Have you ever spin a ball tied to a string?

Then you know that while the ball is spinning, it is pulling on the string. The ball will pull on the string as long as its rotational movement continues.

The planets move in exactly the same way as your ball. Only they have much more mass. And besides, the planets revolve around the sun.

But where is the rope that holds them?

In fact, no string exists. There is an invisible force that makes the planets revolve around the sun. It is called the force of gravity.

The Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus was the first to discover that the orbits of the planets form circles around the Sun.

Galileo Galilei agreed with this hypothesis and proved it with the help of observations.

In 1609, Johannes Kepler calculated that the orbits of the planets are not round, but elliptical, with the Sun at one of the foci of the ellipse. He also established the laws by which this rotation takes place. Later they were called "Kepler's Laws".

Then the English physicist Isaac Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation and, on the basis of this law, explained how the solar system keeps its shape constant. Each particle of the substance of which the planets are composed attracts others. This phenomenon is called gravity.

Thanks to gravity, every planet in the solar system revolves in its orbit around the sun and cannot fly away into outer space.

The orbits are elliptical, so the planets either approach the Sun or move away from it.

Planets cannot emit light. The sun gives them light, heat and life.

Even in ancient times, pundits began to understand that it is not the Sun that revolves around our planet, but everything happens exactly the opposite. Nicolaus Copernicus put an end to this controversial fact for mankind. The Polish astronomer created his own heliocentric system, in which he convincingly proved that the Earth is not the center of the Universe, and all the planets, in his firm opinion, revolve in orbits around the Sun. The work of the Polish scientist "On the rotation of the celestial spheres" was published in Nuremberg, Germany in 1543.

The ideas about how the planets are located in the sky were the first to express the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his treatise “The Great Mathematical Construction on Astronomy”. He was the first to suggest that they make their movements in a circle. But Ptolemy mistakenly believed that all the planets, as well as the Moon and the Sun, move around the Earth. Prior to Copernicus's work, his treatise was considered generally accepted in both the Arab and Western worlds.

From Brahe to Kepler

After the death of Copernicus, his work was continued by the Dane Tycho Brahe. The astronomer, who is a very wealthy man, equipped his island with impressive bronze circles, on which he applied the results of observations of celestial bodies. The results obtained by Brahe helped the mathematician Johannes Kepler in his research. It was the German who systematized and deduced his three famous laws about the movement of the planets of the solar system.

From Kepler to Newton

Kepler proved for the first time that all 6 planets known by that time move around the Sun not in a circle, but in ellipses. The Englishman Isaac Newton, having discovered the law of universal gravitation, significantly advanced mankind's ideas about the elliptical orbits of celestial bodies. His explanations that the tides on the Earth occur under the influence of the Moon proved to be convincing for the scientific world.

around the sun

Comparative sizes of the largest satellites of the solar system and the planets of the Earth group.

The period for which the planets make a complete revolution around the Sun is naturally different. Mercury, the closest star to the star, has 88 Earth days. Our Earth goes through a cycle in 365 days and 6 hours. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, completes its rotation in 11.9 Earth years. Well, for Pluto, the planet most distant from the Sun, the revolution is 247.7 years at all.

It should also be taken into account that all the planets in our solar system move, not around the star, but around the so-called center of mass. Each at the same time, rotating around its axis, sway slightly (like a top). In addition, the axis itself can move slightly.

Today there is not the slightest doubt that the Earth revolves around the Sun. If not so long ago, on the scale of the history of the Universe, people were sure that the center of our galaxy is the Earth, then today there is no doubt that everything is happening exactly the opposite.

And today we will deal with why the Earth and all other planets move around the Sun.

Why do the planets revolve around the sun

Both the Earth and all the other planets of our solar system move along their trajectory around the Sun. The speed of their movement and the trajectory may be different, but they all keep to our natural star.

Our task is to understand as simply and accessible as possible why the Sun has become the center of the universe, attracting all other celestial bodies to itself.

Let's start with the fact that the Sun is the largest object in our galaxy. The mass of our luminary is many times greater than the mass of all other bodies in the aggregate. And in physics, as you know, the force of universal gravitation operates, which no one has canceled, including for the Cosmos. Its law states that bodies with less mass are attracted to bodies with more mass. That is why all planets, satellites and other space objects are attracted to the Sun, the largest of them.

The force of gravity, by the way, works in a similar way on Earth. Consider, for example, what happens to a tennis ball thrown into the air. It falls, being attracted to the surface of our planet.

Understanding the principle of aspiration of planets to the Sun, an obvious question arises: why do they not fall on the surface of a star, but move around it along their own trajectory.

And there is a very reasonable explanation for this as well. The thing is that the Earth and other planets are in constant motion. And, in order not to go into formulas and scientific ranting, let's give another simple example. Again, take a tennis ball and imagine that you were able to throw it forward with a force that is not available to any human being. This ball will fly forward, continuing to fall down, being attracted to the Earth. However, the Earth, as you remember, has the shape of a ball. Thus, the ball will be able to fly around our planet along a certain trajectory indefinitely, being attracted to the surface, but moving so fast that its trajectory will constantly go around the circumference of the globe.

A similar situation occurs in the Cosmos, where everything and everyone revolves around the Sun. As for the orbit of each of the objects, the trajectory of their movement depends on the speed and mass. And these indicators are different for all objects, as you understand.

That is why the Earth and other planets move around the Sun, and nothing else.

Our planet is in constant motion, it revolves around the Sun and its own axis. The earth's axis is an imaginary line drawn from the North to the South Pole (they remain motionless during rotation) at an angle of 66 0 33 ꞌ with respect to the plane of the Earth. People cannot notice the moment of rotation, because all objects are moving in parallel, their speed is the same. It would look exactly the same as if we were sailing on a ship and did not notice the movement of objects and objects on it.

A full rotation around the axis is completed within one sidereal day, consisting of 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds. During this interval, then one or the other side of the planet turns towards the Sun, receiving from it a different amount of heat and light. In addition, the rotation of the Earth around its axis affects its shape (flattened poles are the result of the rotation of the planet around its axis) and the deviation when bodies move in a horizontal plane (rivers, currents and winds of the Southern Hemisphere deviate to the left, Northern - to the right).

Linear and angular speed of rotation

(Earth rotation)

The linear speed of the Earth's rotation around its axis is 465 m/s or 1674 km/h in the equatorial zone, as we move away from it, the speed gradually slows down, at the North and South Poles it is equal to zero. For example, for citizens of the equatorial city of Quito (the capital of Ecuador in South America), the rotation speed is just 465 m / s, and for Muscovites living on the 55th parallel north of the equator - 260 m / s (almost half as much) .

Every year, the speed of rotation around the axis decreases by 4 milliseconds, which is associated with the influence of the Moon on the strength of sea and ocean ebb and flow. The pull of the Moon "pulls" the water in the opposite direction to the Earth's axial rotation, creating a slight frictional force that slows the rotation rate by 4 milliseconds. The rate of angular rotation remains the same everywhere, its value is 15 degrees per hour.

Why does day turn into night

(The change of night and day)

The time of a complete rotation of the Earth around its axis is one sidereal day (23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds), during this time period the side illuminated by the Sun is first "in the power" of the day, the shadow side is at the mercy of the night, and then vice versa.

If the Earth rotated differently and one side of it was constantly turned towards the Sun, then there would be a high temperature (up to 100 degrees Celsius) and all the water would evaporate, on the other side, frost would rage and the water would be under a thick layer of ice. Both the first and second conditions would be unacceptable for the development of life and the existence of the human species.

Why do the seasons change

(Change of seasons on earth)

Due to the fact that the axis is tilted with respect to the earth's surface at a certain angle, its sections receive different amounts of heat and light at different times, which causes the change of seasons. According to the astronomical parameters necessary to determine the time of year, some points in time are taken as reference points: for summer and winter, these are the days of the solstice (June 21 and December 22), for spring and autumn - the Equinoxes (March 20 and September 23). From September to March, the Northern Hemisphere is turned towards the Sun for less time and, accordingly, receives less heat and light, hello winter-winter, the Southern Hemisphere at this time receives a lot of heat and light, long live summer! 6 months pass and the Earth moves to the opposite point of its orbit and the Northern Hemisphere already receives more heat and light, the days become longer, the Sun rises higher - summer is coming.

If the Earth were located in relation to the Sun exclusively in a vertical position, then the seasons would not exist at all, because all points on the half illuminated by the Sun would receive the same and uniform amount of heat and light.

It is hardly worth explaining the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. The essence of Faraday's law is known to any schoolchild: when a conductor moves in a magnetic field, an ammeter registers a current (Fig. A).

But in nature there is another phenomenon of induction of electric currents. To fix it, let's do a simple experiment shown in Figure B. If you mix the conductor not in a magnetic, but in an inhomogeneous electric field, a current is also excited in the conductor. The induction emf in this case is due to the rate of change in the flow of the electric field strength. If we change the shape of the conductor - let's take, say, a sphere and rotate it in a non-uniform electric field - then an electric current will be found in it.

next experience. Let three conductive spheres of different diameters be placed in isolation into each other like nesting dolls (Fig. 4a). If we begin to rotate this multilayer ball in an inhomogeneous electric field, we will find a current not only in the outer, but also in the inner layers! But, according to established ideas, there should not be an electric field inside a conductive sphere! However, the devices that register the effect are impartial! Moreover, with an external field strength of 40-50 V/cm, the current voltage in the spheres is quite high - 10-15 kV.

Fig.B-E. B - the phenomenon of electrical induction. (Unlike the previous one, it is hardly known to a wide range of readers. The effect was studied by A. Komarov in 1977. Five years later, an application was submitted to VNIIGPE and priority was given to the discovery). E - non-uniform electric field. The following designations are used in the formula: ε is the emf of electric induction, c is the speed of light, N is the flux of the electric field strength, t is time.

We also note the following result of the experiments: when the ball rotates in the east direction (that is, in the same way, how our planet rotates) it has magnetic poles that coincide in location with the magnetic poles of the Earth (Fig. 3a).

The essence of the next experiment is shown in Figure 2a. The conductive rings and the sphere are arranged so that their rotation axes are centered. When both bodies rotate in the same direction, an electric current is induced in them. It also exists between the ring and the ball, which are a dischargeless spherical capacitor. Moreover, for the appearance of currents, no additional external electric field is required. It is also impossible to attribute this effect to an external magnetic field, since due to it the direction of the current in the sphere would turn out to be perpendicular to that which is detected.

And the last experience. Let us place a conductive ball between two electrodes (Fig. 1a). When a voltage sufficient for air ionization (5-10 kV) is applied to them, the ball begins to rotate and an electric current is excited in it. The torque in this case is due to the ring current of air ions around the ball and the transfer current - the movement of individual point charges that have settled on the surface of the ball.

All of the above experiments can be carried out in a school physics room on a laboratory table.

Now imagine that you are a giant, commensurate with the solar system, and you are observing an experience that has been going on for billions of years. Around the yellow luminary, our blue star flies in its orbit. planet. The upper layers of its atmosphere (ionosphere), starting from a height of 50-80 km, are saturated with ions and free electrons. They arise under the influence of solar radiation and cosmic radiation. But the concentration of charges on the day and night sides is not the same. It is much larger from the side of the Sun. The different charge density between the day and night hemispheres is nothing but the difference in electric potentials.

Here we come to the solution: Why does the earth rotate? Usually the most common answer was: “It's her property. In nature, everything rotates - electrons, planets, galaxies ... ". But compare figures 1a and 1b, and you will get a more specific answer. The potential difference between the illuminated and unilluminated parts of the atmosphere generates currents: ring ionospheric and portable over the Earth's surface. They spin our planet.

In addition, it is known that the atmosphere and the Earth rotate almost synchronously. But their axes of rotation do not coincide, because on the dayside the ionosphere is pressed against the planet by the solar wind. As a result, the Earth rotates in the non-uniform electric field of the ionosphere. Now let's compare Figures 2a and 2b: in the inner layers of the earth's firmament, a current should flow in the opposite direction to the ionospheric one - the mechanical energy of the Earth's rotation is converted into electrical energy. It turns out a planetary electric generator, which is driven by solar energy.

Figures 3a and 3b suggest that the ring current in the Earth's interior is the main cause of its magnetic field. By the way, now it is clear why it weakens during magnetic storms. The latter are a consequence of solar activity, which increases the ionization of the atmosphere. The ring current of the ionosphere increases, its magnetic field grows and compensates for the earth's.

Our model allows us to answer one more question. Why does the western drift of world magnetic anomalies occur? It is approximately 0.2° per year. We have already mentioned the synchronous rotation of the Earth and the ionosphere. In fact, this is not entirely true: there is some slippage between them. Our calculations show that if the ionosphere in 2000 years makes one revolution less than planet, the global magnetic anomalies will have an existing drift to the west. If there is more than one revolution, the polarity of the geomagnetic poles will change, and magnetic anomalies will begin to drift to the east. The direction of the current in the earth is determined by the positive or negative slip between the ionosphere and the planet.

In general, when analyzing the electrical mechanism of the Earth's rotation, we find a strange circumstance: the braking forces of the cosmos are negligible, the planet has no "bearings", and according to our calculations, the power of about 10 16 W is spent on its rotation! Without load, such a dynamo must go haywire! But it doesn't happen. Why? There is only one answer - because of the resistance of the rocks of the earth, through which the electric current flows.

In what geospheres does it mainly occur and in what way, besides the geomagnetic field, does it manifest itself?

The charges of the ionosphere interact primarily with the ions of the World Ocean, and, as is known, there are indeed corresponding currents in it. Another result of this interaction is the global dynamics of the hydrosphere. Let's take an example to explain its mechanism. In industry, electromagnetic devices are used for pumping or mixing liquid melts. This is done by traveling electromagnetic fields. The waters of the ocean mix in a similar way, but not a magnetic, but an electric field works here. However, in his works, Academician V.V. Shuleikin proved that the currents of the World Ocean cannot create a geomagnetic field.

So, its cause must be looked for deeper.

The ocean floor, called the lithospheric layer, is composed mainly of rocks with high electrical resistance. Here the main current cannot be induced either.

But in the next layer, in the mantle, which starts from a very characteristic Moho boundary and has good electrical conductivity, significant currents can be induced (Fig. 4b). But then they must be accompanied by thermoelectric processes. What is observed in reality?

The outer layers of the Earth up to half of its radius are in a solid state. However, it is from them, and not from the liquid core of the Earth, that the molten rock of volcanic eruptions comes. There are reasons to believe that the liquid areas of the upper mantle are heated by electrical energy.

Before the eruption in volcanic areas, a whole series of tremors occurs. The electromagnetic anomalies noted at the same time confirm that the shocks are of an electrical nature. The eruption is accompanied by a cascade of lightning. But most importantly, the graph of volcanic activity coincides with the graph of solar activity and correlates with the speed of the Earth's rotation, a change in which automatically leads to an increase in induced currents.

And this is what academician of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences Sh. Mehdiyev established: mud volcanoes in various regions of the world come to life and cease their action almost simultaneously. And here the activity of the sun coincides with volcanic activity.

Volcanologists are also familiar with this fact: if you change the polarity on the electrodes of a device that measures the resistance of flowing lava, then its readings change. This can be explained by the fact that the crater of the volcano has a potential other than zero - again electricity appears.

And now let's touch on another cataclysm, which, as we will see, also has a connection with the proposed hypothesis of a planetary dynamo.

It is known that the electrical potential of the atmosphere changes immediately before and during earthquakes, but the mechanism of these anomalies has not yet been studied. Often before shocks, a phosphor glows, wires spark, and electrical structures fail. For example, during the Tashkent earthquake, the insulation of the cable that ran to the electrode at a depth of 500 m burned out. It is assumed that the electric potential of the soil along the cable, which caused its breakdown, was from 5 to 10 kV. By the way, geochemists testify that the underground rumble, the glow of the sky, the change in the polarity of the electric field of the surface atmosphere are accompanied by the continuous release of ozone from the bowels. And this is essentially an ionized gas that occurs during electrical discharges. Such facts make us talk about the existence of underground lightning. And again, the seismic activity coincides with the schedule of solar activity...

The existence of electrical energy in the bowels of the earth was known in the last century, not attaching much importance to it in the geological life of the planet. But a few years ago, the Japanese researcher Sasaki came to the conclusion that the main cause of earthquakes is not in the movements of tectonic plates, but in the amount of electromagnetic energy that the earth's crust accumulates from the sun. Aftershocks, according to Sasaki, occur when the stored energy exceeds a critical level.

What, in our opinion, is underground lightning? If the current flows through the conductive layer, the charge density over its cross section is approximately the same. When the discharge breaks through the dielectric, the current rushes through a very narrow channel and does not obey Ohm's law, but has a so-called S-shaped characteristic. The voltage in the channel remains constant, and the current reaches colossal values. At the moment of breakdown, all the substance covered by the channel passes into a gaseous state - superhigh pressure develops and an explosion occurs, leading to vibrations and destruction of rocks.

The force of a lightning explosion can be observed when it hits a tree - the trunk shatters into chips. Experts use it to create an electro-hydraulic shock (Yutkin effect) in various devices. They crush hard rocks, deform metals. In principle, the mechanism of an earthquake and an electro-hydraulic shock are similar. The difference is in the power of the discharge and in the conditions of release of thermal energy. Rock masses, having a folded structure, become gigantic ultra-high-voltage capacitors that can be recharged several times, which leads to repeated shocks. Sometimes the charges, breaking through to the surface, ionize the atmosphere - and the sky glows, burn the soil - and fires occur.

Now that the generator of the Earth has been determined in principle, I would like to touch upon its possibilities that are useful to people.

If the volcano runs on electric current, then you can find its electrical circuit and switch the current to your needs. In terms of power, one volcano will replace about a hundred large power plants.

If an earthquake is caused by the accumulation of electric charges, then they can be used as an inexhaustible environmentally friendly source of electricity. And as a result of its “re-profiling” from charging underground lightning to peaceful work, the strength and number of earthquakes will decrease.

The time has come for a comprehensive, purposeful study of the electrical structure of the Earth. The energies hidden in it are colossal, and they can both make humanity happy and, in case of ignorance, lead to disaster. Indeed, in the search for minerals, ultra-deep drilling is already actively used. In some places, drill rods can pierce electrified layers, short circuits will occur, and the natural balance of electric fields will be disturbed. Who knows what the consequences will be? This is also possible: a huge current will go through the metal rod, which will turn the well into an artificial volcano. There was something like...

Without going into details for now, we note that typhoons and hurricanes, droughts and floods, in our opinion, are also associated with electric fields, in the alignment of forces of which man is increasingly interfering. How will such an intervention end?