattering half of the energy away again. Here's the interesting part. If we wish to receive power rather than signals, a critical issue arises. Driving a tiny antenna with a large signal will create large currents and heat the antenna. Small antennas are inefficient when compared to half-wave dipoles. If we wish to maximize the virtual aperature of a really tiny antenna (e.g. make our 10KHz pie-plate coil act 10KM across,) we'll quickly be frustrated by wire heating. All the extra received energy will go into warming the copper. Possible solutions: use superconductor loops, or at low frequencies use the nearest equivalent to an AC-driven superconductor: a rotating permanent magnet or rotating capacitor plates. BUT HOW DO ATOMS DO IT? OK, if this supposedly explains how tiny atoms can receive long light waves, how can we increase the voltage signal to a SINGLE ATOM?! Actually it's not difficult. No angstrom-sized radio transmitter is needed. The key is to use EM energy stored as oscillating fields; i.e. resonance. If an atom resonates electromagnetically at the same frequency as the incident light waves, then, from a Classical standpoint, that atom's internal resonator will store EM energy accumulated from the incoming waves. It will then behave as an oscillator, becoming surrounded by an increasingly strong AC electromagnetic field as time goes by. (Quantum Mechanics might say that the atom is surrounded by virtual photons at the resonant frequency.) If this alternating field is locked into the correct phase with the incoming light wave, then the atom's fields can interact with the light waves' fields and cancel out quite a bit of the light energy present in the nearfield region around the atom. The energy doesn't vanish, instead it ends up INSIDE the atom. Half of the energy goes into kicking an electron to a higher level, and the other half is re-emitted as "scattered" waves. By resonantly creating an "anti-wave", which superposes with incoming waves and bends them towards the atom, the tiny atom has "sucked energy" out of the enormously long light waves as they go by. And since the atom has no conventional copper coils inside it wasting energy, it can build up some really strong fields which allow it to behave extremely "large" when compared to it's physical diameter. Impossible? Please track down the C. Bohren paper in the references below. He analyzes the behavior of small metal particles and dielectric particles exposed to long-wave EM radiation, and rigorously shows with semi-Classical analysis that the presance of a resonator can cause dust motes to "act larger than they really are." How can this stuff be true?! After all, electric and magnetic fields cannot BEND other fields. They cannot affect each other directly. They work by superposition. For the same reason, a light wave cannot deflect another light wave. Ah, but as I said before, the mathematics of the fields around a coil or a capacitor are not the same as the mathematics of freely-propagating EM waves. If we add the field of a bar magnet to the field of a radio wave, and if the bar magnet is in the right place (at a spot where the phase of the b-field of the radio wave is reversing polarity,) then the radio wave becomes distorted in such a way that it momentarily bends towards the bar magnet. And then, as the EM wave progresses, we must flip the magnet over and over in order to keep the field pattern from bending away again during the following half-cycle. The energy flow continues to "funnel in" towards the rotating magnet. Now replace the bar magnet with an AC coil, and vary the coil current so the fields stay locked to the traveling radio wave in the same way. In that case the wave energy will ALWAYS bend towards the coil and be absorbed. Superposition still applies, but this is a COHERENT superposition, so it acts like a static field pattern: as if a permanent magnet can bend a radio wave inwards and absorb its energy rather than simply having the fields sum together without interesting results. Note that the coil will also emit its own EM ripple. This emission is well known: atoms ideally will scatter half the light they absorb, and dipole antennas behave similarly: they scatterer incoming EM waves as they absorb part of the energy. When all is said and done, our oscillating coil has absorbed half of the incoming EM energy and re-emitted (or "scattered") the rest. In a phase-locked system, we cannot tell the difference between reflection and transmission. A "HOLE" IN PHYSICS When viewed as a halfwave receiving antenna, a resonant atom acts as if it has expanded in size to fill its entire nearfield region. In terms of Quantum Mechanics, it does so by locally creating a large virtual-photon AC field which normally would not exist. Because of coherent superposition, in a sense this new field BECOMES THE ANTENNA. The significant part of this new field extends to (Pi*wavelength)/2 distance around the atom, and this distance can be thousands of times larger than the atom's radius. A 1-angstrom atom with a large AC field can behave as a 1/3-wave antenna at optical frequencies. Though tiny, the atom can absorb "longwave" radiation such as light. Our 1-angstrom atom becomes a black sphere 2000 angstroms across, and efficiently absorbs 6000-Angstrom light waves. Very strange, no? I've certainly never encountered such a thing during my physics training. Apparently the missing details of the absorption of light wave by atoms is a "hole" in physics education, and it has only been treated in a couple of contemporary physics papers in the 1980s. Here's another hole: when an atom absorbs waves, it has to scatter away half the energy. Does this mean that when an atom absorbs a photon, it must always interact with TWO photons, eating one and reflecting the other?!!!! I've never heard of such a requirement. It flys in the face of the usual description of atoms and photons. (Is it mentioned in Feynman's QED book?) Fig 1. Energy flux lines for the nearfield region of a resonant absorber. The tiny absorber acts like a large disk. [from ref#4] This "energy suction" effect is not limited to atoms. We can easily build a device to demonstrate the phenomenon. Below is a simple physics analogy to show how tiny atoms can "suck energy" from long light waves. Suppose we transmit a VLF radio signal at 1KHZ frequency. Let's arbitrarily set the signal strength so it's about the same strength as the Earth's weak vertical e-field: 100 Volt/meter. If the transmitter's e-field is contained entirely below the conductive ionosphere, and if the bottom of the ionosphere is about 100Km high, then the Earth's entire vertical field is about 10 megavolts top to bottom. Our transmitter must produce such a field. These values aren't totally ridiculous. Large, well-designed Tesla coils commonly produce 10 megavolts. If such a coil was erected outdoors and connected to an insulated metal tower, it would fill the Earth's entire atmosphere with 1KHz radiation. The Earth's atmosphere would be like a microwave oven cavity. Such an AC voltage field would produce a feeble 100V/M field everywhere on the Earth's surface. This field would be detectable by instruments, but otherwise it would be too small for humans to notice, and we certainly would not expect to be able to get significant power out of it. CAPACITIVE-PLATE ANTENNA OK, we've got a feeble AC e-field in the outdoor environment. How will a simple antenna-plate perform as an energy receiver? See fig.2 below. If it's a large horizontal metal plate about one meter off the ground, it will give out a 100 volt signal at 1KHz, but this one hundred volt "power source" has an extremely large capacitive series impedance. Let's say that the plate/ground capacitance is 10pF. To draw energy with the maximum possible voltage, the load resistor should be approximately equal to the series impedance. This impedance is dominated by the 10pF capacitor value, so this gives 1/(2*PI*F*C) = 16 megohm load resistor, and it drags the antenna's voltage down from 100V to 70.7V. The received energy in the resistor is 300 microwatts, and the current in the resistor is in the microamp range. Just as we might expect, everything here is similar to a conventional radio antenna. The weak e-field from the incoming EM waves behaves only as a "signal", and it is not a source of significant power. It can't drive a motor or light an LED. __________ --> | 10 MVolt |_______ | @ 1KHz | | |__________| | | ___|___ Capacitance from ionosphere to plate _|_ ( very small, say 1/10,000 pF ) //// _______ | | |______________ <--- 70.7V @ 1KHz antenna | | (metal plate) ___|___ \ 10pF / 16.7 Megohm _______ \ | / |______________| _|_ //// FIGURE 2 The fundamental problem with the above system is that the empty space around our metal plate is acting like a voltage divider. If the sky has 10 Megavolts compared to ground, and if the metal plate is a few feet above the surface of the ground, then the plate only has a relatively tiny voltage. Current is tiny, so wattage is also tiny. Maybe we could power an LED flasher with this antenna... but only if we set it to flash every few minutes. Maybe if we erected an enormous antenna tower we could do better by lifting the plate higher from the ground (but with such a huge antenna, we could easily steal more power by ignoring our 1KHz broadcast, because many high-power conventional AM radio stations exist: BBC shortwave, Voice of America, etc.) RESONANT ANTENNA Now lets add a tuned circuit to the above schematic and see what happens: __________ --> | 10 MVolt |_______ | @ 1KHz | | |__________| | | ___|___ Capacitance from ionosphere to plate _|_ ( very small, say 1/10,000 pF ) //// _______ | | |_____________ <--- 10 Megavolts! | | antenna | \_ (metal plate) ___|___ (_) 10pF (_) Coil _______ (_) | (_) | / |____________| | _|_ 1KHz resonant, infinite Q //// FIGURE 3 At resonance, the 10pF capacitance of our metal plate effectively vanishes. At resonance, an ideal parallel-resonant circuit behaves like an infinite resistor. If the LC circuit is exactly at resonance, and neglecting the resistance of the wires involved, how high will the voltage on the metal plate rise? It rises to ten megavolts!!!! The resonant circuit will continuously accumulate EM energy until the voltage at the antenna-plate rises to the same value of voltage as the transmitter. Weird! Keep in mind that this device is a relatively small affair sitting in your back yard. It's not a 1KHz quarter-wave dipole tower 25 miles tall. There's no huge antenna, so we would not expect to find any huge level of electric power appearing in the circuit. If we weren't aware of the mechanism behind this, all we'd see is a passive LC resonator which seems to burst into oscillation of its own accord, and the voltage grows higher and higher until the darned thing suffers a corona outbreak or something. Lightning bolts shoot out! The EM fields near the metal plate grow FAR STRONGER than the weak fields already present in the environment. The device in our back yard resembles an impossible "perpetual motion" machine, which might make physicists suspect a hoax. However, the real explanation is completely conventional, and the source of the energy is a feeble, unnoticed AC e-field field produced by the very distant 10-megavolt transmitter tower. Note: the above phenomenon can only occur for an ideal LC circuit, where the resistance of the coil is zero and where the Q of the circuit is infinite. If our antenna plate were connected to the resonant "secondary" of a superconductive Tesla coil, we might in fact see the output voltage grow to the megavolt range. However, in most real-world tuned circuits it wouldn't reach such heights. But remember, voltage is not energy. What will be the realistic behavior of such a device? Perhaps the incoming power is still small (maybe like 300 microwatts we saw earlier), or perhaps it works well, yet it takes months to build up so much voltage across even a superconductor resonator Just what is the actual received energy flow? Let's put a resistor across the tuned circuit so we create a flow of real energy and drag the voltage down to, say, .707 of the unloaded voltage. The resistance should equal the impedance of the series capacitor: 10 ^ -16 Farads, giving 1600 giga-ohms. (A huge resistor. Clearly it makes sense to try instead to extract energy using a low-value resistor in series with the inductor coil, rather than using a huge parallel resistor across the tuned circuit. A 1.6 tera-ohm power-resistor might be hard to find in the surplus parts catalogs! That is, if you don't have the parts- catalog featured in THIS ISLAND EARTH, that old SF movie where the two engineers build an "Interociter" from parts sold by mail-order in a strange electronics catalog. Obviously the Interociter is Alien Tesla coil technology, aha!) Ahem. :) HUGE RECEIVED POWER With our 1.6 giga-megohm resistor in place, the RF power intercepted by the small metal plate is now 30 watts. That's ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TIMES HIGHER than the power from the simple non-resonant antenna plate. Our tiny antenna has essentially reached out and made a kind of "direct contact" with the distant transmitter. By changing its own impedance, it has converted the femtofarad "sky capacitor" into an efficient coupling device. It has sent out a cancelling wave and pulled in energy from an enormous volume encompassing the surrounding fields. It has become a "matching transformer" which steps down the 10MV sky voltage and steps up the "sky current." If we either increase the receiver plate's size, or lift it up high on an antenna tower, or connect it to a beam of x-rays which produce an ionized pathway extending vertically upwards, then the received power rises proportionally. So, connect a high-Q resonator to a small antenna, and you'll drag in far more wave energy. Simple? [The engineers on SCI.ELECTRONICS.DESIGN forum have pointed out that the 10MV voltage limit on the above resonator is wrong. In reality, it can grow much higher than the voltage on the transmitter. The system is actually series-resonant, so the output voltage is limited only by the Q of the system (by the resistance of the wires in the resonator coil) and is not limited by the 10MV drive voltage of the distant transmitter.] In our earlier antenna, (the nonresonant, resistor-only version,) a small amount of "real power" did take a path through the capacitance of the sky while on its way to the metal plate and to the load resistor. If the voltage across that resistor could be forced to oscillate hugely, and if it had the right phase compared to the tiny displacement current coming from the transmitter, then we'd obtain a major increase in energy flow. The tiny sky-current would remain about the same, but with the much larger voltage on the antenna, the value for V*I is increased and wattage is increased. Remember the unwanted capacitive-voltage-divider effect in figure 2? With a resonant system, that effect would no longer apply, and the output voltage would no longer be so low. Things would behave differently. The displacement-current going through the "sky capacitor" might still be microamps, but if the tuned circuit can alter the high voltage at our end of the transmission system, then it can drastically change the energy throughput. As with any power-transmission system, we can put more power through it by raising the line voltage while keeping the current the same. CONCLUSION To sum up: we see that by putting a big AC voltage on the tuned circuit and by adjusting its phase in relation to the tiny incoming current, we can "suck" the E x M wattage from the enormously broad wavefronts of the incoming waves. It also works this way inside a simple circuit using conventional voltage dividers: add a resonant circuit, and the series impedance of the power source behaves smaller. See this example circuit. It should still work this way even when a part of the antenna circuit contains a series capacitor whose dielectric is made up of many feet (or even tens of km) of empty space. It's very much like building a high-voltage power line: to transmit high wattage on a thin wire, we use high voltage at low current, and then we put a step-down transformer at the far end of the power line. However, in the "power line" shown in the above diagram, we then put a tiny capacitor in series with the high-voltage line. Then we increase the thickness of the capacitor's air-dielectric until dielectric is miles thick and the current in the system is mostly composed of displacement current in the empty space between the pair of widely-separated capacitor plates. To transmit significant power, step the voltage up to astronomical levels at one end, then step it back down at the other end. Rather than using only a step-down transformer in the receiver, instead we use a hi-Q resonator, and we allow the resonant voltage to rise to a huge value. As a result, EM energy will be "sucked" into the receiver. THE TESLA CONNECTION Note that all of this stuff comes directly from Nikola Tesla's "Wireless power" transmission scheme. If we can flood the atmosphere with VLF 2KHz standing waves, and if the ionosphere keeps most of this EM energy from escaping into space, then a small, high-Q resonator can grab significant wattage right out of the air. A small resonator can produce an extensive and intense AC field of its own, and can act as an "EM funnel" which grabs significant wattage right out of the ambient radiation field. It can do so even when the ambient field is quite feeble, and even when the transmitter is thousands of KM away. This is not "radio," where wavelength is the same size as the components. This is "circuitry", where wavelength is huge, and circuits are small, and the antenna operation more resembles "AC wiring" rather than "EM radiation." This is probably the concept that put that "Mona Lisa grin" on photographs of old Nikola. And that twinkle in his eye... If we use a metal loop-antenna instead of a metal capacitor plate, then the current in the loop can perform a similar task as the voltage on the plate in figure 3: the oscillating current should grow huge and surround the coil with an intense, volume-filling AC magnetic. If the phase is correct, this b-field should "suck energy" from the transmitter (or from the local b-fields of the incoming electromagnetic waves.) Keep in mind that all this applies to SMALL ANTENNAS. If your wavelength is 150MHz and your antenna is 1 meter across, then "energy sucking antennas" cannot be used to improve reception. The idea applies to the longwave bands, to longwire antennas, and to VLF power transmission using the Earth-ionosphere Schumann resonant cavity. These sorts of antennas obey circuit-physics, not the physics of EM waves in space. The region of space adjacent to ANY antenna obeys a combination of circuit-physics and wave-physics, (the near-field and far-field EM equations,) and I've never quite visualized exactly how this works. Now it looks like there are several interesting things hidden between the near-field and the far-field mathematics. For example, simple crystal radios have "energy suckers" instead of "tuners." And everyone owns invisible antennas a thousand meters across... generated by every AM portable radio! Cool. The "energy grabbing" effect is very limited. It's a nearfield effect. It could only operate within about a 1/6- or 1/4-wavelength radius around a coil or capacitor antenna, or in the region between the peaks of a propagating EM wave. In other words, when we add a tuned circuit, we can increase the "effective size" of a tiny antenna until it resembles a half-wave dipole antenna. It usually would be easier to simply build a half-wave dipole in the first place. Normally we would do so. At VHF or UHF frequencies, a hi-Q "energy sucking" resonator antenna would not gather any more energy than a normal antenna, since the hi-Q antenna would be electrically large. But whenever the conventional dipole antenna might end up being too large to construct (like at 1KHz frequency or even 550KHz), then a high-voltage capacitor plate antenna, (or perhaps a tuned-coil antenna, both with a very high Q-factor, with inductors wound from thick copper pipe?) ...these would behave like far larger antennas than anyone could possibly imagine. NOT IN YOUR PHYSICS BOOKS? In hindsight, the above stuff seems somewhat obvious, but why have I never heard of it before? RESONATING ANTENNAS BECOME ABNORMALLY EFFICIENT RECEIVERS?! And perhaps the reverse must also be true: high-field resonant antennas will leak radio waves, even if their size is very small compared to the wavelength. If resistive losses don't halt them, their AC fields will grow in intensity until the signal finally does escape. Do most radio designers realize that all small resonant antennas with huge EM fields act like long-wire antennas having fields of the usual strength? Do Ham radio operators currently use 80-meter transmission antennas having high-Q resonators and enormous magnetic or electrostatic fields? Do AM radio companies know that their antenna towers are really not necessary? Do science teachers realize that even the simplest "crystal radio" can only operate a pair of headphones when a tuned circuit present? (The tuned circuit in a crystal radio is not a bandpass filter: it is an energy-suction device!) Do physicists really grasp, at a gut level, just how those tiny atoms can absorb and radiate the huge wavelengths associated with light waves? And are physicists aware that two photons are needed for atomic interaction: one to be absorbed, and one to be scattered? Portable AM radios already employ tuned resonant-loop antennas, and they've always been this way. We've been carrying around Nikola Tesla's power-receiver in our back pockets since the 1960s. Also, in bygone decades, those old "regenerative" receivers were not what they seemed. They were transmitting in order to receive, they were harnessing this bizarre "energy sucking" process. Regeneration isn't just a fancy way to amplify a small signal, instead it increases the incoming signal from a short antenna by using some weird physics. Do the designers of 90 years ago know something that modern scientists do not? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE 9/6/99 In thinking more on this (and while talking to people on the email lists) a couple of new thoughts have occurred to me. One: try to give your receiver's tank circuit as high a Q as possible, and then connect it to a load through a zener diode or other nonlinear device. This will allow the voltage/current of the tuned circuit to rise to a huge level and produce an intense AC field, but without the load interfering. Only after the AC field has reached the appropriate level will we extract any energy and deliver it to the load. [NO, NOT A ZENER! A zener would just act as a series RESISTANCE, dissipate heat, and throw away energy uselessly. Instead, just use a detector diode, and charge up a DC capacitor. 11/1/99] Two: try using an FM detector circuit to force the receiver to "lock on" to the transmit frequency. If we do this, we could still use immensely high q-factors, but without making our frequency-match adjustments be so sensitive. We could even send out modulated signals (broadband, not narrowband), and still use them to power distant motors. I don't have a solid idea of how FM detectors work, so this might not be straighforward. Might need an active PLL driving a variable capacitor... Three: once the receiver is oscillating and energy is being transferred, try suddenly changing the voltage of the transmitter. Since the entire system acts like a well-coupled transformer, I suspect that fast changes in transmitter voltage will appear as fast changes at the receiver. Maybe it only takes a single AC cycle for the change to appear. Weird thought: if the transmitter is modulated *faster* than the transmission frequency, would the fast modulation signal appear at the receiver?!!! That would be impossible, since it would violate Shannon and the rules of AM transmission theory. However, the coupled-resonator system more resembles a pair of atoms transferring photons, rather than resembling an RF transmit/receive system. If the device behaves like a quantum-mechanical coherent system, then perhaps we can modulate the transmitter at a faster rate than the carrier frequency! If it worked, that would REALLY be weird, no? Imagine transmitting at the 59Hz earth resonant overtone frequency, then amplitude-modulating the 59Hz carrier at 1 KHz, and having the signal appear at the receiver's resonator! We wouldn't really be transmitting radio energy. The signal would more resemble QM "wavefunction collapses" which propagate throughout the Earth's ionospheric resonant cavity. Four: 11/1/99 This circuit mimics atomic absorption, and it also should mimic stimulated emission. Once the circuit is oscillating, it's absorbing the incoming waves because of its phase. The phase relationship causes it to couple to the transmitter. If the transmitter was suddenly turned off, then maybe the circuit would not be able to radiate, since without the waves from the transmitter it could not perform the "poynting-flux emission" process. The phenomenon is definitely not linear! So... what happens when the waves from a transmitter should suddenly encounter the fields of a short antenna? If the phase is right, the short antenna should change from an oscillator to an emitter, and begin emitting energy! This is the reverse of the "energy sucking effect," because while "energy suction" can only occur when the short antenna is surrounded by a powerful field, "energy emission" can only occur when the powerful fields around a short antenna are given a traveling-wave field to provide the "stimulation" for stimulated emission to occur. Absorption/emission requires both the trapped fields at the antenna, as well as the traveling fields from a distant transmitter. If my reasoning isn't faulty (it probably is,) this means that it should be possible to build a sort of radio-freq laser, where a distant transmitter causes a small loop-antenna resonator to add its energy to the transmitted wave. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also, my crackpot side is starting to yammer at me. It's saying that this particular "hole in physics" might seriously damage contemporary Quantum Electrodynamics, and might even show that Einstein's original photoelectric experiment might be interpreted incorrectly. Hey, if Einstein was wrong, does that mean that the Nobel is withdrawn retroactively and awarded to whoever can show rigorously that "energy sucking antennas" are a better explanation for QM phenomena of all kinds? Or does it just mean that my "crackpot half" is just trying to make certain that no conventional scientist will dare to experiment with this stuff! :) BEWARE: ODDBALL IMPLICATIONS If EM resonance is extremely important, and if mainstream science doesn't recognize the effects, then god only knows how many unusual phenomena are awaiting exploration by amateurs. The professional explorers with their well-funded troops haven't yet arrived on this particular "new continent." There are still mysteries to be experienced, and it could be many years before the whole thing is paved over with well-traveled highways built through NSF funding. Ears as antisound-emitters Whenever any type of "small" receiver seems to be generating an AC field around itself spontaneously, perhaps we should suspect that the receiver is employing the above concepts; that it is actively generating an "anti-signal," and as a result is receiving more wave energy than it's physical size would suggest. THIS MIGHT APPLY TO ACOUSTIC SYSTEMS! If we illuminate a tiny resonant chamber with long-wave sound of the right frequency, standing waves will build up within the chamber, and it will become an emitter. If there is an acoustic analogy for the above antenna physics, the resonant chamber should "bend" the incoming sound towards itself. When the emitted sound superposes with the 3D incoming waves, the wavefronts of incoming sound will be distorted so they they impact on the resonator and thereby increase the area of its "virtual intake orifice". In EM physics this is well known, it's just the Effective Aperture concept. Might biological evolution have "discovered" this energy-sucking resonator effect in regards to ears? A collection of programmable resonators might work far better than a broadband receiver, even an amplified one. It turns out that human ears are known to generate their own signals. Much about this is still a mystery, and proposed theories do not match experimental findings. I note that at frequencies below a few KHz, the wavelength of sound is physically larger than the external ear. Perhaps our human hearing system increases its gain by emitting signals which are phase-locked with the incoming sound? This could be easily missed, since the emitted sound would greatly resemble the incoming sound, and could be mistaken as a reflection. I've heard that human ears have an unexplained property: they can detect signals which are far below any logical noise level. Their detection capability supposedly even exceeds the QUANTUM MECHANICAL noise level. Perhaps ears increase their net received acoustic energy via an "anti-sound" feedback process resembling resonance? Might there be other situations where small acoustic resonators can receive abnormally large amounts of energy? Shades of Ernst Worrel Keely! Hey, maybe I finally have a clear explanation for that "Acoustic Black Hole" phenomenon with the soda straws. And... and... once again the infamous Dr. Thomas Gold is vindicated, and his detractors are shown to be a bit, shall we say, "deaf" to his words. Side note: How might the inner ear generate sound? Maybe it does not. Maybe it rapidly modulates the stiffness of its parts and therefore uses nonlinear physics to take energy from other frequency bands and use it to power an oscillation at the frequency it wishes to emit. Sort of like using one crystal radio as a "battery" to power the audio amplifier of another crystal radio tuned to a different station. Or like striking a bell with slow blows, while the bell emits a fast oscillation. Oooo, Very Weird Idea! If ears generate sound only when sound is being received, then perhaps we can detect this. Perhaps it's even under conscious control. When we listen intently to a particular frequency, obviously we're tuning the brain's internal signal processing algorithms. But what if our conscious action actually changes our inner ear mechanics, so that it "sucks energy" at that frequency? If so, then just flood the room with white noise, stick a tiny microphone near your ear, display a realtime spectrogram of the detected noise from the microphone, then try to concentrate on listening to the "high" tones in the noise, and later listen to the "low" tones. Will your ear change (will the spectrogram of the microphone's signal change?) Or, if you try to pick up a constant tone in the noise, will a small absorption band appear in the spectrum of energy near your ear? Easier test: subtract (null out) the noise-generator's signal from the microphone's signal and observe this difference signal. (an electronic delay line would probably be needed.) Now concentrate on listening to the highs or the lows. Will the observed difference-signal change? If so, build a circuit which detects this change and turns on a light bulb. Stick a microphone in your ear, decode the alterations in the sound spectrum, and run your appliances by "thinking" about a tone-sequence!! If THAT works, then try this next one. Set up the above system. Listen to the white noise, and imagine that you hear the word "yes". Do it many times. Now play back the recording of the difference signal (or even the raw signal from the microphone.) Can you hear the word "yes" being transmitted by your *EARS*? If so, then you now know how to speak through your ears. This only works when you are listening to white-noise. Imagine that you hear music in the noise, then see if it appears in the recording from the tiny microphone. Perhaps composers can "think music" right onto the tape recorder. "Think aloud" to yourself, and see if your "verbal thoughts" can be heard issuing from your ears as they... leak out of your head? Perhaps one form of telepathy is... acoustic? Can a blind person navigate via a sort of whitenoise-correlation "acoustic radar?" OK, now hire a schitzophrenic who hears voices, and see if you can record the voices via whitenoise environment and ear-canal microphones. Ask the disconnected personality fragments some questions, see if they answer. Now go interview the "Voices" on the Tonight Show, with or without the cooperation of the victim. Who'll be the first to explore this silly idea and find out if I'm full of balony? BALL LIGHTNING Ball lightning is not yet explained. One of the orthodox explanations is the Storm Maser theory: if thunderstorms emit microwave energy, and if something can somehow focus this energy, then a nitrogen electrical-plasma could feed off the intense microwave flux. The "Energy sucking" theory gives us a second option. Suppose thunderstorms emit weak ELF/VLF e-fields instead of supposedly emitting intense microwaves? If a plasma happened to be resonant with the coherent AC e-field being created by the storm, and if the Q of the resonant plasma system was high, then that plasma would develop an enormous high-frequency e-field around itself. It would suck energy from the fields of the storm and remain "alight." Do nitrogen/oxygen (or carbon?) plasmas have any high-Q resonances in the ELF/VLF spectrum? The plasmas in coronas in the storm clouds might emit the same frequency that a nitrogen plasma-ball would absorb. What about carbon-fiber networks composed of condensing soot? [CORUM & CORUM] Or rather than the plasma-balls extracting energy via pure resonances, do they have self-organization which can communicate with the self-organized lightning plasmas within the thunderstorm and "agree" between themselves to create a "Tesla Power System"? We'd mistake the Ball Lightning's energy source for feeble EM white-noise. The storm becomes the transmitter and the ball-lightning plasma-glob acts as the hi-Q "frequency hopping" receiver. Do storms create any coherent VLF e-fields? VLF radios certainly don't detect such things, so we normally would assume that such signals don't exist. But hold on! There could be a nearfield effect, where there is no RF radiation, and where e-fields and b-fields aren't directly connected together via the impedance of free space. A loop-antenna in a radio receiver is used with the assumption that incoming EM waves have an E and an M component, and we should just as easily receive the M component as receiving the E. (And so a loop antenna would work just as well as a dipole antenna.) Maybe this is not true of environmental VLF e-fields. Suppose that a storm (or even the entire Earth) has a very strong vertical AC electrostatic field. The loop antennas on VLF radios would not detect it. Horizontal dipoles would not detect it. However, a resonant circuit connected to a suspended wire (and to ground) certainly would. With a high-Q resonant circuit, the antenna might even receive significant power. Call it the "artificial ball-lightning" analogy. RF TRANSFORMERS: TIGHT COUPLING BETWEEN TWO DISTANT COILS Iron-core transformers are examples of tight magnetic coupling, and significant power can be transferred between the coils of a 60Hz transformer. Capacitors are similar: they are examples of tight electrostatic coupling. Resonant circuits give us two new options for tightly-coupled power systems: pairs of high-amperage resonant loop-antennas, and pairs of high-voltage resonant dipole antennas. The spacing of each of these must be below 1/4 wavelength for the phenomenon to appear, and the e- or b-field strength must be very high. Now that I'm speaking of this, I know I've seen such things in common use. Air-core transformers in high-power VHF radio transmitters employ this effect. If both sides of an air-core transformer are tuned to the same frequency, then the b-field surrounding the transformer will build up to a very high level, and the throughput of energy will be very high, even though there's no closed iron-ring magnetic circuit, and coupling between the coils is *apparently* very loose. MECHANICAL "ENERGY SUCTION" Rick M. points out that mechanical forces might become significant in resonant EM systems. Normal transformers and capacitors certainly do display significant mechanical forces. If a transformer can be made into an induction motor, and if a capacitor can be made into an electrostatic motor, what kind of motor can be built from a loose/tight coupled high-frequency resonant EM device? I have no idea. Perhaps some strange and interesting hobbyist projects are lurking in these particular "undergrowths." Imagine a radio-frequency induction motor built without iron, whose (resonant) stator is at a great distance from the (resonant) rotor, yet the torque between them is still immense. Imagine a high-Q capacitor-based high voltage motor with huge torque, and with all of its parts embedded within plastic (to eliminate the corona problems associated with DC electrostatic motors.) Imagine a carefully-balanced supermagnet that's spinning at 60Hz in a vacuum chamber out in the woods, driven by the feeble environmental 60Hz magnetic field. ELECTROMAGNETIC PRANKSTERS An evil though: if we built a resonant antenna within a 1/4-wave distance of an AM radio tower, we might be able to "suck energy" at such a high rate that we could run motors and light lightbulbs! The resonant antenna might be very small, but it would have an intense e-field (or magnetic field if it was a loop antenna), and would reach out and touch the AM tower electrically. I've heard of people using "inductive coupling" to steal 60Hz AC electrical energy. Resonant energy-theft. The addition of a resonant circuit would vastly increase the ability of a pickup coil to suck in energy from any distant conductors as long as the frequency was fairly low. In physicist-speak, "If the world is already full of Sodium light, build some artificial Sodium atoms as absorbers." Now I guess I need to go make a high-Q tuned circuit and set it to the same frequency as an AM radio station. Dunk the coil in liquid nitrogen. Maybe I can light up an LED! I know that longwire antennas can do this. I also know that an AM radio, if tuned to a weak station, can be affected when an adjacent unpowered AM radio is tuned to the same station. Untuned inductive pickup coils can receive "inductively coupled" energy if the b-field in the area is strong. Instead, with a small coil which resonates at 60Hz, maybe I can magnetically grab some AC power out of the wiring in my walls? It would be cool to have a wireless lightbulb connected to nothing but a high-value 60Hz inductor and capacitor. Maybe it would work a bit better if I wrap a couple of turns of "transmit loop" around my house and drive it with 10KHZ from my stereo. With thick wire and hi-Q resonance, it wouldn't take much to put many amperes into such a coil. Rats, now I wish I still lived next to a big AM transmitting tower like I did when I was a kid. L.O.S., THE CREATIVITY DRUG In conclusion, I must answer the obvious question: is Bill Beaty on drugs or WHAT?!!! No, instead I'm on deadline. I'm staying up all night for many nights in a row while beating my head on this interwoven industrial application interrupt-driven cludgy embedded set of C-code background tasks. Lack of sleep is itself a drug. Not LSD, use LOS! College students at exam time are well aware of this phenomenon. Stay up all night for a few too many nights, and you find that philosophy gains entirely new meaning, your wife starts looking at you funny, you are in danger of following Heinlein/Hubbard/Wilson and attempting to start your own religion... and the shades of Tesla and Feynman start subspace-idly coupling some 'Special Ideas' into your throbbing demented neuronal subprocessor networks. So what do *YOU* do for fun? ;) Bill b article: Light without photons (NEW 9/99) MORE: some email discussions REFERENCES: 1. W. Beaty web-article, "Acoustic Black Hole" phenomenon. 2. J. F. Sutton and C. C. Spaniol, "The Black Hole Antenna", PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TESLA SYMPOSIUM, 1992, International Tesla Society 3. J. F. Sutton and C. C. Spaniol, "An Active Antenna for ELF Magnetic Fields", PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TESLA SYMPOSIUM, 1990, International Tesla Society, 1990 4. C. F. Bohren, "How can a particle absorb more than the light incident on it?", Am J Phys, 51 #4, pp323 Apr 1983 5. H. Paul and R. Fischer "Light Absorption by a dipole", SOV. PHYS. USP., 26(10) Oct. 1983 pp 923-926 6. K. Corum and J. Corum, "Fire Balls, Fractals, and Colorado Springs: A Rediscovery of Tesla's RF Techniques," PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TESLA SYMPOSIUM, 1990 Suggested by A. Boswell, regarding small-antenna physics: Chu, J.Appl.Phys. Dec. 1948 Hansen, Proc.IEEE Feb. 1981. LINKS Zenneck's EM surface wave EM wave applets Tesla & surface waves Sutton's active antenna and "regeneration" For sale: resonant antennas from Terk and Select-a-tenna Resonate coil project Crossed-field Antenna Gieskieng Antenna (E-to-M 90deg phase shift output) BOOK: Causality, EM Induction and Gravitation (Dr. Oleg Jefimenko) JCE: creation/absorption of photons MIT E&M: dipole radiation anim PHYSLETS: accelerated charge Dipole radiation movie H. G. Schantz papers (and antenna animations!) http://amasci.com/tesla/tesceive.html Created and maintained by Bill Beaty. Mail me at: . . -------------------------------- Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map NEWSLETTER Rediscovering the Zenneck Surface Wave Article List From Feed Line No. 4 REDISCOVERING THE ZENNECK SURFACE WAVE by Gary L. Peterson In 1916 while speaking of his system for global transmission, Nikola Tesla cited the analysis of mathematician Arnold N. Sommerfeld as verification of his explanations of observed radio phenomena. Tesla was referring to his system in which, he claimed, 90% to 95% of the electrical energy was manifested at the transmitters output as "current waves" with the remainder existing as dissipating electromagnetic radiation (see Antenna Theory). In 1909 another investigator by the name of Johann Zenneck, while working to explain Marconi's trans-oceanic results, showed that a unique type of surface wave could travel along the interface between the ground and the air. In the words of James Corum, "The distinguishing feature of the Zenneck wave was that the propagating energy didn't spread like radiation, but was concentrated near the guiding surface. Sommerfeld had shown that an electromagnetic wave could be guided along a wire of finite conductivity, and Zenneck conceived that the earth's surface would perform in a manner similar to a single conducting wire." [see "Operating Principles of the Wardenclyffe Apparatus"] In commenting on Sommerfeld's analysis of the surface wave, James R. Wait states that "The field amplitude varies inversely as the square root of the horizontal distance from the source. . . ." It's interesting to note that Sommerfeld made a point of distinguishing between the "electrodynamic" surface wave and its Hertzian counterpart the space wave, believing that both components could be present in varying proportion in the wave complex. It was Tesla's assertion that the exact composition of the emissions was dependent upon the design of the transmitter. Geometry for Zenneck wave propagation. As the study of radio propagation progressed and certain mathematical analyses excluded it, some question as to the existence of Zenneck surface waves began to develop. In 1937 limited support was given to these doubts after tests showed simple antennas driven at 150 mHz produced 100 times lower field strength than predicted. More recent investigations show evidence that Zenneck waves can, indeed, be generated. The lower the frequency, the lower are the propagation losses. It is also apparent that they are not a major contributor to the field produced by an electric dipole or quarter wave radiator, however they can be strongly excited by a quarter wave resonator. Once again to quote Dr. Corum, "the resulting wave is a surface guided (single conductor) transmission line mode which attenuates exponentially along the guide. . . . There is no inverse square spreading or diffraction, as with Hertzian waves. . . . With appropriate constitutive parameters, a pure Zenneck wave would seem to hold out the promise of guided propagation with no radiation field to waste energy." Plots of field strength vs. frequency indicate that a Zenneck wave propagates best at ELF and VLF frequencies up to about 35 kHz, and would lose its advantage as frequency rose above that point. Zenneck wave field strength decrease for around-the-world propagation as a function of frequency in kHz. The complex longitudinal propagation phase constant along the Earth's surface for the Zenneck surface wave. The Zenneck Surface Wave vs. the Norton Surface Wave A 1/2-wave dipole antenna in free space--the Hertz antenna--approaches an ideal source of electromagnetic radiation emitted in the form of space waves. These space waves can reach the receiver either by sky-wave propagation or by ground-wave propagation, the latter being the portion of the radiated space wave that propagates close to the earth's surface. The ground wave has both direct-wave and ground-reflected components, and under certain conditions a tropospheric ducting component. The direct-wave is limited only by the distance to the horizon from the transmitter plus a small distance added by atmospheric diffraction around the curvature of the earth. The ground-reflected portion of the radiated wave reaches the receiving antenna after being reflected from the earth's surface. There is also an induced ground-hugging surface-wave component known as the Norton surface wave. This wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component at the earth-atmosphere interface. Upon reflection from the Earth's surface the reflected wave undergoes a 180deg phase reversal. When both transmitting and receiving antennas are on, or close to, the ground, and the distance between them becomes great, the direct and reflected components tend to cancel out, and the resulting field intensity is principally that of this surface wave. Because part of its energy is absorbed by the ground, the electrical intensity of the surface wave is attenuated at a much greater rate than inversely as the distance. It is the conductivity of the underlying terrain that determines the attenuation of the surface-wave field intensity as a function of distance. The ground currents of a vertically polarized surface wave do not short-circuit a given electric field but rather serve to restore part of the used energy to the following field. The better the conducting surface layer, the more energy returned and the less energy absorbed. [Antennas and Radio Propagation, TM 11-666, Dept. of the Army, Feb. 1953, pp. 17-23.] It is useful here to consider two additional forms of wireless telecommunications antennas or launching structures, the Marconi antenna, a vertical 1/4-wave monopole antenna element and the Tesla antenna, a vertical high aspect-ratio 1/4-wave helical resonator with large capacitive top loading and small overall height, compared to the electrical 1/4 wavelength. In both cases the structure is base fed, and a ground connection is used. The Marconi antenna is a modified 1/2-wave Hertz antenna adapted to the real-world conditions encountered in the construction of medium and low frequency transmitters. These adaptations are imposed by the wavelength involved and the resulting physical dimensions required of the antenna. The dipole antenna is modified in that its lower half, 1/4 wavelength long, exists only as a mirror image of its upper counterpart. The resulting 1/4-wave vertical monopole antenna takes advantage of the fact that at lower frequencies the ground acts as a mirror for the radiated energy. The ground reflects a large amount of the energy that is radiated downward from the antenna mounted over it. In the physical construction of the ground connection is important to have as high a conductivity as possible. The object is to provide the best possible reflecting surface for the energy radiated downward from the antenna. The ground consists of a number of bare conductors arranged radially and connected, 1/2 wavelength long, buried a short distance beneath the earth's surface. In practice these conductors may act as part of the reflecting surface as well as making the connection to ground itself. An alternative type of ground is the counterpoise. It is a wire structure erected a short distance above the ground, and insulated from the ground. The counterpoise operates by virtue of its capacitance to the ground. Not unlike the Hertz antenna, the Marconi antenna is a source electromagnetic radiation in the form of space waves. The Tesla antenna is a form of wireless antenna or wave launching structure developed by Nikola Tesla in which the transmitted energy propagates or is carried to the receiver by a combination of electrical current flowing through the earth, electrostatic induction and electrical conduction through plasma with an embedded magnetic field. Of course it is also part of an electric dipole, consisting of the elevated capacitance, the helical resonator and master oscillator plus connections, and the Earth itself. The above-ground structure is not intended as a source of electromagnetic radiation, rather, it is designed to minimize the production of electromagnetic radiation. The principle that the ground acts as a mirror, which reflects electromagnetic energy radiated downward by the antenna mounted over it, is not applicable. In operation, the Tesla launching structure induces an electrical current in the earth between the transmitting and receiving stations, along with an associated surface wave, that propagate the transmitted energy. A conducting path is also establish through the rarified upper level atmosphere between the transmitting and receiving stations elevated high voltage terminals, leading Tesla to coin the term "disturbed charge of ground and air method." He stated that this method involves electrical conduction and that energy escapes from the system in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The conducting media are the earth and the atmosphere above 5 miles elevation. While the region from 5 miles up to the ionosphere is not an ohmic conductor, the density or pressure is sufficiently reduced to so that, according to Tesla’s theory, the atmosphere’s insulating properties can be easily impaired allowing an electric current to flow. His theory further suggests that the conducting region is developed through the process of atmospheric ionization, shifting the effected portions thereof to a plasma state. A magnetic field is developed by each plant’s helical resonator, meaning that an embedded magnetic field is also involved. The atmosphere below 5 miles is also viewed as a propagating medium for a portion of the above ground circuit, and being an insulating medium, electrostatic induction or ‘displacement current’ would be involved rather than true electrical conduction. Tesla felt that with a sufficiently high electrical potential on the elevated terminal the practical limitation imposed upon its height could be overcome. He anticipated that a highly energetic transmitter would charge the elevated terminal to the point where the atmosphere around and above it would break down and become ionized, leading to a flow of true conduction currents between the two terminals through the troposphere path connection. Now, Sommerfeld described an electrodynamic wave that is guided along a wire of finite conductivity and Zenneck expanded upon this description, asserting that the earth's surface performs in a manner similar to a conducting wire. And, while the Norton Surface Wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component of the ground-wave at the earth-atmosphere interface, the surface wave associated with Tesla’s apparatus is the result of electrical ground currents flowing between two discrete points on the earth’s surface. Unlike the lossy Norton surface-wave that is excited by a conventional AM radio transmitter it would seem that Tesla’s surface wave would not diminish quite as significantly as the distance from the source facility increases. [See "A Comparison of the Tesla and Marconi LF Wireless Systems"] [This piece is derived from "The Zenneck Surface Wave," Appendix II of the paper entitled "Nikola Tesla, Lightning Observations and Stationary Waves" by K. L. Corum and J. F. Corum, Ph.D. 1994., presented at the 1994 Colorado Springs Tesla Symposium. This and other papers are available through the Tesla Reprint Page, PV Scientific Instruments, 42 King Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886-9131 — 607-387-6752, pvsci@arcsandsparks.com. See also The Purpose of the Wardenclyffe Tower.] Revised: 01/16/2005 Top Article List Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map Twenty First Century Books Post Office Box 2001 Breckenridge, CO 80424-2001 © 1998-2004 Twenty First Century Books All Rights Reserved --------------------------- Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map NEWSLETTER Rediscovering the Zenneck Surface Wave Article List From Feed Line No. 4 REDISCOVERING THE ZENNECK SURFACE WAVE by Gary L. Peterson In 1916 while speaking of his system for global transmission, Nikola Tesla cited the analysis of mathematician Arnold N. Sommerfeld as verification of his explanations of observed radio phenomena. Tesla was referring to his system in which, he claimed, 90% to 95% of the electrical energy was manifested at the transmitters output as "current waves" with the remainder existing as dissipating electromagnetic radiation (see Antenna Theory). In 1909 another investigator by the name of Johann Zenneck, while working to explain Marconi's trans-oceanic results, showed that a unique type of surface wave could travel along the interface between the ground and the air. In the words of James Corum, "The distinguishing feature of the Zenneck wave was that the propagating energy didn't spread like radiation, but was concentrated near the guiding surface. Sommerfeld had shown that an electromagnetic wave could be guided along a wire of finite conductivity, and Zenneck conceived that the earth's surface would perform in a manner similar to a single conducting wire." [see "Operating Principles of the Wardenclyffe Apparatus"] In commenting on Sommerfeld's analysis of the surface wave, James R. Wait states that "The field amplitude varies inversely as the square root of the horizontal distance from the source. . . ." It's interesting to note that Sommerfeld made a point of distinguishing between the "electrodynamic" surface wave and its Hertzian counterpart the space wave, believing that both components could be present in varying proportion in the wave complex. It was Tesla's assertion that the exact composition of the emissions was dependent upon the design of the transmitter. Geometry for Zenneck wave propagation. As the study of radio propagation progressed and certain mathematical analyses excluded it, some question as to the existence of Zenneck surface waves began to develop. In 1937 limited support was given to these doubts after tests showed simple antennas driven at 150 mHz produced 100 times lower field strength than predicted. More recent investigations show evidence that Zenneck waves can, indeed, be generated. The lower the frequency, the lower are the propagation losses. It is also apparent that they are not a major contributor to the field produced by an electric dipole or quarter wave radiator, however they can be strongly excited by a quarter wave resonator. Once again to quote Dr. Corum, "the resulting wave is a surface guided (single conductor) transmission line mode which attenuates exponentially along the guide. . . . There is no inverse square spreading or diffraction, as with Hertzian waves. . . . With appropriate constitutive parameters, a pure Zenneck wave would seem to hold out the promise of guided propagation with no radiation field to waste energy." Plots of field strength vs. frequency indicate that a Zenneck wave propagates best at ELF and VLF frequencies up to about 35 kHz, and would lose its advantage as frequency rose above that point. Zenneck wave field strength decrease for around-the-world propagation as a function of frequency in kHz. The complex longitudinal propagation phase constant along the Earth's surface for the Zenneck surface wave. The Zenneck Surface Wave vs. the Norton Surface Wave A 1/2-wave dipole antenna in free space--the Hertz antenna--approaches an ideal source of electromagnetic radiation emitted in the form of space waves. These space waves can reach the receiver either by sky-wave propagation or by ground-wave propagation, the latter being the portion of the radiated space wave that propagates close to the earth's surface. The ground wave has both direct-wave and ground-reflected components, and under certain conditions a tropospheric ducting component. The direct-wave is limited only by the distance to the horizon from the transmitter plus a small distance added by atmospheric diffraction around the curvature of the earth. The ground-reflected portion of the radiated wave reaches the receiving antenna after being reflected from the earth's surface. There is also an induced ground-hugging surface-wave component known as the Norton surface wave. This wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component at the earth-atmosphere interface. Upon reflection from the Earth's surface the reflected wave undergoes a 180deg phase reversal. When both transmitting and receiving antennas are on, or close to, the ground, and the distance between them becomes great, the direct and reflected components tend to cancel out, and the resulting field intensity is principally that of this surface wave. Because part of its energy is absorbed by the ground, the electrical intensity of the surface wave is attenuated at a much greater rate than inversely as the distance. It is the conductivity of the underlying terrain that determines the attenuation of the surface-wave field intensity as a function of distance. The ground currents of a vertically polarized surface wave do not short-circuit a given electric field but rather serve to restore part of the used energy to the following field. The better the conducting surface layer, the more energy returned and the less energy absorbed. [Antennas and Radio Propagation, TM 11-666, Dept. of the Army, Feb. 1953, pp. 17-23.] It is useful here to consider two additional forms of wireless telecommunications antennas or launching structures, the Marconi antenna, a vertical 1/4-wave monopole antenna element and the Tesla antenna, a vertical high aspect-ratio 1/4-wave helical resonator with large capacitive top loading and small overall height, compared to the electrical 1/4 wavelength. In both cases the structure is base fed, and a ground connection is used. The Marconi antenna is a modified 1/2-wave Hertz antenna adapted to the real-world conditions encountered in the construction of medium and low frequency transmitters. These adaptations are imposed by the wavelength involved and the resulting physical dimensions required of the antenna. The dipole antenna is modified in that its lower half, 1/4 wavelength long, exists only as a mirror image of its upper counterpart. The resulting 1/4-wave vertical monopole antenna takes advantage of the fact that at lower frequencies the ground acts as a mirror for the radiated energy. The ground reflects a large amount of the energy that is radiated downward from the antenna mounted over it. In the physical construction of the ground connection is important to have as high a conductivity as possible. The object is to provide the best possible reflecting surface for the energy radiated downward from the antenna. The ground consists of a number of bare conductors arranged radially and connected, 1/2 wavelength long, buried a short distance beneath the earth's surface. In practice these conductors may act as part of the reflecting surface as well as making the connection to ground itself. An alternative type of ground is the counterpoise. It is a wire structure erected a short distance above the ground, and insulated from the ground. The counterpoise operates by virtue of its capacitance to the ground. Not unlike the Hertz antenna, the Marconi antenna is a source electromagnetic radiation in the form of space waves. The Tesla antenna is a form of wireless antenna or wave launching structure developed by Nikola Tesla in which the transmitted energy propagates or is carried to the receiver by a combination of electrical current flowing through the earth, electrostatic induction and electrical conduction through plasma with an embedded magnetic field. Of course it is also part of an electric dipole, consisting of the elevated capacitance, the helical resonator and master oscillator plus connections, and the Earth itself. The above-ground structure is not intended as a source of electromagnetic radiation, rather, it is designed to minimize the production of electromagnetic radiation. The principle that the ground acts as a mirror, which reflects electromagnetic energy radiated downward by the antenna mounted over it, is not applicable. In operation, the Tesla launching structure induces an electrical current in the earth between the transmitting and receiving stations, along with an associated surface wave, that propagate the transmitted energy. A conducting path is also establish through the rarified upper level atmosphere between the transmitting and receiving stations elevated high voltage terminals, leading Tesla to coin the term "disturbed charge of ground and air method." He stated that this method involves electrical conduction and that energy escapes from the system in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The conducting media are the earth and the atmosphere above 5 miles elevation. While the region from 5 miles up to the ionosphere is not an ohmic conductor, the density or pressure is sufficiently reduced to so that, according to Tesla’s theory, the atmosphere’s insulating properties can be easily impaired allowing an electric current to flow. His theory further suggests that the conducting region is developed through the process of atmospheric ionization, shifting the effected portions thereof to a plasma state. A magnetic field is developed by each plant’s helical resonator, meaning that an embedded magnetic field is also involved. The atmosphere below 5 miles is also viewed as a propagating medium for a portion of the above ground circuit, and being an insulating medium, electrostatic induction or ‘displacement current’ would be involved rather than true electrical conduction. Tesla felt that with a sufficiently high electrical potential on the elevated terminal the practical limitation imposed upon its height could be overcome. He anticipated that a highly energetic transmitter would charge the elevated terminal to the point where the atmosphere around and above it would break down and become ionized, leading to a flow of true conduction currents between the two terminals through the troposphere path connection. Now, Sommerfeld described an electrodynamic wave that is guided along a wire of finite conductivity and Zenneck expanded upon this description, asserting that the earth's surface performs in a manner similar to a conducting wire. And, while the Norton Surface Wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component of the ground-wave at the earth-atmosphere interface, the surface wave associated with Tesla’s apparatus is the result of electrical ground currents flowing between two discrete points on the earth’s surface. Unlike the lossy Norton surface-wave that is excited by a conventional AM radio transmitter it would seem that Tesla’s surface wave would not diminish quite as significantly as the distance from the source facility increases. [See "A Comparison of the Tesla and Marconi LF Wireless Systems"] [This piece is derived from "The Zenneck Surface Wave," Appendix II of the paper entitled "Nikola Tesla, Lightning Observations and Stationary Waves" by K. L. Corum and J. F. Corum, Ph.D. 1994., presented at the 1994 Colorado Springs Tesla Symposium. This and other papers are available through the Tesla Reprint Page, PV Scientific Instruments, 42 King Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886-9131 — 607-387-6752, pvsci@arcsandsparks.com. See also The Purpose of the Wardenclyffe Tower.] Revised: 01/16/2005 Top Article List Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map Twenty First Century Books Post Office Box 2001 Breckenridge, CO 80424-2001 © 1998-2004 Twenty First Century Books All Rights Reserved ------------------------------- GIF BILD SIMPLEX.GIF in verz 1 sender 180 Khz !! Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map NEWSLETTER Rediscovering the Zenneck Surface Wave Article List ------------------------------- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map NEWSLETTER Rediscovering the Zenneck Surface Wave Article List From Feed Line No. 4 REDISCOVERING THE ZENNECK SURFACE WAVE by Gary L. Peterson In 1916 while speaking of his system for global transmission, Nikola Tesla cited the analysis of mathematician Arnold N. Sommerfeld as verification of his explanations of observed radio phenomena. Tesla was referring to his system in which, he claimed, 90% to 95% of the electrical energy was manifested at the transmitters output as "current waves" with the remainder existing as dissipating electromagnetic radiation (see Antenna Theory). In 1909 another investigator by the name of Johann Zenneck, while working to explain Marconi's trans-oceanic results, showed that a unique type of surface wave could travel along the interface between the ground and the air. In the words of James Corum, "The distinguishing feature of the Zenneck wave was that the propagating energy didn't spread like radiation, but was concentrated near the guiding surface. Sommerfeld had shown that an electromagnetic wave could be guided along a wire of finite conductivity, and Zenneck conceived that the earth's surface would perform in a manner similar to a single conducting wire." [see "Operating Principles of the Wardenclyffe Apparatus"] In commenting on Sommerfeld's analysis of the surface wave, James R. Wait states that "The field amplitude varies inversely as the square root of the horizontal distance from the source. . . ." It's interesting to note that Sommerfeld made a point of distinguishing between the "electrodynamic" surface wave and its Hertzian counterpart the space wave, believing that both components could be present in varying proportion in the wave complex. It was Tesla's assertion that the exact composition of the emissions was dependent upon the design of the transmitter. Geometry for Zenneck wave propagation. As the study of radio propagation progressed and certain mathematical analyses excluded it, some question as to the existence of Zenneck surface waves began to develop. In 1937 limited support was given to these doubts after tests showed simple antennas driven at 150 mHz produced 100 times lower field strength than predicted. More recent investigations show evidence that Zenneck waves can, indeed, be generated. The lower the frequency, the lower are the propagation losses. It is also apparent that they are not a major contributor to the field produced by an electric dipole or quarter wave radiator, however they can be strongly excited by a quarter wave resonator. Once again to quote Dr. Corum, "the resulting wave is a surface guided (single conductor) transmission line mode which attenuates exponentially along the guide. . . . There is no inverse square spreading or diffraction, as with Hertzian waves. . . . With appropriate constitutive parameters, a pure Zenneck wave would seem to hold out the promise of guided propagation with no radiation field to waste energy." Plots of field strength vs. frequency indicate that a Zenneck wave propagates best at ELF and VLF frequencies up to about 35 kHz, and would lose its advantage as frequency rose above that point. Zenneck wave field strength decrease for around-the-world propagation as a function of frequency in kHz. The complex longitudinal propagation phase constant along the Earth's surface for the Zenneck surface wave. The Zenneck Surface Wave vs. the Norton Surface Wave A 1/2-wave dipole antenna in free space--the Hertz antenna--approaches an ideal source of electromagnetic radiation emitted in the form of space waves. These space waves can reach the receiver either by sky-wave propagation or by ground-wave propagation, the latter being the portion of the radiated space wave that propagates close to the earth's surface. The ground wave has both direct-wave and ground-reflected components, and under certain conditions a tropospheric ducting component. The direct-wave is limited only by the distance to the horizon from the transmitter plus a small distance added by atmospheric diffraction around the curvature of the earth. The ground-reflected portion of the radiated wave reaches the receiving antenna after being reflected from the earth's surface. There is also an induced ground-hugging surface-wave component known as the Norton surface wave. This wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component at the earth-atmosphere interface. Upon reflection from the Earth's surface the reflected wave undergoes a 180deg phase reversal. When both transmitting and receiving antennas are on, or close to, the ground, and the distance between them becomes great, the direct and reflected components tend to cancel out, and the resulting field intensity is principally that of this surface wave. Because part of its energy is absorbed by the ground, the electrical intensity of the surface wave is attenuated at a much greater rate than inversely as the distance. It is the conductivity of the underlying terrain that determines the attenuation of the surface-wave field intensity as a function of distance. The ground currents of a vertically polarized surface wave do not short-circuit a given electric field but rather serve to restore part of the used energy to the following field. The better the conducting surface layer, the more energy returned and the less energy absorbed. [Antennas and Radio Propagation, TM 11-666, Dept. of the Army, Feb. 1953, pp. 17-23.] It is useful here to consider two additional forms of wireless telecommunications antennas or launching structures, the Marconi antenna, a vertical 1/4-wave monopole antenna element and the Tesla antenna, a vertical high aspect-ratio 1/4-wave helical resonator with large capacitive top loading and small overall height, compared to the electrical 1/4 wavelength. In both cases the structure is base fed, and a ground connection is used. The Marconi antenna is a modified 1/2-wave Hertz antenna adapted to the real-world conditions encountered in the construction of medium and low frequency transmitters. These adaptations are imposed by the wavelength involved and the resulting physical dimensions required of the antenna. The dipole antenna is modified in that its lower half, 1/4 wavelength long, exists only as a mirror image of its upper counterpart. The resulting 1/4-wave vertical monopole antenna takes advantage of the fact that at lower frequencies the ground acts as a mirror for the radiated energy. The ground reflects a large amount of the energy that is radiated downward from the antenna mounted over it. In the physical construction of the ground connection is important to have as high a conductivity as possible. The object is to provide the best possible reflecting surface for the energy radiated downward from the antenna. The ground consists of a number of bare conductors arranged radially and connected, 1/2 wavelength long, buried a short distance beneath the earth's surface. In practice these conductors may act as part of the reflecting surface as well as making the connection to ground itself. An alternative type of ground is the counterpoise. It is a wire structure erected a short distance above the ground, and insulated from the ground. The counterpoise operates by virtue of its capacitance to the ground. Not unlike the Hertz antenna, the Marconi antenna is a source electromagnetic radiation in the form of space waves. The Tesla antenna is a form of wireless antenna or wave launching structure developed by Nikola Tesla in which the transmitted energy propagates or is carried to the receiver by a combination of electrical current flowing through the earth, electrostatic induction and electrical conduction through plasma with an embedded magnetic field. Of course it is also part of an electric dipole, consisting of the elevated capacitance, the helical resonator and master oscillator plus connections, and the Earth itself. The above-ground structure is not intended as a source of electromagnetic radiation, rather, it is designed to minimize the production of electromagnetic radiation. The principle that the ground acts as a mirror, which reflects electromagnetic energy radiated downward by the antenna mounted over it, is not applicable. In operation, the Tesla launching structure induces an electrical current in the earth between the transmitting and receiving stations, along with an associated surface wave, that propagate the transmitted energy. A conducting path is also establish through the rarified upper level atmosphere between the transmitting and receiving stations elevated high voltage terminals, leading Tesla to coin the term "disturbed charge of ground and air method." He stated that this method involves electrical conduction and that energy escapes from the system in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The conducting media are the earth and the atmosphere above 5 miles elevation. While the region from 5 miles up to the ionosphere is not an ohmic conductor, the density or pressure is sufficiently reduced to so that, according to Tesla’s theory, the atmosphere’s insulating properties can be easily impaired allowing an electric current to flow. His theory further suggests that the conducting region is developed through the process of atmospheric ionization, shifting the effected portions thereof to a plasma state. A magnetic field is developed by each plant’s helical resonator, meaning that an embedded magnetic field is also involved. The atmosphere below 5 miles is also viewed as a propagating medium for a portion of the above ground circuit, and being an insulating medium, electrostatic induction or ‘displacement current’ would be involved rather than true electrical conduction. Tesla felt that with a sufficiently high electrical potential on the elevated terminal the practical limitation imposed upon its height could be overcome. He anticipated that a highly energetic transmitter would charge the elevated terminal to the point where the atmosphere around and above it would break down and become ionized, leading to a flow of true conduction currents between the two terminals through the troposphere path connection. Now, Sommerfeld described an electrodynamic wave that is guided along a wire of finite conductivity and Zenneck expanded upon this description, asserting that the earth's surface performs in a manner similar to a conducting wire. And, while the Norton Surface Wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component of the ground-wave at the earth-atmosphere interface, the surface wave associated with Tesla’s apparatus is the result of electrical ground currents flowing between two discrete points on the earth’s surface. Unlike the lossy Norton surface-wave that is excited by a conventional AM radio transmitter it would seem that Tesla’s surface wave would not diminish quite as significantly as the distance from the source facility increases. [See "A Comparison of the Tesla and Marconi LF Wireless Systems"] [This piece is derived from "The Zenneck Surface Wave," Appendix II of the paper entitled "Nikola Tesla, Lightning Observations and Stationary Waves" by K. L. Corum and J. F. Corum, Ph.D. 1994., presented at the 1994 Colorado Springs Tesla Symposium. This and other papers are available through the Tesla Reprint Page, PV Scientific Instruments, 42 King Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886-9131 — 607-387-6752, pvsci@arcsandsparks.com. See also The Purpose of the Wardenclyffe Tower.] Revised: 01/16/2005 Top Article List Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map Twenty First Century Books Post Office Box 2001 Breckenridge, CO 80424-2001 © 1998-2004 Twenty First Century Books All Rights Reserved -------------------- << Kanarev´s Page Published 19.12.2003 LOW CURRENT ELECTROLYSIS OF WATER Ph. M. Kanarev E-mail: kanphil@mail.kuban.ru An interest to hydrogen energetic is being increased of late years. It is explained by the fact that hydrogen is an inexhaustible and environmental-friendly energy carrier. But the implementation of these properties is slowed down by large energy consumption for its production from water. The most modern Electrolyzers consume 4.0 kWh per cubic meter of this gas. Electrolysis process takes place by voltage of 1.6-2.0 V and current strength of dozens and hundreds of amperes. When one cubic meter of hydrogen is burnt, 3.55 kWh of energy is released [1]. Many laboratories in the world are busy solving a problem of a reduction of energy consumption for hydrogen production from water, but there are no significant results. In the meantime, a money-saving process of decomposition of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen exists in the nature. This process takes place during photosynthesis. Hydrogen atoms are separated from water molecules and are used as connecting links while forming organic molecules, and oxygen is released into the air. A question emerges: is it possible to model an electrolytical process of water decomposition into hydrogen and oxygen, which takes place during photosynthesis? A search of a reply to this question has resulted in a simple structure of a cell (Fig. 1), in which the process takes place by voltage of 1.5-2.0 V between the anode and the cathode and amperage of 0.02 amperes [1], [2]. Fig. 1. Model of a low current cell of the electrolyzer (at the stage of patenting) The electrodes of the cell are made of steel. It helps to avoid the phenomena, which are appropriate to a galvanic cell. Nevertheless, at the cell electrodes a potential difference of nearly 0.1 V takes place in complete default of electrolytic solution in it. When the solution is charged, the potential difference is increased. The positive sign of the charge appears on the upper electrode always, and the negative sign appears on the lower one. If a direct current source generates pulses, gas output is increased. As a laboratory model of the low current electrolyzer cell generates small quantity of gases, a solution mass change definition method during the experiment and further calculation of released hydrogen and oxygen is the most reliable method of definition of their quantity. It is known that a gram atom is equal to atomic mass of substance; a gram molecule is equal to molecular mass of substance. For example, the gram molecule of hydrogen in the water molecule is equal to two grams; the gram-atom of the oxygen atom is 16 grams. The gram molecule of water is equal to 18 grams. Hydrogen mass in a water molecule is 2x100/18=11.11%; oxygen mass is 16x100/18=88.89%; this ratio of hydrogen and oxygen is in one liter of water. It means that 111.11 grams of hydrogen and 888.89 grams of oxygen are in 1000 grams of water. One liter of hydrogen weighs 0.09 g; one liter of oxygen weighs 1.47 g. It means that it is possible to produce 111.11/0.09=1234.44 liters of hydrogen and 888.89/1.47=604.69 liters of oxygen from one liter of water. It appears from this that one gram of water contains 1.23 liters of hydrogen. Energy consumption for production of 1000 liters of hydrogen is 4 kWh and for one liter 4 Wh. As it is possible to produce 1.234 liters of hydrogen from one gram of water, 1.234x4=4.94 Wh is spent for hydrogen production from one gram of water now. Instruments and equipment used during the experiment Special experimental low current electrolyzer (Fig. 3); voltmeter of the highest accuracy class (accuracy class of 0.2 GOST 9711-78); ammeter of the highest accuracy class (accuracy class of 0.2 GOST 9711-78)’ electronic scale with scale division value of 0.1 and 0.01 g; stop watch with scale division value of 0.1 s. Table 1 Experimental results Indices Amount 1 – period of service of the electrolyzer connected to the line, in six cycles t, min 6x10=60.0 2 – voltmeter readings V, volts; 11.00 2’ – oscillograph readings V’, volts; 0.062 3 – ammeter readings I, ampere; 0.020 3’ – oscillograph readings, I’, ampere; 0.01978 4 – energy consumption according to the voltmeter and ammeter (P=VxIxt/60), Wh; 0.220 4’ – energy consumption according to oscillograph readings (P’=V’xI’x t/60) Wh; 0.00124 5 – period of service of the electrolyzer disconnected from the line, in six cycles, min 6x50=300.0 6 – solution mass change m, grams 0.60 7 – evaporating water mass m’, grams 0.06 8 – mass of water passed into gases, m’’=m-m’, grams 0.54 9 – energy consumption per gram of water passed into gases according to the readings of the voltmeter and ammeter E=P/m’’, Wh/gram of water 0.407 9’ – energy consumption per gram of water passed into gases according to oscillograph readings E’=P’/m’’, Wh/gram of water 0.0023 10 – existing energy consumption per gram of water passing into gases E’’, Wh/gram of water 4.94 11 – reduction of energy consumption for hydrogen production from water according to the readings of voltmeter and ammeter K=E’’/P, fold 12.14 11’ – reduction of energy consumption for hydrogen production from water according to the oscillograph readings K’=E’’/P’, fold 2147.8 12- released hydrogen quantity ??=0.54x1.23x0.09=0.06, gram 0.06 13 – energy content of produced hydrogen (W=0.06?142/3.6) =2.36, Wh 2.36 14 – energy effectiveness of water electrolysis process according to the readings of the voltmeter and the ammeter (W?100/P), % 1072.7 14’ - energy effectiveness of water electrolysis process according to the oscillograph readings (W?100/P’), % 190322.6 Oscillogram samples Fig. 2. Voltage Fig. 3. Voltage Fig. 4. Current Fig. 5. Current Voltage oscillogram processing results (Figs 2 and 3). Taking into consideration the scale factor, which is equal to 10, we'll find a mean value of voltage pulse amplitude =[(0.20+0.24+0.12+0.10+0.30+0.18+0.16+0.12+0.30+ 0.24+0.30)/11] x10=2,05 V . Pulse period ?=(24?2)/10=4.8 ms. Pulse duration =(2?1.45)/10=0.29 ms. Pulse frequency =(1/0.001x4.8)=208.3 Hz. Pulse period-to-pulse duration ratio =48/0.29=16.55. Duty factor =0.5/16.55=0.0302. Equivalent mean component of voltage pulses calculated according to the oscillograph readings =2.05?0.0302=0.062 V. At that time, the voltmeter readings were 11.0 V. Current oscillogram processing results (Figs 4 and 5). Taking into consideration the scale factor, which is equal to 10, and resistance of 0.1 Ohm resistor we'll find a mean value of current pulse amplitude ={[(9.0+7.0+2.0+11.5 +6.0+8.5+3.5+9.0+2.5+6.5)/10]x10}/0.1=655?? =0.655 ?. Mean current in the electrolyzer supply circuit is =0.655?0.0302=0.01978? =0.02?. The ammeter readings are 0.02 ?. A question emerges at once: why is current value according to the readings of the ammeter and oscillograph the same and voltage value according to the oscillograph readings is 177.4fold less than according to the voltmeter readings? A series of additional experiments accompanying this question is shown that a low current electrolyzer cell is a capacitor being discharged gradually under the influence of electrolytical processes, which take place in it. A value of this discharge is compensated by the pulses of voltage, which mean value is considerably less than a constant value of charge voltage of this capacitor. Thus, the voltmeter shows a capacitor charge voltage value, and the oscillograph shows a value of its recharge, which characterizes the energy consumed by the cell from the line. It appears from this that in order to calculate energy consumed by the low current electrolyzer cell from the line it is necessary to use voltage, which is registered not by the voltmeter, but by the oscillograph. As a result, energy consumption for hydrogen production from water in case of low current electrolysis are reduced not 12fold, but almost 2000fold. Thus, a small value of current 0.02 A and voltage 0.062 V allows us to suppose that in the low current electrolyzer the water electrolysis process is similar to the process, which takes place during photosynthesis. At photosynthesis, hydrogen separated from the water molecule is used as a connecting link while organic molecule formation, and oxygen is released in the air. At low current electrolysis, both hydrogen and oxygen are released in the air. Fruitfulness of this attractive hypothesis should be checked not once, but now it is the only one, which gives a satisfactory explanation of an unusual experimental result. Note: gas release is clearly seen during several hours after the cell is disconnected from the line. Conclusion Energy efficiency index of the low current electrolysis should be refined, but in any case it will be greater than 10, that’s why there is every reason to think that a way to production of inexpensive hydrogen from water and transition to hydrogen energetic is opened. REFERENCES 1. Kanarev Ph.M. The Foundation of Physchemistry of Microworld. The third edition. – Krasnodar: KSAU, 2003. http://Kanarev.innoplaza.net (In Russian, Part 1, Part 2). 2. Kanarev Ph.M. The Foundation of Physchemistry of Microworld. The second edition. (In English). http://book.physchemistry.innoplaza.net Webmaster: j_hartikka@hotmail.com Low Current Electrolysis of Water by Prof. Kanarev << Kanarev´s Page -------------------------- From Feed Line No. 4 REDISCOVERING THE ZENNECK SURFACE WAVE by Gary L. Peterson In 1916 while speaking of his system for global transmission, Nikola Tesla cited the analysis of mathematician Arnold N. Sommerfeld as verification of his explanations of observed radio phenomena. Tesla was referring to his system in which, he claimed, 90% to 95% of the electrical energy was manifested at the transmitters output as "current waves" with the remainder existing as dissipating electromagnetic radiation (see Antenna Theory). In 1909 another investigator by the name of Johann Zenneck, while working to explain Marconi's trans-oceanic results, showed that a unique type of surface wave could travel along the interface between the ground and the air. In the words of James Corum, "The distinguishing feature of the Zenneck wave was that the propagating energy didn't spread like radiation, but was concentrated near the guiding surface. Sommerfeld had shown that an electromagnetic wave could be guided along a wire of finite conductivity, and Zenneck conceived that the earth's surface would perform in a manner similar to a single conducting wire." [see "Operating Principles of the Wardenclyffe Apparatus"] In commenting on Sommerfeld's analysis of the surface wave, James R. Wait states that "The field amplitude varies inversely as the square root of the horizontal distance from the source. . . ." It's interesting to note that Sommerfeld made a point of distinguishing between the "electrodynamic" surface wave and its Hertzian counterpart the space wave, believing that both components could be present in varying proportion in the wave complex. It was Tesla's assertion that the exact composition of the emissions was dependent upon the design of the transmitter. Geometry for Zenneck wave propagation. As the study of radio propagation progressed and certain mathematical analyses excluded it, some question as to the existence of Zenneck surface waves began to develop. In 1937 limited support was given to these doubts after tests showed simple antennas driven at 150 mHz produced 100 times lower field strength than predicted. More recent investigations show evidence that Zenneck waves can, indeed, be generated. The lower the frequency, the lower are the propagation losses. It is also apparent that they are not a major contributor to the field produced by an electric dipole or quarter wave radiator, however they can be strongly excited by a quarter wave resonator. Once again to quote Dr. Corum, "the resulting wave is a surface guided (single conductor) transmission line mode which attenuates exponentially along the guide. . . . There is no inverse square spreading or diffraction, as with Hertzian waves. . . . With appropriate constitutive parameters, a pure Zenneck wave would seem to hold out the promise of guided propagation with no radiation field to waste energy." Plots of field strength vs. frequency indicate that a Zenneck wave propagates best at ELF and VLF frequencies up to about 35 kHz, and would lose its advantage as frequency rose above that point. Zenneck wave field strength decrease for around-the-world propagation as a function of frequency in kHz. The complex longitudinal propagation phase constant along the Earth's surface for the Zenneck surface wave. The Zenneck Surface Wave vs. the Norton Surface Wave A 1/2-wave dipole antenna in free space--the Hertz antenna--approaches an ideal source of electromagnetic radiation emitted in the form of space waves. These space waves can reach the receiver either by sky-wave propagation or by ground-wave propagation, the latter being the portion of the radiated space wave that propagates close to the earth's surface. The ground wave has both direct-wave and ground-reflected components, and under certain conditions a tropospheric ducting component. The direct-wave is limited only by the distance to the horizon from the transmitter plus a small distance added by atmospheric diffraction around the curvature of the earth. The ground-reflected portion of the radiated wave reaches the receiving antenna after being reflected from the earth's surface. There is also an induced ground-hugging surface-wave component known as the Norton surface wave. This wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component at the earth-atmosphere interface. Upon reflection from the Earth's surface the reflected wave undergoes a 180deg phase reversal. When both transmitting and receiving antennas are on, or close to, the ground, and the distance between them becomes great, the direct and reflected components tend to cancel out, and the resulting field intensity is principally that of this surface wave. Because part of its energy is absorbed by the ground, the electrical intensity of the surface wave is attenuated at a much greater rate than inversely as the distance. It is the conductivity of the underlying terrain that determines the attenuation of the surface-wave field intensity as a function of distance. The ground currents of a vertically polarized surface wave do not short-circuit a given electric field but rather serve to restore part of the used energy to the following field. The better the conducting surface layer, the more energy returned and the less energy absorbed. [Antennas and Radio Propagation, TM 11-666, Dept. of the Army, Feb. 1953, pp. 17-23.] It is useful here to consider two additional forms of wireless telecommunications antennas or launching structures, the Marconi antenna, a vertical 1/4-wave monopole antenna element and the Tesla antenna, a vertical high aspect-ratio 1/4-wave helical resonator with large capacitive top loading and small overall height, compared to the electrical 1/4 wavelength. In both cases the structure is base fed, and a ground connection is used. The Marconi antenna is a modified 1/2-wave Hertz antenna adapted to the real-world conditions encountered in the construction of medium and low frequency transmitters. These adaptations are imposed by the wavelength involved and the resulting physical dimensions required of the antenna. The dipole antenna is modified in that its lower half, 1/4 wavelength long, exists only as a mirror image of its upper counterpart. The resulting 1/4-wave vertical monopole antenna takes advantage of the fact that at lower frequencies the ground acts as a mirror for the radiated energy. The ground reflects a large amount of the energy that is radiated downward from the antenna mounted over it. In the physical construction of the ground connection is important to have as high a conductivity as possible. The object is to provide the best possible reflecting surface for the energy radiated downward from the antenna. The ground consists of a number of bare conductors arranged radially and connected, 1/2 wavelength long, buried a short distance beneath the earth's surface. In practice these conductors may act as part of the reflecting surface as well as making the connection to ground itself. An alternative type of ground is the counterpoise. It is a wire structure erected a short distance above the ground, and insulated from the ground. The counterpoise operates by virtue of its capacitance to the ground. Not unlike the Hertz antenna, the Marconi antenna is a source electromagnetic radiation in the form of space waves. The Tesla antenna is a form of wireless antenna or wave launching structure developed by Nikola Tesla in which the transmitted energy propagates or is carried to the receiver by a combination of electrical current flowing through the earth, electrostatic induction and electrical conduction through plasma with an embedded magnetic field. Of course it is also part of an electric dipole, consisting of the elevated capacitance, the helical resonator and master oscillator plus connections, and the Earth itself. The above-ground structure is not intended as a source of electromagnetic radiation, rather, it is designed to minimize the production of electromagnetic radiation. The principle that the ground acts as a mirror, which reflects electromagnetic energy radiated downward by the antenna mounted over it, is not applicable. In operation, the Tesla launching structure induces an electrical current in the earth between the transmitting and receiving stations, along with an associated surface wave, that propagate the transmitted energy. A conducting path is also establish through the rarified upper level atmosphere between the transmitting and receiving stations elevated high voltage terminals, leading Tesla to coin the term "disturbed charge of ground and air method." He stated that this method involves electrical conduction and that energy escapes from the system in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The conducting media are the earth and the atmosphere above 5 miles elevation. While the region from 5 miles up to the ionosphere is not an ohmic conductor, the density or pressure is sufficiently reduced to so that, according to Tesla’s theory, the atmosphere’s insulating properties can be easily impaired allowing an electric current to flow. His theory further suggests that the conducting region is developed through the process of atmospheric ionization, shifting the effected portions thereof to a plasma state. A magnetic field is developed by each plant’s helical resonator, meaning that an embedded magnetic field is also involved. The atmosphere below 5 miles is also viewed as a propagating medium for a portion of the above ground circuit, and being an insulating medium, electrostatic induction or ‘displacement current’ would be involved rather than true electrical conduction. Tesla felt that with a sufficiently high electrical potential on the elevated terminal the practical limitation imposed upon its height could be overcome. He anticipated that a highly energetic transmitter would charge the elevated terminal to the point where the atmosphere around and above it would break down and become ionized, leading to a flow of true conduction currents between the two terminals through the troposphere path connection. Now, Sommerfeld described an electrodynamic wave that is guided along a wire of finite conductivity and Zenneck expanded upon this description, asserting that the earth's surface performs in a manner similar to a conducting wire. And, while the Norton Surface Wave is the result of electrical currents induced in the ground by refraction of a portion of the reflected-wave component of the ground-wave at the earth-atmosphere interface, the surface wave associated with Tesla’s apparatus is the result of electrical ground currents flowing between two discrete points on the earth’s surface. Unlike the lossy Norton surface-wave that is excited by a conventional AM radio transmitter it would seem that Tesla’s surface wave would not diminish quite as significantly as the distance from the source facility increases. [See "A Comparison of the Tesla and Marconi LF Wireless Systems"] [This piece is derived from "The Zenneck Surface Wave," Appendix II of the paper entitled "Nikola Tesla, Lightning Observations and Stationary Waves" by K. L. Corum and J. F. Corum, Ph.D. 1994., presented at the 1994 Colorado Springs Tesla Symposium. This and other papers are available through the Tesla Reprint Page, PV Scientific Instruments, 42 King Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886-9131 — 607-387-6752, pvsci@arcsandsparks.com. See also The Purpose of the Wardenclyffe Tower.] Revised: 01/16/2005 Top Article List Home | Newsletter | Tesla FAQ | Tesla Writings | Tesla Patents | Tesla On AC | Glossary | Links Bookstore | Contact Us | Search | Reference Section | Wholesale Distribution | Tesla Books | Site Map Twenty First Century Books Post Office Box 2001 Breckenridge, CO 80424-2001 © 1998-2004 Twenty First Century Books All Rights Reserved