At the beginning of the last century, it was thought an improved understanding of
electromagnetism offered the best way forward for astronomy. It is easy
therefore, to feel frustrated at the pace of progress in the space sciences.
Although most sciences have come on in leaps and bounds in recent decades, cosmology, the study of the nature of the
universe, has fallen behind. Sure, space missions have enjoyed many remarkable successes, but is this a testament to the
technicians or the theoreticians? The latter are continually surprised by findings that almost always contradict
expectations. Quote, “It is surprising that they continue to be surprised by all the surprises.” Close quote, Wal
Thornhill. The James Webb Space Telescope has [raised] the cognitive dissonance recently,
with one astronomer even crying “panic.” The spiraling filamentary structure of
the universe, now seen more clearly than ever, is expected from an electrical plasma
perspective. There are two basic reasons for the foot dragging that characterizes astrophysics today. Firstly, it works with
only one tool in its box, gravity. Theories based on the gravity-only premise were codified back when oil and
gas provided the lighting, and have since solidified into dogma. Although electricity plays a big part in our
modern world, needless to say, bizarrely it has yet to find its way into the lexicon of cosmology, at least in any
meaningful way. Secondly, astrophysics today is dominated by mathematicians some say ‘mathemagicians’ and factoring
in plasma and electromagnetism would mess up their elegant equations. It's easier to turn a blind eye. Hannes Alfvén,
the father of plasma physics and plasma cosmology, injected some wit into the situation quote, “...the underlying
assumptions of cosmologists today are developed with the most sophisticated mathematical methods and it is only the
plasma itself which does not ‘understand’ how beautiful the theories are and absolutely refuses to obey them.” Close
quote. Although some magnetism is stirred into standard models, this is only a baby step in in the right direction.
It is sometimes amusing when consensus scientists claim they don't ignore electrodynamics, while simultaneously
admitting to their disdain for the subject.This quote from Dr. Phil Plait, aka ‘the bad astronomer,’ underlines their
quandary. Quote, “Magnetism is a very important topic in astrophysics (despite some pseudo-scientists lying and saying
this force is ignored), but it's not well- understood. It's fiendishly complex, so much so
that it's a joke in astronomy.” Close quote. Alfvén, again, put the real issue more
succinctly. Quote, “In order to understand the phenomena in a certain plasma region, it is necessary to map not only the
magnetic but also the electric field and the electric currents.” Close quote. Despite flying in the face of
consensus for most of his career, Alfvén was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in
1970. His criticism of the Big Bang, it has to be said, rankled with the powers that be. He was not known for pulling his
punches here's another classic ‘Alfvéan’ uppercut. Quote, “Students using astrophysical textbooks remain
essentially ignorant of even the existence of plasma concepts, despite the fact that some of them have been known
for half a century.” Close quote. Before Alfvén, another Scandinavian, Christian Birkeland, provoked controversy
when he demonstrated that the auroras were electrically powered with his famous terella experiments. Now
recognized as fact, his work was initially laughed at. A timeline is emerging. In 2024, we can
now safely say that the importance of plasma and electromagnetism in space has
been downplayed, when not dismissed or ignored for more than a century. It seems science took a wrong turn when
idealized gravity-only models, based largely on mathematical speculations, began to take precedence over
traditional empiricism. Some blame Einstein for this. Although in my recent blog “Einstein and
the Cult of Celebrity” I argued that he was as much a victim as a genius. Quote, “As far as the laws of
mathematics referred to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”
Close quote, Albert Einstein. Science is supposed to be a self-correcting mechanism. The question
therefore arises how long will it take before plasma and electromagnetism find their rightful place at the heart of
cosmology? Little wonder some joke that science proceeds funeral by funeral. More symptoms of the
malaise. The growing complexity of the space sciences is another big giveaway. Most scientific advances, after all, are
characterized by simplicity. Computer processors, for example, grow faster and more efficient with fewer connections.
Much like automatic gearboxes in motor vehicles that require fewer moving parts than manual stick control
mechanisms. Nature also abhors inefficiency, or so we are told. It seems strange then that she would ignore the
utility of the electric force given that it is 10^39 times stronger than gravity. Quote, “And even if one regards
the electric fields as merely another postulate, it has the great advantage that it is the one postulate which, in my
view, renders all the others unnecessary.” C.E.R. Bruce, Electric Fields in Space,1968.
Cosmology right now, it can't be denied, relies on an ever- expanding array of exotic hypotheticals, like dark matter
and dark energy. They're required to paper over the cracks and, as if this wasn't bad enough, they are also called
upon to behave in truly magical ways, hiding from observation while simultaneously shaping galaxies. To make
things worse, such speculations are all too often talked about as if they were ’beyond reasonable doubt’. So much for Occam’s
Razor. Quote, “It is an embarrassment that the dominant forms of matter in the universe remain hypothetical!”. Close quote,
Jim Peebles, Princeton. Reasons to be Cheerful. Research papers acknowledging the role of electricity in space are
breaking through with increasing regularity, even if academic papers researching dark stuff still outnumber
them many times over. Interestingly, some of these papers appear to tone down their terminology, perhaps concious of the
fact that something of a taboo still applies to electricity in space. The ‘Coulomb Universe’ is just another way
of saying Electric Universe, of course. There are more examples. Here we can see tentative steps
away from imaginary dark stuff towards electromagnetism. This paper from 2017 is more bold. It is titled quote, “The
External Energy Supply to the Sun is Overwhelmingly Obvious and has Recently Been Detected by Space Probes.” Close
quote. And atop page 5 it reminds us that quote, ”Under the standard solar model the origin and mechanism of the
sun's magnetic field are still mysteries.” Close quote. The door is ajar and the plasma
universe is pushing, with some papers occasionally getting through, but there are boots behind it. These metaphorical
boots are peer review and well, just sheer bloody mindedness. Sooner or later though the duel will give.
Quote, “The peer review system often creates near insurmountable hurdles against the publication of data that
seems contrary to long-held beliefs.” Close quote, Dr. Friedmann T. Freund. Consider the following quotes
which highlight the science vis-a-vis science denial ‘viralgo’ we witnessed today. First quote, “A cosmic jet
2 billion light years away is carrying the highest electric current ever seen: 10^18 amps, equivalent to a
trillion bolts of lightning.” Close quote, Newscientist.com, 2011. Second quote,
“The jets have been shown not to be electric currents, the energy and the physics involved are certainly not
electromagnetic.” Close quote, Phys.org, also 2011. No explanation is offered for the second quote. Casual dismissal
is considered sufficient, presumably. The trouble is that once the door is opened to plasmas and electromagnetism, there
will be no going back, and they know it. Looking Back to the Future. As mentioned at the outset, there
is nothing very new about the Plasma or Electric Universe. It is merely regaining ground that was lost when science took a
wrong turn marked “Gravity Only.” No later than 1937, Alfvén proposed that our galaxy contained a
large-scale magnetic field and that charged particles moved in spiral orbits within it, owing to forces exerted by the
field. Plasmas carry the electrical currents that create the magnetic field. More than 100 years ago, some
notables went further. Michael Faraday for example, often thought about experiments that could connect gravity and
electromagnetism. Quote “...no terms could exaggerate the value of the relation
they would establish.” Close quote, Michael Faraday, 1850. In 1908, Henry Poincaré, a gifted allrounder and
philosopher of science said quote, “What we call mass would appear to be nothing but an appearance,
and all inertia to be of electromagnetic origin.” Close quote. It seems they were looking for
simplification in the 19th century, whereas today we seem to be obsessed with inventing new forces and particles.
Awards are even handed out for such speculations. Before Faraday, Wilhelm Weber derived an electrical
gravitational force law and even had a planetary model of the atom. This was 40 years before Bohr and
Rutherford. Today, most textbooks would tell us that electromagnetism and gravity must be unconnected because
electromagnetism can be shielded, whereas gravity cannot. Such a view is too simplistic, however. Interestingly, in 2016
the US Department of the Navy filed the following patent application for a mass reduction device utilizing
electromagnetic waves. Paraphrasing, the patent states that “...it works because we live in a plasma
universe.” The Electric Universe represents a paradigm shift. It does not claim to have all of the answers, but it
will at least point us back in the right direction. The forthcoming revolution in cosmology will herald a new
renaissance. They say the future is what we make it. So, strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride in our Electric Universe.
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