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The Pyramidal Electric Transducer:: A DC To RF Converter For The Capture of Atmospheric Electrostatic Energy
The Pyramidal Electric Transducer:: A DC To RF Converter For The Capture of Atmospheric Electrostatic Energy
Peter Grandics*
Abstract
We have found that the dimensional ratios of the Great at about 1014 W;10 in comparison, the total power genera-
Pyramid of Giza (GPG) express the key ratios of an AC volt- tion capacity of the world is only 3.625x10 12 W,11 a fraction
age sine wave as well as ratios of the Fibonacci number. As of the power generated in the troposphere by thunderstorm
pyramidal horn antennas are suitable for the detection of activity. This suggests that the density of atmospheric elec-
short-pulse waveforms, we reasoned that the shape of GPG trical activity may be high enough to tap, and indicates that
could embody a time domain, wideband antenna for atmos- atmospheric electricity, if harnessed, could meet all the ener-
pheric electrostatic discharge (ESD) impulses. This hypothe- gy needs of mankind.
sis has subsequently been confirmed. We have further found Atmospheric electrostatic discharge (ESD) impulses are
that the pyramidal antenna, modeled on the GPG, can cou- random and of short duration (nanosecond range) as well as
ple into the atmosphere and transfer the power of ESD of wide frequency of occurrence. Antennas capable of han-
impulses into a novel lumped-element resonant circuit that dling similar short-pulse waveforms can be found in radar
converts the random impulses into regular series of expo- systems, where they are called the pyramidal horn antennas.
nentially decaying sinusoidal wave trains. Thus, ESD impuls- Intriguingly, popular scientific literature describes inexpli-
es can be transformed into an alternating current of pre- cable electromagnetic phenomena under scaled-down repli-
dictable frequency. This system could become a source of cas of the Great Pyramid of Giza.12 These phenomena
renewable electric power by utilizing the electrical activity of showed a variability that made its interpretation difficult.
the atmosphere. We hypothesized that these findings were possibly due to
natural fluctuations in the atmospheric electrostatic field
detected by the GPG as a time domain, wideband antenna.
Introduction Therefore, we have investigated whether an antenna mod-
Atmospheric electricity manifests as a buildup of electrostat- eled on the GPG would capture ESD impulses and if these
ic energy, a phenomenon that continuously electrifies our random impulses could subsequently be converted into an
environment.1 In the global atmospheric-electrical circuit, AC voltage sine waveform of predictable frequency. This
the Earth’s surface is negatively charged while the atmos- would allow a direct conversion of the potential energy of an
phere is positively charged.2 The voltage gradient between electrostatic field into an alternating current, making atmos-
the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere is believed to be pheric electrostatic charges a possible source of commercial
maintained by the electrical activity of the troposphere as power generation.
well as the solar wind-coupled magnetospheric dynamo.3
It is difficult to estimate the electric power of thunder- Methods and Results
storms, as they typically maintain a steady-state electrical Previously, we reported that a charged pyramidal-shaped
structure during their lifespan4 despite charge losses from capacitor converts ESD impulses into a high-frequency sig-
lightning, corona discharges, precipitation, and turbulence. nal that can be detected in an insulated coil placed in prox-
Even with this gap in our understanding of thunderstorm imity of the capacitor plate.13 Such structure is similar to a
electrification processes, a rough estimate of the magnitude transverse electromagnetic antenna (TEM)14 as well as the
of power generated by thunderstorms can be derived as fol- pyramidal horn antenna suitable for the detection of
lows: Thunderstorms can be traced by monitoring lightning impulse events of short duration.
activity, more than 90% of which occurs over landmasses, Here, we report on further developments with this sys-
primarily in Central Africa, the South Central United States, tem15 including tracing energy transfer across system com-
and the Amazon Basin.5 A medium-sized thunderstorm ponents. A laboratory van der Graaf generator (VDG) was
(about 200 km diameter) with intra-cloud voltages of about used to generate an atmospheric electrostatic field, and
100 MV6 and a precipitation current of about 20 nA/m2 can Tektronix TPS2024 as well as TDS3054 digital oscilloscopes
generate7,8 at least 6.28x1010 W. Assuming 2,300 active were used for signal acquisition and analysis. Swept signal
thunderstorms at any given moment,9 the estimated average analyses were performed by using Wavetek 185 and 187 sig-
total power output of thunderstorm activity is approximate- nal generators.
ly 1.44x1014 W. A hurricane’s power generation is estimated We first analyzed the dimensional ratios of the GPG and
For the power transmission studies, we used the same After charging the pyramid capacitor, the signal measured
pyramidal antenna/charge accumulation element modeled on coil 2 leads is an exponentially damped sinusoidal wave-
on the GPG.13 The electrostatic field in air produces ESD form at regular periodic intervals (Figure 3).
impulses on the conductive pyramid’s external surface. A The pyramidal electric transducer is capable of absorbing
coil wound with insulated wire on a conductive cylindrical ESD impulses from an electrostatic field generated by a labo-
substrate (coilform) is attached electrically and mechanical- ratory VDG (Figure 4). Periodic discharge events were detect-
ly to the conducting surface of the pyramid near its apex. ed at a distance of 1 m between the pyramid and the VDG.
The coil is connected in parallel with an external capacitor The electrostatic field strength was measured by using a
to provide a specific resonant frequency. Monroe 244 electrostatic voltmeter and found to be about 3
A secondary coil of smaller diameter (coil 2) of a greater kV/m, much less than the field strength observed during
length and larger number of turns is positioned coaxially thunderstorms at ground level (10 kV/m or more).17
within the first coil and serves as a resonant step-up trans- A load may be connected to coil 2 to draw power from the
former winding inductively coupled with coil 1 (Figure 2). system. The load may be a resistor, a rectifier or storage
Figure 1. The spectral response of the 1 foot base length Figure 2. Placement of coils inside the pyramidal charge col-
pyramidal antenna. lector with resonance capacitor.
Experimental setup:
Channel 1 is the signal measurement (coil 1).
Channel 2 is a second probe (100 Mohm, 10x) attached to coil 2
output wires.
Channel 3 is the sweep frequency marker of the Wavetek 178 signal
generator.
Channel 4 is the sweep signal control voltage (ramp waveform of
100 ms period).
Figure 4. Pulse train of discharge events. With a resonance capacitor (290 pF) across coil 1, the resonance
of the coil 2 second peak is detected at about 9.5 MHz. The peak
voltage across coil 1 also appears at about at this frequency (Figure
8). By optimally tuning coil 1 peak and coil 2 second peak togeth-
er, the output can be optimized, i.e. maximum power transferred to
coil 2 from the sweep generator.
We carried out differential measurements to investigate the ener-
gy transfer from coil 1 to coil 2 with the pyramid attached to the
coilform and the signal generator output connected to the pyramid.
Probe 1 is connected to one side of coil 2 and probe 2 is connected
to the other. The probe 2 signal is subtracted from the probe 1 sig-
nal to reveal what is happening across coil 2; the middle trace is the
difference between the sides of coil 2 (Figure 9).
An energy transfer from coil 1 to coil 2 was shown in the spectral
response of the middle trace. It reveals a first resonance at about
6.55 MHz, then zero, then a cascade of other resonances up to about
25 MHz.
Subsequently, we coupled one output lead of coil 1 to the coil-
form and thus to the pyramid body to make it resonant with coil 1.
The differential signal is
higher, indicating
enhanced energy transfer
(Figure 10). We have also
investigated whether the
geometry of and coil
winding on the conduc-
tive coilform has an
effect in the spectral
response seen in coil 2
Figure 5. The pyramidal electric transducer circuit model. Figure 6. The lumped-element resonant circuit model.
Discussion
This study demonstrates a novel approach to tap atmospheric electro-
static energy. One intriguing aspect is the shape effect, i.e., the obser-
vation that a pyramid-shaped antenna may be optimal for capturing
atmospheric ESD impulses.13 This observation is supported by the sur-
Figure 9. Differential measurement on coil 2.
prising result of our analysis of the dimensional ratios of the cally maintain a steady-state electrical structure during their
Great Pyramid of Giza, which raises the possibility that its lifespan—despite charge losses to lightning, corona dis-
builders were trying to construct a structure that could act as charges, precipitation, and turbulence—is difficult.4 In fact,
a wideband antenna. This possibility has subsequently been precipitation current carries only a portion of the charges
confirmed by measuring the spectral response of a pyrami- present inside the thundercloud. The actual magnitude of
dal antenna modeled on the GPG. Our results also provide electric power generated by thunderstorm activity may
an explanation of the inexplicable electromagnetic phe- exceed global power generator capacity by as much as three
nomena observed under scaled-down replicas of the GPG.12 orders of magnitude. The geographical concentration of ter-
As vertical atmospheric potential follows a diurnal and sea- restrial thunderstorm activity would facilitate efforts to tap
sonal cycle, this explains the variable results reported. into this large pool of atmospheric energy.
Further analysis of this phenomenon will likely advance our We also propose that the generation of electricity would
understanding of the physical bases of electromagnetism.18 be commercially practical even in the absence of thunder-
ESD impulses are converted into periodic, exponentially storm generators. Holtzworth reported that a large fraction
decaying sinusoidal wave trains by a novel lumped-element of the ground-ionospheric potential difference of 450 kV can
resonant circuit, comprising an insulated coil wound on a be bridged at a low altitude of 1500 m;19 at this elevation he
conductive cylindrical substrate that is electrically coupled measured a short circuit current of 30-50 µA20 using a short
to the pyramid body and is parallel to a resonance capacitor. wire mesh charge collector. As the charge-accumulating
Connecting one lead of coil 1 to the pyramid body increas- capacity of the pyramid is directly proportional to its surface
es energy transfer as the charge accumulation element (pyra- area, a sufficiently large pyramid could potentially generate
mid) resonates at the frequency of the LEC. This can have a megawatts of power even under fair weather conditions.
significant bearing on the ability of the system to attract elec- This activity would be facilitated by an observation reported
trostatic energy. With optimization of the coil system, power from Russia.
transfer efficiencies should be in excess of 90%, as RF trans- Radar testing of the space over a 44 m tall fiberglass pyra-
former design is a well-established field of RF engineering. mid located near Moscow21 revealed a large ionized column
Estimating the electric power of thunderstorms that typi- of air over the area of the vertical axis of the pyramid. The
Figure 12. Measurement of resonance coupling with the Figure 13. Decaying sinusoidal waveforms generated in coil 1
redesigned coilform. and coil 2 by asymmetrical square-wave pulsing.