Re: NASA's Tethered Generator

To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: NASA's Tethered Generator
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 09:08:47 -0500
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

Subject:  Re: NASA's Tethered Generator
  Date:   Fri, 9 May 1997 02:06:39 -0400 (EDT)
  From:   richard hull <rhull-at-richmond.infi-dot-net>
    To:   Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>

At 12:28 AM 5/8/

snip
>
>Hi,
>
>Forgive me if this is off topic or if I missed an earlier discussion of
>this, but how did NASA plan to draw power from the tethered cable? I
>understand it was just a conductor fixed at one end to the satellite,
>and
>moving relative to the earths magnetic field. This seems like an open
>circuit to me, and I am wondering how current would flow since it is an
>incomplete path. Am I missing the big picture here? Thanks for your
>help.
>
>Dave
>
>PS. I am new to this list and my posts have been taking a day, sometimes
>longer to show up. Am I doing something wrong here?
>
>
Dave,

A wire, even a very short one has lots of capacitance.  A long wire can
have
a tremendous isotropic capacitance.  If the wire spans in an electric
gradient,  Huge potnetials and currents can be obtained against the
nearest
extended object.  The opposite terminal or charge is viewed in theory as
being located at infinity, but is most often referenced to the nearest
solid
object. (on earth it is usually ground) This is actually the modus
operandi
for the toroid on our Tesla coils!

 There are other possibilities for voltage rise along such a wire
drifting
in orbit at orbital velocity.  I have alwys commented that a lot of
major
league electrostatic/electrodynamic research where real large things can
be
moved about in a rather perfect vacuum could and should be done from the
shuttle.

Richard Hull, TCBOR