As we continue to grapple with the steadily worsening effects of the climate crisis, one thing has become immediately clear.

Clean energy generation is fundamental to not only our progress, but the health and survival of our planet.

Gone are the days when we could drill fossil fuels from deep below the Earth’s surface without a care in the world.

Nowadays, solar, wind, and water power (alongside, arguably, nuclear energy) are the ways forward, with scientists and engineers around the world scrambling to come up with the most efficient and reliable ways of generating energy in ways that doesn’t destroy the very planet we live on.

So it’s understandable that, among the tried-and-tested sources of energy, some zanier proposals come to light every so often, with the latest of these an update of the controversial proposal that electricity can be generated using the forces and power of the Earth’s rotation alone.

Why is this theory so contentious?

Well, this is a topic that has been argued since the 19th century, when physicist Michael Faraday conducted his groundbreaking studies into electromagnetism.

And until recent times, scientists have generally agreed that such a method of energy generation is not possible.

Despite the protestations of scientists, a team of researchers from Princeton University decided to test the possibilities of electricity generated from the Earth’s rotation back in 2016.

And, as they explain in their paper – which has been recently published in the journal Physical Review Research – their results seemed encouraging:

“Could electricity be generated from Earth’s rotation through its own magnetic field? This question has been asked at least since Faraday’s first experiments testing the idea in January 1832 gave a negative result, and the answer, for reasons reviewed below, has since seemed to remain obviously no.

But in 2016 we showed theoretically that for a system satisfying specific topological and material conditions the answer could be yes. Here we present experimental results for a small demonstration laboratory system that generates a low continuous DC voltage and current that behave according to that prediction.”

Thus, the research team continued work on their electromagnetic techniques for generating energy, building a cylinder made from manganese, zinc and iron.

The results from their testing of the device were as thought-provoking as they were controversial.

How does this complicated process work? Well, according to the paper, the rotation of the Earth through its magnetic field causes a force that can create an electric field:

“Earth rotates through the axisymmetric part of its own magnetic field, but a simple proof shows that it is impossible to use this to generate electricity in a conductor rotating with Earth.”

But their device, the team suggest, can create a small voltage thanks to the make-up of the cylinder (with variability dependent on the orientation and temperature.

Though some scientists are hesitant to acknowledge or corroborate the study, the team remain buoyant at their encouraging results:

“If our results were corroborated, then the path would be open to investigate whether this effect could be scaled to produce useful electrical power. Even if only voltages far below those for residential power were achievable using our effect, such devices might still have practical applications as ‘batteries’ that would require no fuel and could not wear out in the usual sense.”

Though the project is sidelined by scientists for now, if proven it could be the next step toward a new method of clean energy generation.

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