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The Electric Comet Theory /SAFIRE Part VI

Scientists said the fragments show signs of having been soaked in water at some point. "One must picture an aggregate of ice and dust floating in space, that turned into a giant mudball when ice was melted by nuclear energy from the decay of radioactive elements that were present in the asteroid when it formed," said Dauphas. But surprisingly, today the rock itself appears to be relatively dry.

So dried mud, basically. Probably drier than most comets because it resides in the inner solar system. The water all boiled off long ago.

Whereas comets typically spend most of their time far away from the sun, out past Pluto and Neptune.
 
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can we divert a dirtysnowball, so it will land in the ocean and cool it down, thus offsetting climate change?

let's try.
 
Hopping space dust makes asteroids look rougher

Hsu and his colleagues were suspicious.

Since the 1990s, researchers at LASP have used vacuum chambers in the lab to investigate the strange properties of dust in space, including a feat they call "electrostatic lofting." Study co-lead author Xu Wang explained that as the sun's rays bathe small grains of dust, they begin to pick up negative charges. Those charges will build until, suddenly, the particles burst apart, like two magnets repelling each other.

In some cases, those grains of dust can pop away at speeds of more than 20 miles per hour (or more than 8 meters per second).

"No one had ever considered this process on the surface of an asteroid before," said Wang, a research associate at LASP.

Mass loss not requiring "ice"...Mmmmmmm.....
 
Yes, and?

Well.....


Some asteroids show comet-like activity, the origin of which is uncertain and could involve several mechanisms

further

Some asteroids show comet-like activity, the origin of which is uncertain and could involve several mechanisms (46). This activity can be subtle, as in the B-type (bluish and spectroscopically similar to C-type) asteroid Bennu, where small ejections of dust particles and rocks have been observed (47). Thermal fracturing, phyllosilicate dehydration, and micro-meteoroid impacts have been proposed (47) as explanations for the ejection of solid particles from BennuOur finding that saponite in Ryugu is partially dehydrated supports the possibility that volatile release from phyllosilicates can induce comet-like activity at the surface of inner Solar System carbonaceous asteroids. Possible mechanisms to lift dust and rocks from asteroid surfaces include (i) anisotropic release of water molecules from phyllosilicate-rich dust particles, imparting a net momentum to those particles, or (ii) buildup of vapor pressure in sealed pore spaces, leading to pore bursting which propels dust particles away from the surface.
LINK

Well, now I guess you can add "hopping space dust" as a VIABLE mechanism!
 
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Nope. Asteroids are rocky. Some may contain ices. Comets are not rocky. If there were rock we would have detected it. And I have shown the evidence countless times that we do not detect rock, which would be obvious to any number of instruments on Rosetta and Philae.
Sure, there will be some continuum. However, it is quite likely that some 'asteroids' on cometary orbits are actually just devolatilised comets. They won't have lost all their volatiles, but the depth to which the thermal wave can reach will have been devolatilised. Which is logical. Comets cannot replenish their supplies of volatiles. So, short period comets, such as the Jupiter family comets, may soon, relatively speaking, become inactive. I'm not seeing a problem here.

The ice-organic-silicate contents of small Solar system bodies: indicators for a comet to asteroid evolutionary pathway



However, an overlap between all three body types is observed and supports the scenario in which comets, main belt comets, and asteroids are genetically linked.

genetically linked???
 

I do not know what they mean by 'genetically linked'. I haven't read the paper. However, it has long been known that asteroids are not one, homogeneous group. There are numerous classes and sub-classes. Some are more dense than others, due to being formed mostly of rock and/or metal. Others are suspected to be loose agglomerations of rock and dust. Some of them may also contain ice, depending on where they formed. The one thing that comets must contain to be a comet, is ice. Which we have seen plenty of. Depending on the comet's orbital history, they may contain more or less ice.

Now what does Thornhill say about comets? They were blasted off of rocky planets by impossible electric discharges. So, no ice. Even if the impossible discharge hit Greenland or Antarctica, the ice would be vaporised. So, where is he getting his ice from, for either asteroids or comets?

According to Thornhill, the observed coma of a comet is caused by electrical woo, due to the (non-existent) change in voltage between a comet's distant orbit, and its perihelion. However, many of the objects studied in this paper are main belt comets, with very low eccentricity. And water has been detected around some of them when they are active.

So, we are left with objects with very low eccentricity being active. We have objects on highly elliptical orbits being active. And we have objects on similar orbits to comets that are not active. He's kinda painted himself into a corner, hasn't he? Apart from the fact that we have seen no such electrical woo. And have seen no rock at 67P. And have detected plenty of ice at comets.

Perhaps it's time that we had an official admission of the failure of the electric comet 'model'? David Talbot was never banned, so I assume he remains a member here. Maybe you can contact him and ask him to make such an admission on here? He went very quiet after the results from Rosetta started coming in. Perhaps his continued silence on the subject on here is all the admission that we need?
 
This discussion seems to have been going on for ages. I got curious. Can somebody direct me to a description of what the "electric comet theory" is really about?

Hans
 
This discussion seems to have been going on for ages. I got curious. Can somebody direct me to a description of what the "electric comet theory" is really about?

Hans

How long have you got! :)

Basically, the Velikovskian high priests of a cult known as 'Electric Universe', claim that comets are just asteroids on elliptical orbits. They are just rock that was blasted off of rocky planets by impossible lightning bolts between planets. This is due to Velikovsky's claims of interplanetary billiards, involving Venus (which came shooting out of Jupiter, within human memory) doing handbrake turns around the solar system, and coming close enough to Earth and Mars that it would have been within the Roche limit, and therefore destroyed said planets, as well as itself. But somehow managed not to do so.
So, there is little to no ice at comets, and the glow we see around them is due to electrical woo initiated by the comet coming from a place in the solar system where there is low voltage, and then speeding in to the inner system, where there is a higher voltage, and then discharging the charge built up in a low voltage area, when it gets to a higher voltage area!?!? Of course, there is no such voltage for us to worry about.
And that just about sums up the basics of this science-free piece of mythology inspired woo.

Bet you wish you hadn't asked!
 
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This discussion seems to have been going on for ages. I got curious. Can somebody direct me to a description of what the "electric comet theory" is really about?

Hans

I do not know what they mean by 'genetically linked'. I haven't read the paper.

Lets start here...'genetically linked' = carbonaceous chondrite



Although most comets clearly accreted far beyond the asteroid belt, similarities between the matrices of the most primitive carbonaceous chondrites and the chondritic porous IDPs (Section 1.07.5.8) and the discovery that some C-type asteroids show cometary activity (Hsieh and Jewitt, 2006) have blurred the distinction between comets and asteroids.
LINK

Elemental abundances of CI chondrites imply a dust-to gas mass
ratio of three and a porosity of 70 per cent (Davidsson et al.
2016). The region of the proto-solar nebula where 67P accreted may
have been drier than those where CI chondrites have formed.
LINK
Some are more dense than others, due to being formed mostly of rock and/or metal. Others are suspected to be loose agglomerations of rock and dust.
Some of them may also contain ice, depending on where they formed.

The one thing that comets must contain to be a comet, is ice. Which we have seen plenty of. Depending on the comet's orbital history, they may contain more or less ice.
JD116

So, a comet MUST contain ice and an asteroid CAN contain ice?

You are aware both JD16 and Hans, that comets tend to be drier than CI chondrites asteroids, such as Ryugu?

(4) the high dust-to-water mass ratio, which implies that much of the nucleus mass is in the form of minerals partly coming from the inner proto-solar nebula, thus making 67P very porous and less hydrated than primitive
CI chondrites.
LINK


So at what dust to ice ration is a genetically linked comet (CI chondrite) and and asteroid (CI chondrite) become differentiated?

A bit? lots? mobs?
 
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And your problem is that the dust emitted by comets is seen to be entrained within cold, neutral gases that can only come from ice.

My problem? lol :dl:



Comet 67P ejects very dry dust, where with dry, we define dust containing less water than 15 per cent of its mass (dust is wet in the opposite
case).
LINK



The nucleus is thus a highly porous very dusty body with very little ice.
LINK

Just sayin that the DRY dust seems to both "hop" on asteroids (CI carbonaceous chondrite type) and comets (CI carbonaceous chondrite type).

Hopping dust....boing boing!

Is this dust CHARGED JD116?
 
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Basically, magnetic field aligned ambipolar electric field, a dynamic PLASMA phenomenon.

Nope, there is no mention anywhere in T & T's woo about ambipolar fields arising to maintain quasi-neutrality! You need electric discharge machining! You need distant solar wind H+ to combine with non-existent O- to somehow form water! You need rock for this impossible EDM to act upon. There isn't any.
So, instead of being economical with the truth about what your woo involves, you should have just linked to the material that lays it out in the thoroughly unscientific way that is typical of the chief mythologists of your cult;

https://dokumen.tips/documents/the-...t-1-the-electric-comet-wallace-thornhill.html
 
My problem? lol :dl:

Yes, your problem. We see the dust entrained by gas.


No, that is a link to a paper that is explaining the water content of the dust that is emitted. It is not about the fact that the dust is emitted by jets of gas. Learn the difference.



Yeah, so dry that it was emitting ~ 500 - 1000 litres of water per second at perihelion! In your woo, it should not be emitting any.

Just sayin that the DRY dust seems to both "hop" on asteroids (CI carbonaceous chondrite type) and comets (CI carbonaceous chondrite type).

Hopping dust....boing boing!

Is this dust CHARGED JD116?

It matters not whether it is charged. At most it is going to have a few volts + charge from the photoelectric effect. Not enough to get it off of the comet. It needs gas to do that. And that is why we do not see the vast majority of asteroids sporting dust comae. Why not? Same Sun. Same solar wind. Which isn't even reaching the comet at periods of high activity.

Sorry, but your scientifically impossible woo is still batting a very predictable zero.
 
Lets start here...'genetically linked' = carbonaceous chondrite



LINK

LINK
Some are more dense than others, due to being formed mostly of rock and/or metal. Others are suspected to be loose agglomerations of rock and dust.
Some of them may also contain ice, depending on where they formed.

The one thing that comets must contain to be a comet, is ice. Which we have seen plenty of. Depending on the comet's orbital history, they may contain more or less ice.
JD116

So, a comet MUST contain ice and an asteroid CAN contain ice?

You are aware both JD16 and Hans, that comets tend to be drier than CI chondrites asteroids, such as Ryugu?

LINK


So at what dust to ice ration is a genetically linked comet (CI chondrite) and and asteroid (CI chondrite) become differentiated?

A bit? lots? mobs?

Sorry? What has this nonsense got to do with your failed, scientifically impossible woo? There is ice at comets. Your woo says there shouldn't be. Deal with your failed woo.
 
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How long have you got! :)

Basically, the Velikovskian high priests of a cult known as 'Electric Universe', claim that comets are just asteroids on elliptical orbits. They are just rock that was blasted off of rocky planets by impossible lightning bolts between planets. This is due to Velikovsky's claims of interplanetary billiards, involving Venus (which came shooting out of Jupiter, within human memory) doing handbrake turns around the solar system, and coming close enough to Earth and Mars that it would have been within the Roche limit, and therefore destroyed said planets, as well as itself. But somehow managed not to do so.
So, there is little to no ice at comets, and the glow we see around them is due to electrical woo initiated by the comet coming from a place in the solar system where there is low voltage, and then speeding in to the inner system, where there is a higher voltage, and then discharging the charge built up in a low voltage area, when it gets to a higher voltage area!?!? Of course, there is no such voltage for us to worry about.
And that just about sums up the basics of this science-free piece of mythology inspired woo.

Bet you wish you hadn't asked!

Well, I did expect something like that. Do the people endorsing this realize that a vacuum conducts electricity?

Hans
 
Lets start here...'genetically linked' = carbonaceous chondrite



LINK

LINK

Some are more dense than others, due to being formed mostly of rock and/or metal. Others are suspected to be loose agglomerations of rock and dust.
Some of them may also contain ice, depending on where they formed.

The one thing that comets must contain to be a comet, is ice. Which we have seen plenty of. Depending on the comet's orbital history, they may contain more or less ice. JD116

So, a comet MUST contain ice and an asteroid CAN contain ice?

You are aware both JD16 and Hans, that comets tend to be drier than CI chondrites asteroids, such as Ryugu?

LINK


So at what dust to ice ration is a genetically linked comet (CI chondrite) and and asteroid (CI chondrite) become differentiated?

A bit? lots? mobs?

Uhm, so what?

Hans
 
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My problem? lol :dl:



LINK



LINK

Just sayin that the DRY dust seems to both "hop" on asteroids (CI carbonaceous chondrite type) and comets (CI carbonaceous chondrite type).

Hopping dust....boing boing!

Is this dust CHARGED JD116?

Does it behave as if it's charged? I.e is there any sign that dust particles repel each other? How long do you think dust could remain charged in the conductive environment of vacuum?

Hans
 
A perfect conductor, Hans?

Nope, but conductive enough that you are not getting giant lightning bolts in space! So, in your neo-Velikovskian world, you need Venus to get close enough to Earth to share atmospheres. Then there could be lightning bolts. However, both planets being so close that they are within each others Roche limit would end the existence of those planets. So, we can be sure that such a thing never happened.
 
Nope, but conductive enough that you are not getting giant lightning bolts in space! So, in your neo-Velikovskian world, you need Venus to get close enough to Earth to share atmospheres. Then there could be lightning bolts. However, both planets being so close that they are within each others Roche limit would end the existence of those planets. So, we can be sure that such a thing never happened.

Certainly, comets could not build up any significant charge, as they would be discharged by the particles leaving as their tail. Also, if the tail carried any significant charge, it would spread out in space as the particles would repel each other.

So, I'm forced to assume that the "theory" is another fantasy by people who don't know much about electrostatics or electromagnetics.

Hans
 
Certainly, comets could not build up any significant charge, as they would be discharged by the particles leaving as their tail. Also, if the tail carried any significant charge, it would spread out in space as the particles would repel each other.

So, I'm forced to assume that the "theory" is another fantasy by people who don't know much about electrostatics or electromagnetics.

Hans

That would be a reasonable assumption. Their go-to plasma guy is a retired (and possibly senile) ex-electrical engineer. The other mythologist they rely on is someone with, allegedly, a BSc in 'physics & electronics' (also likely to be senile). Never heard of such a degree, but I guess we have to take him at his word. Despite his complete lack of even a basic knowledge of physics. Especially plasma physics.
According to them, the solar wind is a current of almost solely ions! So, when Sol hears about electric fields he tends to get excited. Despite the fact that the ambipolar fields exist in order to maintain quasi-neutrality. For the likes of Sol, electric field equals current. Equals impossible discharges. Et boring cetera. It really is extremely silly nonsense. I used to think flat earth was the dumbest thing on the internet. However, EU runs it close.
 
Certainly, comets could not build up any significant charge......

Hans

Well, a comet could build up a pretty high negative charge on its nightside. Just as asteroids can. This is due to the higher mobility of electrons in the solar wind. They have a smaller gyroradius than ions, so can impact the nightside more often than ions. The sunlit side will get charged to a small positive charge due to the photoelectric effect. However, at comets, this kind of becomes irrelevant when the comet is highly active, as the solar wind is getting nowhere near the nucleus. So, asteroids experience this charging permanently. As does the Moon. Not seeing any giant lightning bolts happening at those bodies! The EU 'theory' however, doesn't even invoke this mechanism. It requires a purely manmade process called electric discharge machining (EDM). Which has two chances of happening naturally - none and **** all!
 
Certainly, comets could not build up any significant charge, as they would be discharged by the particles leaving as their tail. Also, if the tail carried any significant charge, it would spread out in space as the particles would repel each other.

So, I'm forced to assume that the "theory" is another fantasy by people who don't know much about electrostatics or electromagnetics.

Hans

One, would, assume that!

Though...

PR 24-2000: Ulysses Feels the Brush of a Comet's Tail

"The fast solar wind helped to maintain the magnetic field signature over such a large distance. If it can persist as far as Ulysses, there's no reason to presume that it wouldn't continue to the edge of the heliosphere (the boundary about 100AU from the Sun between the solar wind and the interstellar medium)," says Jones, "This discovery makes us wonder whether Ulysses or other spacecraft have crossed a comet tail before. So we're going back to look again for other signatures. But it's probably a rare event," says Jones.

People who don't know much about electrostatics or electromagnetics would assume the tail spreads out in space as the particles would repel each other. Observation strongly suggest this is not the case and the assumption are indeed, incorrect and in need of revision.
 
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That would be a reasonable assumption. Their go-to plasma guy is a retired (and possibly senile) ex-electrical engineer. The other mythologist they rely on is someone with, allegedly, a BSc in 'physics & electronics' (also likely to be senile). Never heard of such a degree, but I guess we have to take him at his word. Despite his complete lack of even a basic knowledge of physics. Especially plasma physics.
According to them, the solar wind is a current of almost solely ions! So, when Sol hears about electric fields he tends to get excited. Despite the fact that the ambipolar fields exist in order to maintain quasi-neutrality. For the likes of Sol, electric field equals current. Equals impossible discharges. Et boring cetera. It really is extremely silly nonsense. I used to think flat earth was the dumbest thing on the internet. However, EU runs it close.

Well, the solar wind is quasi neutral (equal amount of + & - on a MACRO scale) BUT ions within the solar wind have both a different MASS and TEMPERATURE to electrons. This leads to any obstacle in the solar wind plasma flow to behave as observed and described, simplistically, by JD116 and in more technical detail, in DIVIN's paper.

Electrons that have a parallel kinetic energy greater than ΦP that pass through the region gain energy while traversing into the potential well, and lose it again on their way out.
This is a double layer. Those electrons? This is an electric current.

JD116 description, see below, may be easier to understand though, as I'm not sure of your knowledge on plasma, so excuse me if we start at the basics. The violation of the solar wind quasi neutrality via the mechanism described by JD116.

Well, a comet could build up a pretty high negative charge on its nightside. Just as asteroids can. This is due to the higher mobility of electrons in the solar wind. They have a smaller gyroradius than ions, so can impact the nightside more often than ions. The sunlit side will get charged to a small positive charge due to the photoelectric effect.
 
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Well, the solar wind is quasi neutral (equal amount of + & - on a MACRO scale)

Not according to Scott and Thornhill!


This is a double layer. Those electrons? This is an electric current.

No it isn't.


JD116 description, see below, may be easier to understand though, as I'm not sure of your knowledge on plasma, so excuse me if we start at the basics. The violation of the solar wind quasi neutrality via the mechanism described by JD116.

No, it is not a violation of the solar wind's quasi-neutrality. It is the normal explanation for how atmosphere-less bodies can charge up in the quasi-neutral solar wind.
 
Spoiler alert:

Upcoming trashing of Wal Thornhill on 'Professor Dave's' youtube channel. Provisionally entitled, 'Wal Thornhill is a Complete Fraud (Thunderbolts Project Debunked)'. Much to do with comets, among other things. I have just proof-read the script.

Some people will not like his style - abrasive, sarcastic, dismissive, etc. However, as much as it pains me to admit this, Youtube is where hearts and minds are being won in the pseudoscience wars.

When I first started helping Dave with material to debunk the likes of EU, SAFIRE, Ben Davidson (Suspicious Observers), Pierre-Marie Robitaille (Sky Scholar) et al, he had just short of 800 000 subs. He now has over 2 000 000. This is how he makes a living. The vast majority of his site is purely for science education. Debunks are just a sideline. He started with flat earth, but that is like taking candy from a baby. Ditto with the Discovery Institute. There are others out there that need showing up for the clueless nerks that they are.
Personally, I would rather see Tim Thompson destroy Thornhill on a newsgroup, back in the 90s, than have to do it via Youtube. However, it is what it is. So, keep an eye out, and subscribe for free, if you feel so inclined.

https://www.youtube.com/c/professordaveexplains

EDIT:

Having just re-read the above, I feel it necessary to point out that I am not using ISF as an advertising board to make money for myself or Dave. I get a small amount for contributing material, and proof-reading. I am not on commission for the number of subs he gets!
 
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Well, a comet could build up a pretty high negative charge on its nightside. Just as asteroids can. This is due to the higher mobility of electrons in the solar wind. They have a smaller gyroradius than ions, so can impact the nightside more often than ions. The sunlit side will get charged to a small positive charge due to the photoelectric effect. However, at comets, this kind of becomes irrelevant when the comet is highly active, as the solar wind is getting nowhere near the nucleus. So, asteroids experience this charging permanently. As does the Moon. Not seeing any giant lightning bolts happening at those bodies! The EU 'theory' however, doesn't even invoke this mechanism. It requires a purely manmade process called electric discharge machining (EDM). Which has two chances of happening naturally - none and **** all!


:rolleyes:

Closer to the Sun (panel c), an unstable diamagnetic cavity is formed and cold electrons dominate close to the nucleus, near the electron exobase. The solar wind ions are not able to penetrate the inner coma anymore and there is evidence for a classical bow shock upstream of the solar wind ion cavity.

Well well well...figure 45c says it all. link


No EDM you say...
 
says what exactly?



Not at comets, maybe in factories.

Maybe...

However, it is unclear why the cold population exists at
such large heliocentric distances where the electron–neutral collision
rate should be very low. Nonetheless, as the Langmuir
waves and the cold electron locations observed by RPC-MIP,
as well as their occurrence rates, seem to correlate well, we
think there might be a relationship between cold electrons and
Langmuir waves. It is possible that the waves are excited near
the comet surface by some local process related to the cold
electrons.
Electric field measurements at Comet 67P

Still bluing with jd116 on his misinterpretation of what the diamagnetic cavity is.

Mmmmmm....local process.
 
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