Here's how I ran
my corona motor, a type of electrostatic motor,
using electricity generated from atmospheric electricity. The corona
motor sat near the ground with one end of a long wire connected to it.
The other end of the wire was lifted around 120 meters/390 feet
up in the air using a hexcopter. The result was that the corona
motor's cylinder rotated from the high voltage and the electrical
current from the wire.
Corona motor running. The coil of remaining wire is on the left.
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Holding the wire while the hexacopter rises.
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Hexacopter on the way up with the wire below.
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Looking down during one test run.
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Atmospheric electricity generation setup.
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How powering with atmospheric electricity works
In fair weather there is a voltage between the ground and around
50 kilometers/31 miles up of around 400,000 volts (see diagrams below)
according to noble prize winning physicist
Richard Feynman's Lecture on Physics, volume 2, section 9.
The rate of change as you go up isn't uniform
but down here near the ground the voltage increases by around
100 volt/meter for every meter you go up (or 30 volts/foot for every
foot you go up.)
At the 390 feet/120 meters we'd lifted our wire that works out to
roughly 12,000 volts.
People, trees, buildings and so on are usually
electrically conductive enough to be at ground potential too, so
the equipotential lines curve around them. This means that to
get power from atmospheric electricity like this you need to do it
in an open field.
The electric current consists of ions, charged molecules and particles,
in the air. Positively charged ones go down while any free negative
electrons go up. They move slowly and aren't abundant, meaning there
is a current of around only 10 micromicro amps, or 10 picoamps, crossing
each square meter, or yard, every second.
In the diagram below you can see that electrons flow from the ground
up the wire due to the voltage. This is the generated electricity.
At the top of the wire are six sharp points made using sewing pins.
The electrons leave at these sharp points and neutralize downward flowing
positive ions, allowing more electrons to flow up the wire.
How the electricity generation works.
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The six sharp points.
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Video - Atmospheric Electricity Powering a Corona Motor/Electrostatic Motor
The following video shows the steps leading up to the successful
powering of the corona motor off of atmospheric electricity, as
well as the successful run itself.
The following video gives a detailed explanation of how atmospheric
electricity works to generate electricity, including powering a
corona motor.
