Electric Field Transformer

 
For another different application -- a virtual photon power converter -- click here

 
The Enigma of Coulomb's Law 
(or...are we looking in the wrong place?)
      At first glance the formulas of Coulomb's Law and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation appear very similar.  Both determine forces present, one electrical and the other gravitational. 
  •  Newton's law determines gravitational forces; how much we weigh.  While, Coulomb's Law determines forces between electrical charges.  We experience this force as static cling.
  •  Newton's law works with mass.  While Coulomb's works with charges.
  •  FYI: 1 ampere is 1 coulomb of charge (6.2422 x 1018 electrons) passing a given point in one second 
Universal Law of Gravitation
 
m1
 --> mass 1
 (m1) x (m2)
m2
 --> mass 2
F = (K) x
d 
 --> distance between masses -- meters
d2
K
 --> 6.7 x 10-11 (N)(m2)/kg2
F
 --> Force
Coulomb's Law
q1
 --> charge 1 (measured in coulombs)
(q1) x (q2)
q2
 --> charge 2
F = (K) x
d
 --> distance between charges -- meters
d2
K
 --> 9.0 x 109 (N)(m2)/q2
F
 --> Force

 
     Upon closer examination, due to the constants (K) they are quite different.  If ones (1) were placed in the places of m1, m2, and d of Newton's law, the resultant force of gravity would be relatively insignificant.  However, if ones (1) were placed in the places of q1, q2, and d of Coulomb's Law, the resultant force would be incredible.  It would roughly translate to about a 1,000,000  tons.
         This means if you have (for one moment) one ampere's worth of current of positive charge and one ampere's worth of current of negative charge with a meter's distance between them the ‘static cling’ force would be about million tons.
          Now, reduce all the variable of Coulomb's Law by a thousand (.001) and the force available would still be about million tons.  This means if you have (for one moment in time and space) one milliampere’s worth of positive charge and one milliampere’s worth of negative charge with a millimeter between them the ‘static cling’ force would still be about 1,000,000 tons.

          Coulomb's Law is why high voltage capacitors will always be ‘chunky’.  We have the thin material that can stand the high voltage.  But, the capacitor plates can't be too close together.  If the plates were too close together, the force between the plates  literally causes the plates to pinch the insulator and shorts out the capacitor.
          My electronics college instructor told us that after Coulomb's Law was published and became known, numerous people 'jumped' on it to try to tap into this force.  From Volta, Ohm, Faraday, Franklin, etc. we got our laws of electricity.  And...in terms of an application of Coulomb's Law, they all walked away "scratching their head" (instructor's words). 
          An effective power application of Coulomb's Law was the 'holy grail' for the early electrical pioneers.

         Why hasn't this been used?  The problem is like charges repel each other.  To create a condition that holds a bunch of electrons in one place, those electrons have to be put under pressure.  Pressure in electrical terms is voltage.  To create a condition that would use this force, a very high voltage would have to be used. 
         This is not that difficult to do; and, it does create some arcing problems.  Specially, if put these high voltages are in close proximity to each other with only a small air gap. 
         That much voltage is hard to contain.  So, electric field forces’ usage has been restricted to small power scale applications like watches and power meters.

The Enigma of Coulombs Law

        There are all kinds of physical logistic problems in actually creating this condition.  And...hypothetically suppose that there is a device that the physical logistics problems have been solved.  The enigma of Coulomb's Law is; no way would you have to exert the electrical equivalent of that amount of force to create this condition (given a non arcing condition is established).  True, again, there are numerous physical difficulties.  And...all physical problems aside, the math says the resultant force is more than what had to be put in to create it. 
          To give you an idea of the discrepancy between the electrical 'input' and the physical 'output', a half cycle voltage spike from a small Tesla coil can momentarily supply the voltage and current necessary for the .001 example used above (a million tons).

          Coulomb's Law is a major apparent  ‘glitch’ in the current science paradigm.1  It is a ‘glitch’ or exception to two basic physics axioms:

      • "Nothing can be created or destroyed."
      • "You can't get something for nothing."
           There is a whole study in physics around this called quantum electro-dynamics.  One explanation that current physicists propose is that there are virtual photons and these virtual photons have the potential of infinite force and are everywhere.  Creating this condition brings the infinite potential of virtual photons from the virtual realm to the physical realm.2

           One of my electronics college instructors worked for a high power AM radio station when he was younger.  He told us the story of what happened when a million volt capacitor connected to a low voltage variable tuning capacitor.  (A capacitor stores electrical charge.  The variable tuning capacitor is used in this instance to keep the radio station on frequency.  This type of variable capacitor was two sets of parallel mounted metal plates.  They were arranged such that one set could move freely between the other set without touching.)
           The story goes, that  the charged million volt capacitor got  connected to the normally low voltage tuning capacitor accidentally.  There was a loud "thunk".  The result was the instantaneous forces generated from Coulomb's Law was so great, that afterwards, the formerly moveable plates were pushed together by such a pressure that "It was impossible to take the tuning capacitor apart."
           Within the current energy/power mechanical paradigm, to do this, such that the plates stay together and do not separate, something like a hydraulic press that exerts tons of force would be needed.  Yet...a discharging electrical storage device did this.

       If you learn anything from this web page, 'walk' away with this:

    • There is a source of incredible power or energy; that we have known about for a long time, and may be overlooking.
          This web page is not about the theory nor will it try to explain how this ‘glitch’ is possible.  The idea is to explore possible applications or ways to access this force rather than explain.

 
A Possible Application (high voltage electric field isolation capacitor/transformer)
         Arcing completes a circuit -- closes a system -- between two voltage potentials.   When arcing occurs, two oppositely charged static voltage potentials can cancel each other out.  The arcing problems that occur are usually between two electrically isolated voltage potentials – pressures – necessary to hold a charge and they are part of the same circuit -- completes a closed system. 
        Anyone or anything that is not part of the closed system can touch an element of that circuit without affect.  An example of this is a sparrow on a high voltage power line.   A sparrow can sit on a  high voltage power line because the sparrow is not part of the circuit. 
         With an eagle or hawk however, it is a different story.  It is common for these birds to get 'zapped' when there wings bridge two high voltage power lines.  They become a part of the closed system.

        Some questions raised here are:

  • What if charges are induced in to the opposite ends of an electrically neutral conductive mass, a closed system? 
  • What if the ‘holding charge’ is not induced from the outside (Figure A) but from within an object (Figure B)?  (Thereby, inducing and locking in an electric field condition within a electrically polarized closed system.) 
  • What happens if an electrically neutral conductor becomes radically electrically polarized?  Would it act like an electric field ‘magnet’?
  • How much charge is needed to produce a significant physical application?
  • There is a spatial relationship involved between a core charge with its surrounding charge and an outside charge coming into close proximity ot them.  There is a distance where the surrounding charge's closer proximity to an outside charge has a greater influence than the core charge. (This is what makes solid matter 'solid', the repulsion of electron shells)
         There  is a device called an electret.  It is made of a non-conductive material and exhibits a permanent electric field; it is permanently electrical polarized.  An electret is like a permanent magnet, but with electric fields instead of magnetic fields. 
         The device proposed here is simple.  Just as a  permanent magnet is to an electret, an electro-magnet is to the device proposed here.


 Explanation of Figures
A
  • An example of electric induction (top) and a curved polarized electrically neutral conductor core with a movable conductor target (bottom).
  • The bottom figure shows how polarization of the curve poles induces a charge in a target. 
  • This figure also shows an optional thin layer of dielectric insulation to discourage possible ionization conduction (1). 
          In addition, this figure illustrates how – because the induced charge is in a closed system -- that there is little danger of shock.
B
  • Shows how Figure A can be accomplished by burying a series of high voltage emitters separated by conductive core material.  An emitter is a conductor laminated between two high voltage dielectric insulators.  Consequently, these emitters are di-electrically insulated from the conductive core material. 
  • This figure also shows an optional insulated ‘break’ in the middle of the electrically neutral conductor (2) and an optional complimentary voltage (or resistor, or ?) applied across the ‘break’ (3).  (see Please Note below)
         Again, this figure illustrates that there is little danger of shock.
C
       Shows a 3 dimensional view of Figure B.  This figure shows how the emitters’ original electrical field polarization tends to be in a different direction (vertically polarized) than the induced electric field in the curved conductive core (toroidally polarized). 
        What this means is; elements of the induced electric field is cross polarized -- 90 degrees -- from the induction electric field. 
D
       An illustration of an AC transformer using the example of Figures B and C  with a high voltage Tesla wound coil (a secondary coil) in the center of a conductive curve mass.  A primary coil not only winds around the high voltage secondary coil -- Tesla coil -- in this picture it winds around the conductive core as well. 
         This would only be done if the conductor is a ferrous material.  In this case, part of the primary coil would not be directly magnetically inductively coupled to the secondary.  The magnetic field generating element of the primary coil has no magnetic effect on the secondary.  Only the primary's few  turns around the secondary excites the secondary. 
      Figure D illustrates a quarter AC cycle with the high voltage coil's expanding magnetic field with the direction of the field's induced current flow potential in the curved conductor – eddy current potential direction.  This particular flow direction is in opposition to the electrically induced electron migration direction created by the high voltage emitters -- induced charge migration caused by the charging emitters.
E
       The same as Figure D but showing the high voltage coil's collapsing magnetic field with its accompanying eddy current flow potential.  This figure shows how this particular eddy current flow potential would compliment electron flow of the induced charge accumulation as the optional power supply -- battery -- does in Figure B (3). 
          (See: This May Be Important)
F
       An example of an AC circuit schematic for Figures D & E. 
G
       A comparison of the various components’ current phase relationships involved with Figures D & E condition.
H
       An electric motor -- a practical application -- using magnetic and electric fields comprised of four of these transducer -- electric field isolation transformer -- elements
I
       A three dimensional view of a single electric field isolation transformer/capacitor element.


Reasoning
       A non ionized atom is electrically neutral.  The effects of the positive and negative fields outside of the atom cancel themselves out from the reference of the outside at a distance.  Normally the same thing occurs when an electrical charge is placed inside  conductive material.
          A water molecule is a stable molecule and is electrically neutral.  And...the water molecule exhibits highly electrically polarized qualities. This electrical polarization that water has can affect other atoms and molecules around it.  This electrical polarization is what makes distilled water the universal solvent and distilled water the perfect dielectric insulator.  (Distilled water can't be used as a dielectric insulator for too long because it is the universal solvent.  Eventually, distilled water will dissolve part of whatever container you put it in and then it stops being distilled water; it conducts.)

         What follows is the author's clumsy attempt to get a conductor to exhibit electrically polarized qualities like a water molecule so that the forces present in Coulomb's Law can be used in a high power application.

         Electric field induction is like magnetic field induction.  When you place a north pole of a magnet next to a piece of iron, the field of that magnet induces an opposite field in the iron.  The north pole in that magnet induces a south pole in the iron.  And consequently, they attract each other.
          Electric fields also do this to a conductor.  Regarding the top of Figure A, an electrically neutral conductor is shown placed near a strong electric field.  That electric field will induce its opposite charge in the conductor.  The result would be that from outside appearances that electrically neutral conductor has been electrically polarized just as the iron becomes magnetically polarized.
          If you curve the conductor (like a horseshoe magnet), the electrically neutral conductor could exhibit properties like a magnet only with electric fields.  The lower part of Figure A illustrates this with a conductive target placed between the poles without touching the poles.  The figure also shows the induced electric fields that electrically polarized poles would create in the target.  (thereby, affecting pole surface charge accumulation; thereby, affecting target surface ; thereby, affecting pole surface...)
          As in Figure A, if you grabbed the midpoint of either conductor -- pole or target, there would be no danger of electric shock.  You are not part of the circuit.

         If opposite charges of the same circuit are buried in the opposite ends -- as opposed to being induced from the outside -- of that electrically neutral conductor, then that conductor may appear (from the outside) as being electrically polarized, although it is electrically neutral -- a closed system like the water molecule.
      Figure B shows the electrically neutral conductor core being polarized from the inside instead of from the outside as the top of Figure A.  Normally, when an electrical charge is dielectricly insulated and buried inside a conductor, the conductor's opposite induced field around that charge cancels whatever effects  the initial charge has as viewed from the outside of the conductor.  The idea behind the spatial arrangements shown here is not to discourage that but to polarize the induced electric field in the core so that the induced electric field's effect manifests in another direction than the emitting electric field.
      Figure C shows, due to the spatial arrangement of the components, the induced electric field should toroidally polarize the electrically neutral conductor.  While the buried emitters’ electric field polarization would tend to be in a different direction (shown vertically in the drawing).
         Because these two fields electric fields are polarized in different directions -- right angle to each other, they may tend to not cancel each other out when the core material is looked at from a specific direction, like on edge -- looking from the pole surface into the core material.

      Figure B and C shows this buried inducing high voltage charge being placed in the electrically neutral conductor by a series of parallel 'emitters', each 'emitter' is a conductor laminated between two high voltage dielectric insulators.  These dielectric insulated emitters would allow electric field passage without any electron flow. 
       The electric field induction is done with each emitter being separated by (and surrounded by) parallel ‘plates’ of electrically neutral conductive core material.  The emitter's opposite induced charge would appear in this electrically neutral conductor ‘plate’.

          If the emitters in Figure B and C are charged with 100,000 to a million volts (like from a Van de Graaf generator) and be dielectrically insulated from the electrically neutral conductor.  This should induce a fairly strong electric field in the electrically neutral conductor.  The idea is that, from the outside, the core material exhibits electrically polarized qualities; creating an electric ‘magnet’.  One that would tend not to arc to the outside because the charges within the ‘poles’ tend to lock the charges on the ‘poles’ -- be a closed system.3
        In addition, if a complimentary charge is placed around these emitters as the battery in Figure B (3), it would increase the amount of charge that accumulates in the emitters and consequently on these electric ‘poles’.  This would not have to be much; a couple of volts (like from a dry cell battery; or a well placed resistor, or a...?) would augment the ‘poles’ charge accumulation.

Please Note:  In the second case with the insertion of a low voltage power supply -- battery, this device is now a high voltage variable capacitor.  It is an electrical device whose high voltage charge holding capability is in relationship to the low voltage applied to the 'poles' and/or target position.

         Now, let us ‘kick it up a notch’ and look at an AC condition. Figures A, B, and C help illustrate a static DC condition.  To reach a static DC high voltage condition can be somewhat mechanically cumbersome.  With AC however, it is very easy using coils.  Tesla coils can go to millions of volts.  The spark coil in a car produces around 60,000 volts.
      Figures D, E, F, and I show a Tesla wound coil placed inside of the electrically neutral conductor of Figure B and C .  This coil would produce the high voltage necessary for the emitters.  The primary coil makes maybe one or two turns around the Tesla coil to excite it.  In addition it is shown wound around the electrically neutral conductive core.  This would be done only if the electrically neutral conductor was of ferrous material (magnetic).
        Ferrous material  would give the device magnetic ‘poles’ as well as electric ‘poles’.  Because electric fields are ever so much stronger than magnetic fields, these electrically neutral conductor primary windings may be of a secondary importance.  However, they would have an influence in increasing the inductance of the circuit.  (This may be important for a tuned circuit for the increased inductance would keep the resonance frequency down -- see Unknowns.)
        And, regarding Figure H, the increase in magnetic current demand  of a slowing armature would reflect back into the high voltage generation circuit creating a higher voltage -- more power.

        What Figures D, E, F, and I are trying to illustrate is a coil/capacitor combination involving a primary and secondary coil with the secondary coil providing a high voltage that is supplied to the emitters (a buried capacitor array) as in Figure F.
        As shown in Figure G, these electric fields (and currents) of the transducer's ‘poles’ would be out of phase with the magnetic fields of the ‘poles’.  The electric field would be strongest when the magnetic field would be weakest, and vice versa. 

        As the emitters are switching electrical polarity, there will be migrating electron travel between the ‘poles’.  Because of the spatial arrangement of the electrically neutral conductive core and the Tesla coil, this electron migration is magnetically coupled to the Tesla coil.
       As shown in Figures D, E, and G, for each half wavelength there will be a time that the expanding magnetic field of the Tesla coil wound act against this electron migration.  While the contracting magnetic field of the Tesla coil would act with the electron migration.  Thus producing an AC condition of Figure B (2 and 3) for a quarter wavelength and possibly affecting the charge capability of the ‘poles’. (Option 1, This May Be Important).
 
This May Be Important

Option 1 (as shown in drawings)
          How the Tesla coil's collapsing magnetic field affects charge -- electron -- migration between poles as a pole comes to full charge gives two basic options that can have effects. 

  • What happens if the Tesla coil is reversed so the expanding and collapsing field of the Tesla coil has the opposite affect shown in Figures D and E-- the effect of the magnetic field on D and E are reversed.
          Both arrangements will have an affect on the pole's charge accumulation, electron migration, capacitance reactance, and can reflect back into the Tesla coil as magnetic inductance. 
          The difference in the two arrangements are:
  • This device is shown (Figures D and E ) with the collapsing magnetic field of the Tesla coil complimenting electron flow -- electron migration -- within the conductive mass as the pole comes to full charge.
  • This may help total charge accumulation and take away dielectric leakage.
  • This may also tend to encourage electron migration between the two pole faces -- may encourage pole face arcing.
  • This may also discourage the initial discharging of the pole
    •
  • Flipping the Tesla coil around so that the collapsing magnetic field works against charge migration -- electrons -- between poles as the pole comes to full charge.
    • This may inhibit total charge accumulation as the pole comes to full charge.
    • This may discourage electron migration between the pole faces -- may discourage arcing -- as the pole comes to full charge.
    • This arrangement may also help facilitate the removal of charge -- electron migration -- as the pole begins its discharge.
Option 2 (shown in a separate schematic below)
      To physically locate the Tesla coil somewhere else and in its place put a third coil -- an eddy current drive coil.   This coil would be driven by some kind of phase control device: capacitance, resistive capacitance, solid state, etc.  The purpose of this third coil is to create expanding and contracting magnetic fields that are in a desired phase with the electron migration induced by the high voltage emitters within the core material -- in a complimentary phase with the charging capacitor.  This would mean that this coil could be 90 degrees out of phase with the Tesla coil and would need some kind of phase control. 
          Unlike Option 1, this coil's function can go in multiple directions according to the phase control.  The two extremes are:
  • The effects of the expanding and collapsing magnetic field to be completely in phase with the electrically induced electron migration caused by the high voltage plates -- totally work with the high voltage capacitor operation.
  • The effects of the expanding and collapsing magnetic field to be 180 degrees out of phase with the electrically induced electron migration caused by the high voltage plates -- totally work against the high voltage capacitor operation.
  • And then...there is any place in between.

Option 2 Drawings
Option 3 (alternative plate placement)
        Instead of having the high voltage induction plates buried within the conductive core, have the conductive core be within the plate's electric field (as opposed to surrounding the plate's field as with previous examples -- Figures C and I).  As in illustration  --------------->

Option 4 (not shown)
        Instead of magnetically coupling the electric poles, electrically isolate them and put them on a dedicated low voltage control circuit.
 
Either way -- AC/DC, it would be interesting to see the effect when the charge induction plates start at about 100,000 volts and approach a 1,000,000 volts. 
        It is recognized that the ideas presented here can be a subject of experimentation in a multitude of directions.

        All high voltage insulation considerations should be taken into account.  The entire high voltage electric field isolation transformer/capacitor assembly (except for the pole surfaces) should be embedded in a high voltage non dielectric insulation material.

        In Figure H, four transformer/capacitor elements are shown arrayed like an electric motor.  The motor would act as an induction motor with electric fields being induced on the armature as well as the normal magnetic field of an induction motor.  For this motor to have significant power the eddy currents -- charge migration -- would probably be measured in the milliampere range or just above.
         Conceivably, one can attach a static electric generator to the end of the armature and bury emitters in the armature.  As the motor starts and comes up to RPM, the armature can become DC polarized and give the device more power.  This may be a situation where the magnetic fields bring the device up to its RPM and the electric fields keep it there.

         Interesting Note:  A magnetic induction motor's RPM is due to the frequency of the energizing current.  In addition, when a magnetic induction motor armature slows down it creates a greater current flow in the stator coil.  This increase in the stator coil -- primary current -- would create an increase in the secondary's high voltage output -- storing more charge -- creating more force.  This would compensate the armature slowing with an increased electric field voltage.

Unknowns
         There are so many unknowns involved with this device (including my personal ignorance) that construction of experimental prototypes may be essential.  The electric and magnetic fields in the AC device are so interconnected in Option 1 that how the individual components react as a whole unit may be difficult to predict.  Some the areas of ambiguity or subjects of experimentation are:

  • Author's ignorance!!!!!
  • What emitter voltage would be necessary to induce enough charge that would exert a significant physical force -- present as a pole charge?
  • Because the pole external charge would be locked in place by the internal charge, how much insulation of Figure A (1) is really necessary?
  • The expanding and contracting magnetic fields of the Tesla coil will affect total capacitance while capacitance electron migration (including dielectric leakage) will magnetically reflect into the Tesla coil affecting inductance -- Option 1.
  • During one wavelength these mutual electric and magnetic field interactions may twice cause changes in coil and capacitor impedance and current flows within that wavelength.  What effects may this have?
  • What effect will a third coil have -- Option 2 of This May Be Important?
  • What would happen if an assembly -- electric field isolation transformer/capacitor -- is turned into a tuned coil/capacitor circuit, brought into resonance?
  • How will the strong induced electric fields affect the molecular matrices of the construction material -- contribute to material deconstruction?
  • What are the characteristics of a conductive mass when holding charge?
  • How a conductive target (as in Figure A ) affects pole total and surface charge accumulation and what kind of surface charge develops (on both the target surfaces and the pole surfaces) when a conductor is placed in an electric field?
  • And in the case of Figure H, how a rotating armature holding a stator induced charge will affect capacitance effectiveness and impedance? 
  • Along with...what if the armature -- rotor -- itself has intrinsic electrically polar characteristics -- not just core induced fields.  (A static electric generator attached to the armature, such that as it revolves, it charges buried emitter plates in the rotor.).  How will this affect the surface charge accumulation of the core poles?
  • The precise effect of an optional break in the core as shown Figure B (2) and an introduction of some current control device in the place of the battery (3).
  • How would the circuit be affected when excited by a non sinusoidal wave form or by a current driver?
  • Are there any 'threshold' conditions with associated with this device?
  • What are the insulation and isolation considerations?
          When high voltages are applied, this device will have some kind of effect as perceived from the outside.  What that effect is may be subject to question without a prototype. 
          "Knock yourself out."  I do not have anywhere near the resources (intellectual, physical. or fiscal) to begin such a project.

          Included with this page is a copy of the aborted patent application for this device.  I screwed up on getting the claims right and this is a copy of the last try at the transducer. 
          A device cannot be patented a year after it has been published.  Because of this web site and a patent application is considered 'being published', this device is free and up for grabs.  As it is now, it can't be patented.  There is a potential for a whole new frontier here.

         You may notice that this device is very simple.  Because this device is so simple, it is the author's opinion that it if it works (as the author guesses), it should have been invented 80 years ago.  One person capable of this, at that time, would have been Nikoli Tesla.