On Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 6:21 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > In reply to Terry Blanton's message of Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:12:43 -0400: > Hi, > [snip] >>On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 6:36 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: >>> For a current to flow, they have to have somewhere to go. >> >>A current limiting earth/moon tether with a period of oscillation of >>28 days. First half cycle the current flows to the moon. Second >>half, he current flows back. >> >>Care to calculate the power? :-) >> >>T > ..that depends on the charge stored on the planetary capacitors at each end. > Care to specify a value?
Well, considering that the sun is the charging source, it would vary with the solar wind. The whole exercise is complicated by the fact that the earth is a spherical capacitor with the plates being the atmosphere and the earth itself. Maybe we could start with the moon's potential due to the solar wind alone? Siriusly, a tether between the earth and moon would be easier to construct than a space elevator, n'est-ce pas? I mean, assuming we actually HAVE a translunar vehicle. (Thanks, Obama!) T
