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Electric and Magnetic

Phenomena

Electrostatic Discharge - Arcs and Sparks
If you only read only one thing from this page, read this!

Think about it. There are factories and facilities all over the world that have something in contact with, and moving rapidly past, something else. Static buildup and discharge can actually take a process off-line. There is a small community of engineers whose job it is to deal with this.

From what I've learned on the web, one of the best is David Swenson and he has accumulated some amazing stories. Some of them are truly amazing and there is great physics here.

Hair Raising Tales from David Swenson as reported on The Static Planet, an electronic news letter. Try The Case of The Mysterious Path. Here's an excerpt: "I saw the flash out of the corner of my eye. The thunderous sound it made was instantaneous-KABOOM! I went straight down to the ground in a limp pile," Swenson said, wincing as he remembered.

The Final Frontier is a story sufficiently bizarre that I had trouble believing it so I contacted David Swenson. I had a very enjoyable conversation. This story is really true. He tells me this experience has sparked interest from many different corners including, obviously, the military. I can't figure it out, but I'd be happy to discuss it. David told me a little more - Size is important. There have been attempts to reproduce this using small models, but never successfully. There was corona everywhere including on his body and the air was structured, but there didn't appear to be a wind or swirling of the air. Lot's of other strange things were happening around this hardware. A bird was actually pulled into the apparatus and got stuck in the film.

The ElectroStatic Discharge Journal

Earth-space Interface

NASA	Part of their education program. See the sections on the solar wind, aurora, and magnetic storms.
Oulu Space Physics Textbook	Looks at the interface between earth and space.

Power Generation

How a battery works	From a battery manufacturer.
How a battery works II	From How Stuff Works.
Battery FAQ	From Duracell.
Power generation and distribution	From How Stuff Works. Ever wonder what those fenced in power sub-stations scattered about town are doing?
History	From the Smithsonian.