Laser Induced Plasma Channel to the Ionosphere

[leeroyjenkinsii]

What do you guys think about the possibility of aiming a powerful laser into the sky and creating a plasma channel to carry electricity from the ionosphere?  This link demonstrates the concept:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tJF3qBWyUk

[CARN0T]

Hello, Lee Roy,

Ahhh, an idea with some merit.  A water hole in the "Empty Quarter"!

The maximum field through the atmosphere is what we have here at ground level.  That's about 100 volts per meter.  Suppose we look at the experiment placed on You Tube, with two plates one meter apart and a voltage difference of 100 volts.  Now, initiate a discharge with a laser or any other means.  The arc will extinguish as soon as the path cools-- there won't be enough power to maintain the plasma.

This is common experience.  Arcs don't happen at a field strength of 100 volts per meter.  The field required in dry air to initiate an arc is about 2500000 volts per meter.  The field required to maintain the arc would not be a great deal less since cosmic rays are always with us, providing small ionized channels between conductors.

And, by the way, the average field strength is much less than 100 volts per meter.  The ionosphere is about 50,000 meters up.  The potential of the ionosphere, as I remember, is less than a million volts.

Now, back to the main focus of the question as I see it.  We can't afford to maintain the plasma channel continuously with the laser.  Conclusion:  There is a lot of power ("free energy") available in the ionosphere, possibly of the order of one terrawatt.  But, we still don't have a workable scheme to extract it.

I think I posted a concept on another occasion in which the earth's field is tapped by a "St. Elmo's fire" arrangement of needles placed on a mountain ridge.  The last time I went through the calculations for this one, I couldn't produce enough useful power.  The nature of the calculation is to determine how much charge is injected into the air over the needle, based on the Child-Languir equation for space charge limited current.  Then, how quickly that charge is carried away by winds blowing over the mountain ridge.  That gives you the amount of current the device can produce, probably at a voltage of about 200,000 volts.

Ernie Rogers

What do you guys think about the possibility of aiming a powerful laser into the sky and creating a plasma channel to carry electricity from the ionosphere?  This link demonstrates the concept:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tJF3qBWyUk

[wings]

What do you guys think about the possibility of aiming a powerful laser into the sky and creating a plasma channel to carry electricity from the ionosphere?  This link demonstrates the concept:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tJF3qBWyUk

like ....

http://www.eastlundscience.com/HAARPASAT.html

http://www.eastlundscience.com/SOLUTIONS.html

[leeroyjenkinsii]

@CARN0T

A million volts potential is not enough to keep the laser on thus the plasma channel intact?  I think we could use the very power from the plasma channel to KEEP the laser powered.

[leeroyjenkinsii]

Also bear in mind that an arc is NOT the same as a laser induced plasma channel.  Plasma is essentially exciting a gas to the point where the electrons jump out of their normal path but remain around the nucleus.  In this state the plasma is an excellent conductor as the electrons can move more freely.  Essentially this is akin to pulling copper wire to the ionosphere.  Nasa has done several experiments whereby they have underestimated the electrical power of the ionosphere and destroyed their equipment.