I'm only vaguely familiar with the essentials of plasma cosmology and to be candid I dislike materialist (exploding) science so much that I favour the electric universe style of thinking because of the response it elicits from mainstream astrophysics and cosmology. However I know enough about the holographic universe to shift the debate in that direction successfully if pushed and there's a handful of sound arguments within hand's reach to kneecap Newtonian Science (and Einsteinian gravity science). The short argument is show me the graviton (a fictional character in science and comics), even the Higgs boson if you wish.
I'm doing a bit of research on plasma cosmology, so I found a post titled 'How I know Plasma Cosmology Is Wrong'. I thought that's the kind of resistance I need to cut my teeth on and began to read. The post lost my interest after a few paragraphs of insulting people and ideas instead of getting down to business so I cut bait and flicked down to the comments. I'm glad I did. I found one comment from a person using the name of the Swedish electrical engineer Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén.
It's so beautiful crafted and likeable I'm going to paste it below in italics as a reminder to myself and others how elegant reasoning can be persuasive and more importantly instructive. It's also a fantastic argument for the kind of science I'm interested in. One that celebrates the mystery instead of leaning like a drunk on a lamp post to increasingly threadbare Ptolemaic models. I also must link to this podcast audio interview with Thomas Fusco. I listened to it twice earlier (and intend to listen again) for its demolition of why contemporary physics is running out of material to work with. An irony the dim materialist scientists are unable to grasp. The interview doesn't start immediately so you have to put up with annoying people but it's worth the wait in the end because Thomas Fusco author of Behind The Cosmic Veil has an extraordinary insight into why infra-red patterns on humans are different from paranormal activity (bear with me). From this observation he takes apart Einstein, CERN, Newton and the whole multiverse theory speculative road show while elegantly explaining a little quantum theory including quantum entanglement and which I'm tempted to call the (identical twin) doppelgänger effect after the radio hosts reductive observation. it's very provocative.
Here's the plasma cosmology comment.
Re: "However, plasma cosmology also asserts that electromagnetic forces between plasma flowing through the solar system and through the Universe and the magnetic fields of objects (or even the objects themselves, as they'll often decide, for instance, that comets must have a substantial electric charge) make significant contributions to the motion of objects that mainstream astronomy is able to explain entirely through gravity."
Rob, it does appear that you are truly at the very beginning of your investigation into the Electric Universe.
For instance, you might want to take a closer look at what all-sky surveys tell us about the interstellar plasma structures we can observe at the 21-cm wavelength (oftentimes called HI). Gerrit Verschuur has published extensively on this subject in his books "Interstellar Matters" and "The Invisible Universe", as well as numerous peer-reviewed publications. And he is quite clear that the structure of this plasma is in fact filamentary, as would be expected for a plasma conducting electrical currents ...
"Preliminary results from high resolution HI mapping of gas and, dust in an apparent HI "cloud" indicate that the neutral gas and dust within and around its boundary is itself highly filamentary" (Interstellar Neutral Hydrogen Filaments at High Galactic Lattitudes and the Bennett Pinch)
Furthermore, Verschuur has observed critical ionization velocities (CIVs) to be associated with these interstellar filaments. When a neutral gas (so thin that collisional interactions can be ignored) meets a plasma such that the kinetic energy of their relative velocity is equal to the ionization potential of the neutral gas, then the kinetic energy is converted into ionization of the neutral gas. This was incidentally suggested by Alfvén in 1942 and later discovered in the lab in the 1970’s.
Verschuur furthermore states in Galactic Neutral Hydrogen Emission Profile Structure:
"Analysis of Galactic neutral hydrogen emission profiles that have been corrected for sidelobe radiation confirm the existence of three distinct component line width regimes identified by Verschuur & Magnani in 1994. In addition, a fourth becomes recognizable in the data in directions of low total column density. The line width regimes are around 50 km s~1 (component 1a), 31 km s~1 (component 1b), 13 km s~1 (component 2), and 5.2 km s~1 for the narrow lines arising from cool H I (component 3). In this paper, the new data are presented and compared with previously published results. The possible origin of the distinct line width regimes is briefly examined, and it is concluded that a new interpretation is needed, one that involves a plasma phenomenon known as the critical ionization velocity, which will be fully discussed in a subsequent paper."
In another paper, On the Critical Ionization Velocity Effect in Interstellar Space and Possible Detection of Related Continuum Emission, he states:
"Interstellar neutral hydrogen (HI) emission spectra manifest several families of linewidths whose numerical values (34, 13, and 6 km/s) appear to be related to the critical ionization velocities (CIVs) of the most abundant interstellar atomic species. Extended new analysis of HI emission profiles shows that the 34-km/s-wide component, which probably corresponds to the CIV for helium, is pervasive. The 34-km/s-wide linewidth family is found in low-velocity (local) HI profiles and in the so-called high-velocity clouds (HVCs). In addition, published studies of HI linewidths found in the Magellanic Stream, Very High Velocity Clouds, and Compact HVCs, all of which are believed to be intergalactic, have noted that the typical values are of the same
order. If the CIV effect does play a role in interstellar space, it may be expected to produce locally enhanced electron densities where rapidly moving neutral gas masses interact with the surrounding plasma. Evidence that suggests that this phenomenon is occurring in interstellar space is presented. It manifests as a spatial association between peaks in HI structure offset with respect to peaks in high-frequency radio continuum data obtained with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe."
In his book, The Invisible Universe, he provides some background on HI and the widespread presence of these filaments:
"The neutral hydrogen atom consists of a proton with an electron in an orbit about it. Both the proton and the electron have a property called spin, which can be in the same direction (called parallel spin) or in opposite directions (antiparallel) relative to one another. The total energy contained by the atom in these two conditions is different. When the spin state flips from the parallel condition to the antiparallel, which contains less energy, the atom gets rid of the excess energy by radiating a spectral line at a frequency of 1420.405 MHz, generally known as the 21-cm line referring to its wavelength in the radio band. The 21-cm line is the signature of HI and makes the gas observable to astronomers on earth." (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p52)
"It wasn't until some 50 years after the detection of the HI signal that a comprehensive all-sky survey of the HI spectral line was completed under the guidance of W. Butler Burton at the University of Leiden … The completed project is known as the Leiden-Argentina-Bonn (LAB) survey. To give the reader some feel for the enormous scope of this project, the LAB Survey observed 400,000 directions and obtained a spectrum with 1,000 frequency channels at each location … Figure 6.1 is an all-sky HI map made from the LAB Survey data where the color is a measure of the total number of hydrogen atoms along the full line-of-sight through the Galaxy in any given direction … An intriguing feature of this map is the presence of arcs or filaments (long streamers) visible as great threads of emission, whose shapes are almost certainly controlled by magnetic fields between the stars." (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p52-53)
In that same source, he also explains the predicament of the "anomalous high-velocity clouds" ...
"Not all is understood about the distribution of HI in the Milky Way. For example, large areas of sky are found to contain HI [hydrogen] moving at velocities that are not expected if the gas is confined to the plane of the Galaxy. In particular, when a radio telescope is pointed above or below the galactic plane, only relatively local gas traveling at velocities between +-20 km/s with respect to zero, defined in terms of the average random motion of stars near the sun, should be observed. However, HI at very high negative velocities, which indicates motion toward us, is found at high galactic latitudes. These structures are known as high-velocity clouds, although detailed maps of such features show them to be filamentary instead of cloud-like. Their distance and origin continue to be the subject of controversy. The bulk of these HI structures in the northern sky follow an arc defined by a weak radio shell found in radio surveys …" (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p55)
The reason this matters is that in the laboratory -- such as the z-machine or even the Tokamak -- plasmas, dusty or not, will exhibit filamentary and Faraday motor structures when they are conducting electrical currents. Here, I will direct you to the works of A.B. Kukushkin and V.A. Rantsev-Kartinov, who first identified these structures within the Tokamak. They created a probabilistic reasoning algorithm (artificial intelligence) which could automatically infer these structures from imagery. They then applied this algorithm to cosmic imagery, such as in their paper titled:
Similarity of Skeletal Structures in Laboratory and Space and the Probable Role of Self-Assembling of a Fractal Dust in Fusion Devices
There are in fact many other papers by these two which deploy the same technique to all sorts of cosmic imagery. The notion that plasma scaling is the cause for the universe's fractal nature is something which deserves further consideration.
At this point, I'd like to return to Verschuur's book, The Invisible Universe, where he provides some cautionary words of advice for conventional thinkers:
"At the Serendipity meeting, Kraus stated that meaningful accidental discovery occurs only as the result of 'being in the right place with the right equipment doing the right experiment at the right time.' Another noted astronomer, R. Hanbury Brown, added that the person should 'not know too much,' otherwise the discovery might not be made!
This summarizes a very interesting phenomenon. Many research scientists, especially the theoretically inclined, 'know' so much that their chance of making a lucky or creative discovery may be severely curtailed. If we know too much, our vision is sometimes narrowed to the point where new opportunities are not seen." (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p14)
"Jansky knew a little astronomy, but not enough for it to get in his way and cause him to reject the possibility that radio waves originating in the cosmos might be real.
Grote Reber, a professional engineer and radio ham in his spare time, was one of the few people who recognized the interesting implications of Jansky's discovery. Reber was certainly not hampered by any astronomical prejudices about whether or not the cosmic radio waves could exist. Instead, he was interested in verifying their existence and followed up on Jansky's work. To this end, Reber built the world's first steerable radio dish antenna … in his backyard and mapped the Milky Way radiation during the period 1935 – 1941 … He pointed out that the new field of radio astronomy was originally caught between two disciplines. Radio engineers didn't care where the radio waves came from, and the astronomers
'… could not dream up any rational way by which the radio waves could be generated, and since they didn't know of a process, the whole affair was (considered by them) at best a mistake and at worst a hoax.'
The very essence of research is that once an observation is made it requires some understanding and interpretation in order to formulate a plan for making further observations. It was initially very difficult for astronomers, entirely ignorant of radio technology, to interpret or understand the significance of Jansky's or Reber's epoch-making discoveries." (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p14-15)
"If the science was to flourish, either astronomers had to learn about radio engineering or radio engineers had to learn astronomy. The new science therefore grew slowly." (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p16)
"Breaking through preconceived notions is something that has frustrated many a scientist (as well as philosopher, politician, or lay person). Who, at that time, could possibly have guessed at the amazing scenario that now accounts for the cosmic radio waves. Radio signals from the Milky Way are produced by cosmic ray electrons spiraling around magnetic fields stretched out in space between the stars. In the 1930s and 1940s no one knew that interstellar space contained cosmic ray electrons or that there were magnetic fields between the stars. At the time, cosmic rays were defined as protons (but not electrons) from space that struck the earth continuously. Cosmic ray physicists didn't concern themselves too much about the origin of the cosmic rays, nor did they know what happened to the electrons. Those researchers were mainly interested in studying the composition and physical properties of the particles that did reach their detectors. The absence of electrons was noted, but who would have thought that the electrons didn't reach the earth because they had wasted their energy radiating radio signals in interstellar space." (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p19)
"Jansky could hear the faint radio hiss from space in his earphones and went further to report on his quantitative measurements of the intensity of the received emissions. However, his discoveries went largely unrecognized by astronomers, either because they never got to read Jansky's technical papers, which were published in a journal aimed at radio engineers, or because the astronomers, not familiar with radio engineering, simply were not interested." (The Invisible Universe: The Story of Radio Astronomy, Gerrit L. Verschuur, p42)
My hope is that these quotes will inspire some critical thinking in either yourself, or at least the audience you are attempting to gather. The story of radio astronomy is strikingly similar to the situation which is being alleged with plasmas' role in the cosmos. We'd all be wise to take a cautionary stance in light of the emerging research, and arguably foolish to cast aside the innovation which might accommodate a new science, in some sort of attempt to defend our existing belief system. I say, let the research continue, and let's see where it ends up!
