The Pyramidal Electric Transducer: A DC to RF Converter for the Capture of Atmospheric Electrostatic Energy

Abstract
We have found that the dimensional ratios of the Great
Pyramid of Giza (GPG) express the key ratios of an AC voltage
sine wave as well as ratios of the Fibonacci number. As
pyramidal horn antennas are suitable for the detection of
short-pulse waveforms, we reasoned that the shape of GPG
could embody a time domain, wideband antenna for atmospheric
electrostatic discharge (ESD) impulses. This hypothesis
has subsequently been confirmed. We have further found
that the pyramidal antenna, modeled on the GPG, can couple
into the atmosphere and transfer the power of ESD
impulses into a novel lumped-element resonant circuit that
converts the random impulses into regular series of exponentially
decaying sinusoidal wave trains. Thus, ESD
impulses can be transformed into an alternating current of
predictable frequency. This system could become a source of
renewable electric power by utilizing the electrical activity of
the atmosphere.
Introduction
Atmospheric electricity manifests as a buildup of electrostatic
energy, a phenomenon that continuously electrifies our
environment.1 In the global atmospheric-electrical circuit,
the Earth’s surface is negatively charged while the atmosphere
is positively charged.2 The voltage gradient between
the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere is believed to be
maintained by the electrical activity of the troposphere as
well as the solar wind-coupled magnetospheric dynamo.3
It is difficult to estimate the electric power of thunderstorms,
as they typically maintain a steady-state electrical
structure during their lifespan4 despite charge losses from
lightning, corona discharges, precipitation, and turbulence.
Even with this gap in our understanding of thunderstorm
electrification processes, a rough estimate of the magnitude
of power generated by thunderstorms can be derived as follows:
Thunderstorms can be traced by monitoring lightning
activity, more than 90% of which occurs over landmasses,
primarily in Central Africa, the South Central United States,
and the Amazon Basin.5 A medium-sized thunderstorm
(about 200 km diameter) with intra-cloud voltages of about
100 MV6 and a precipitation current of about 20 nA/m2 can
generate7,8 at least 6.28x1010 W. Assuming 2,300 active
thunderstorms at any given moment,9 the estimated average
total power output of thunderstorm activity is approximately
1.44x1014 W. A hurricane’s power generation is estimated
at about 1014 W;10 in comparison, the total power generation
capacity of the world is only 3.625x1012 W,11 a fraction
of the power generated in the troposphere by thunderstorm
activity. This suggests that the density of atmospheric electrical
activity may be high enough to tap, and indicates that
atmospheric electricity, if harnessed, could meet all the energy
needs of mankind.
Atmospheric electrostatic discharge (ESD) impulses are
random and of short duration (nanosecond range) as well as
of wide frequency of occurrence. Antennas capable of handling
similar short-pulse waveforms can be found in radar
systems, where they are called the pyramidal horn antennas.
Intriguingly, popular scientific literature describes inexplicable
electromagnetic phenomena under scaled-down replicas
of the Great Pyramid of Giza.12 These phenomena
showed a variability that made its interpretation difficult.
We hypothesized that these findings were possibly due to
natural fluctuations in the atmospheric electrostatic field
detected by the GPG as a time domain, wideband antenna.
Therefore, we have investigated whether an antenna modeled
on the GPG would capture ESD impulses and if these
random impulses could subsequently be converted into an
AC voltage sine waveform of predictable frequency. This
would allow a direct conversion of the potential energy of an
electrostatic field into an alternating current, making atmospheric
electrostatic charges a possible source of commercial
power generation.