Electricity and Consilience. Part 6

See Part 1 here.
See Part 5 here.

The electric universe model is an attempt to connect many strands of knowledge. Its proponents claim it is more interdisciplinary than any previous cosmology. More than a decade ago, according to "The Electric Universe" by David Talbott and Wallace Thornhill, some plasma physicists began to develop an electrical model of galaxies, that fits with real-world physics. The electric universe model points to repeating electromagnetic patterns found throughout the universe, from micro- to macrocosm scales.Relying on laboratory experiments and astronomical observation, it explains strange energetic events seen in deep space, on the sun, and in our solar system, such as the electric volcanoes of Jupiter's moon Io.

Eruption on Io, NASA. NASA.

On Io, intense electromagnetic radiation from Jupiter bombards the surface, causing Io to act like a giant generator, inducing 400,000 volts across its surface as it speeds though the plasmasphere of its giant companion. The current generated flows across the magnetic fields of the moon in the form of electrical discharge plumes that are observed shooting hundreds of kilometers into the skies above Io. Electrically etching the moon's surface and shooting sulfur dioxide and other materials high into the atmosphere, these plumes are the result of cathodic arcing , and appear in the same filamentary patterns characteristic of Birkeland currents that flow along the axis and spiral arms of our galaxy.

Interstellar Birkeland Current: The Cygnus Loop, William Blair/ Ravi Sankrit/NASA. Wikimedia Commons

Electromagnetic explanations for cosmological observations are offer much simpler solutions to questions that have been treated with increasingly abstract theories. The model accounts for observed shapes and dynamics of galactic structures without recourse to dark matter and black holes. It explains the powerful electric jets seen issuing from the cores of galaxies.

Jets from Centaurus, ESO/WSI phys.org

Recent results from mapping the magnetic field of a spiral galaxy seem to add further credence to the electric model. These observations conclude that an understanding of the basic electrical nature of atoms and their interactions are essential for a complete picture of the universe, and that gravity may need to be dethroned from its portrayal as the dominant organizing force of the cosmos.

Jupiter's Magnetosphere, NASA-JPL. Wikimedia Commons