A rocket team reports the first successful detection of Earth’s ambipolar electric field: a weak, planet-wide electric field as fundamental as Earth’s gravity and magnetic fields.
First hypothesized more than 60 years ago, the ambipolar electric field is a key driver of the “polar wind,” a steady outflow of charged particles into space that occurs above Earth’s poles.
This electric field lifts charged particles in our upper atmosphere to greater heights than they would otherwise reach and may have shaped our planet’s evolution in ways yet to be explored.
Even being able to generate enough lift to send a payload into orbit would be an amazing advancement. We can solve propelling craft out of the solar system later, first we need an economical way to get off planet that isn’t just burning fuel to lift fuel.
Key Points
be cool if we could create that field at will with an ability to strengthen it enough to propel a manned craft beyond our solar system
Why propel spacecraft when we can dream big. Shift the whole planet! Muahaha.
Even being able to generate enough lift to send a payload into orbit would be an amazing advancement. We can solve propelling craft out of the solar system later, first we need an economical way to get off planet that isn’t just burning fuel to lift fuel.