Let's start with the fact that the agricultural industry is destroyed to the ground. What's next? Is it time to collect stones? Isn't it time to unite all creative forces in order to give the villagers and summer residents those novelties that will allow them to dramatically increase productivity, reduce manual labor, find new ways in genetics ... I would suggest that the readers of the magazine be the authors of the column "For the Village and Summer Residents". I'll start with the old work "Electric field and productivity."

In 1954, when I was a student at the Military Communications Academy in Leningrad, I became passionately interested in the process of photosynthesis and carried out an interesting test with growing onions on a windowsill. The windows of the room in which I lived faced the north, and therefore the bulbs could not receive the sun. I planted in two elongated boxes of five bulbs. He took the earth in the same place for both boxes. I didn’t have any fertilizers, i.e. were created, as it were, the same conditions for growing. Above one box from above, at a distance of half a meter (Fig. 1), he placed a metal plate, to which he attached a wire from a high-voltage rectifier +10,000 V, and stuck a nail into the ground of this box, to which he connected the "-" wire from the rectifier.

I did this so that, according to my theory of catalysis, the creation of a high potential in the plant zone will lead to an increase in the dipole moment of the molecules involved in the photosynthesis reaction, and the days of testing dragged on. Already after two weeks, I discovered that in a box with an electric field, plants develop more efficiently than in a box without a "field"! Fifteen years later, this experiment was repeated at the institute, when it was necessary to grow plants in a spaceship. There, being closed from magnetic and electric fields, plants could not develop. It was necessary to create an artificial electric field, and now plants survive on spaceships. And if you live in a reinforced concrete house, and even on the top floor, don't your plants in the house suffer from the absence of an electric (and magnetic) field? Stick a nail into the ground of a flower pot, and connect the wiring from it to a heating battery that has been cleaned of paint or rust. In this case, your plant will approach the conditions of life in the open space, which is very important for plants and for humans too!

But my trials didn't end there. Living in Kirovograd, I decided to plant tomatoes on the windowsill. However, winter came so quickly that I did not have time to dig up tomato bushes in the garden to transplant them into flower pots. I came across a frozen bush with a small living process. I brought it home, put it in the water and... Oh, joy! After 4 days, white roots grew from the bottom of the process. I transplanted it into a pot, and when it grew with shoots, I began to receive new seedlings in the same way. All winter I ate fresh tomatoes grown on the windowsill. But I was haunted by the question: is such cloning possible in nature? Perhaps, old-timers in this city confirmed to me. Possibly, but...

I moved to Kyiv and tried to get tomato seedlings in the same way. I didn't succeed. And I realized that in Kirovograd I succeeded in this method because there, at the time when I lived, water was supplied to the water supply network from wells, and not from the Dnieper, as in Kyiv. Groundwater in Kirovograd has a small amount of radioactivity. This is what played the role of a growth stimulator of the root system! Then I applied +1.5 V from the battery to the top of the tomato sprout, and "-" brought the vessel where the sprout stood to the water (Fig. 2), and after 4 days a thick "beard" grew on the sprout in the water! So I managed to clone the offshoots of a tomato.

Recently, I got tired of watching the watering of plants on the windowsill, I stuck a strip of foil fiberglass and a large nail into the ground. I connected wires from a microammeter to them (Fig. 3). The arrow immediately deviated, because the earth in the pot was damp, and the copper-iron galvanic pair worked. A week later I saw how the current began to fall. So, it was time for watering ... In addition, the plant threw out new leaves! This is how plants respond to electricity.

The device for stimulating the growth of plants "ELECTRIC GROUND" is a natural power source that converts the free electricity of the earth into an electric current generated as a result of the movement of quanta in a gaseous medium.

As a result of the ionization of gas molecules, a low-potential charge is transferred from one material to another and an EMF occurs.

The specified low-potential electricity is almost identical to the electrical processes occurring in plants and can be used to stimulate their growth.

"ELECTRO-GRID" significantly increases the yield and growth of plants.
Dear summer residents, make the device "ELECTRIC GRID" on your garden plot
and collect a huge harvest of agricultural products to the delight of yourself and your neighbors.

The device "ELECTRIC ROAD" is invented
in the Interregional Association of War Veterans
State Security Bodies "EFA-VIMPEL"
is its intellectual property and is protected by the law of the Russian Federation.
Inventor:
Pocheevsky V.N.

Having learned the manufacturing technology and the principle of operation of the "ELECTRIC ROAD",
You will be able to create this device according to your own design.

The range of one device depends on the length of the wires.

You are ahead of the season with the help of the "ELECTRIC ROAD" device
you will be able to get two harvests, as the sap flow in plants is accelerated and they bear fruit more abundantly!

***
"ELECTRIC GROUND" helps plants grow, in the country and at home!
(roses from Holland do not fade any longer)!

The principle of operation of the device "ELECTRIC GRID".

The principle of operation of the device "ELECTRIC ROAD" is very simple.
The device "ELECTRIC GROUND" is created in the likeness of a large tree.
An aluminum tube filled with (U-Yo ...) composition is the crown of a tree, where, when interacting with air, a negative charge is formed (cathode - 0.6 volts).
In the ground of the bed, a wire is stretched in the form of a spiral, which acts as the root of a tree. Garden beds + anode.

The electric garden works on the principle of a heat pipe and a constant pulse current generator, where the pulse frequency is created by the earth and air.
Wire in the ground + anode.
Wire (stretch marks) - cathode.
When interacting with air humidity (electrolyte), pulsed electrical discharges occur, which attract water from the depths of the earth, ozonize the air and fertilize the soil of the garden.
In the early morning and evening, you can smell ozone, like after a thunderstorm.

Lightning began to sparkle in the atmosphere billions of years ago, long before the advent of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
So they played a significant role in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen.
For example, in the last two millennia alone, lightning has converted 2 trillion tons of nitrogen into fertilizer - approximately 0.1% of its total amount in the air!

Do an experiment. Stick a nail into a tree, and a copper wire into the ground to a depth of 20 cm, connect a voltmeter and you will see that the voltmeter needle shows 0.3 volts.
Large trees generate up to 0.5 volts.
Tree roots, like pumps, use osmosis to raise water from the depths of the earth and ozonize the soil.

A bit of history.

Electrical phenomena play an important role in plant life. In response to external stimuli, very weak currents (biocurrents) arise in them. In this regard, it can be assumed that an external electric field can have a noticeable effect on the growth rate of plant organisms.

Back in the 19th century, scientists found that the globe is negatively charged in relation to the atmosphere. At the beginning of the 20th century, a positively charged layer, the ionosphere, was discovered at a distance of 100 kilometers from the earth's surface. In 1971, the astronauts saw her: she looks like a luminous transparent sphere. Thus, the earth's surface and the ionosphere are two giant electrodes that create an electric field in which living organisms are constantly located.

Charges between the Earth and the ionosphere are carried by air ions. Carriers of negative charges rush to the ionosphere, and positive air ions move to the earth's surface, where they come into contact with plants. The higher the negative charge of the plant, the more it absorbs positive ions.

It can be assumed that plants react in a certain way to changes in the electrical potential of the environment. More than two hundred years ago, the French abbot P. Bertalon noticed that the vegetation near the lightning rod was lusher and juicier than at some distance from it. Later, his compatriot scientist Grando grew two completely identical plants, but one was in natural conditions, and the other was covered with a wire mesh that protected him from an external electric field. The second plant developed slowly and looked worse than the one in the natural electric field. Grando concluded that for normal growth and development, plants need constant contact with an external electric field.

However, there is still much that is unclear about the effect of the electric field on plants. It has long been noted that frequent thunderstorms favor the growth of plants. True, this statement needs careful detailing. After all, a stormy summer differs not only in the frequency of lightning, but also in temperature and precipitation.

And these are factors that have a very strong effect on plants. The data concerning the growth rates of plants near high-voltage lines are contradictory. Some observers note an increase in growth under them, others - oppression. Some Japanese researchers believe that high-voltage lines have a negative impact on the ecological balance. More reliable is the fact that various growth anomalies are found in plants growing under high-voltage lines. So, under a power line with a voltage of 500 kilovolts, the number of petals in gravilate flowers increases to 7-25 instead of the usual five. In elecampane, a plant from the Asteraceae family, the baskets grow together into a large ugly formation.

Do not count the experiments on the effect of electric current on plants. And V. Michurin also conducted experiments in which hybrid seedlings were grown in large boxes with soil through which a constant electric current was passed. It was found that the growth of seedlings is enhanced. In experiments conducted by other researchers, mixed results were obtained. In some cases, the plants died, in others they gave an unprecedented harvest. So, in one of the experiments around the plot where carrots grew, metal electrodes were inserted into the soil, through which an electric current was passed from time to time. The harvest exceeded all expectations - the mass of individual roots reached five kilograms! However, subsequent experiments, unfortunately, gave different results. Apparently, the researchers lost sight of some condition that allowed in the first experiment with the help of an electric current to get an unprecedented harvest.

Why do plants grow better in an electric field? Scientists of the Institute of Plant Physiology named after K. A. Timiryazev of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR established that photosynthesis goes the faster, the greater the potential difference between plants and the atmosphere. So, for example, if you hold a negative electrode near the plant and gradually increase the voltage (500, 1000, 1500, 2500 volts), then the intensity of photosynthesis will increase. If the potentials of the plant and the atmosphere are close, then the plant ceases to absorb carbon dioxide.

It seems that the electrification of plants activates the process of photosynthesis. Indeed, in cucumbers placed in an electric field, photosynthesis proceeded twice as fast as compared to the control ones. As a result, they formed four times more ovaries, which turned into mature fruits faster than the control plants. When oat plants were given an electrical potential of 90 volts, their seed weight increased by 44 percent at the end of the trial compared to the control.

By passing an electric current through plants, it is possible to regulate not only photosynthesis, but also root nutrition; after all, the elements necessary for the plant come, as a rule, in the form of ions. American researchers have found that each element is absorbed by the plant at a certain current strength.

British biologists have achieved a significant stimulation of the growth of tobacco plants, passing through them a direct electric current with a power of only one millionth of an ampere. The difference between the control and experimental plants became apparent as early as 10 days after the start of the experiment, and after 22 days it was very noticeable. It turned out that growth stimulation is possible only if a negative electrode is connected to the plant. When the polarity was reversed, the electric current, on the contrary, somewhat inhibited the growth of plants.

In 1984, the Floriculture magazine published an article on the use of electric current to stimulate root formation in cuttings of ornamental plants, especially those that are difficult to root, such as rose cuttings. With them, experiments were carried out in closed ground. Cuttings of several varieties of roses were planted in perlite sand. They were watered twice a day and exposed to electric current (15 V; up to 60 µA) for at least three hours. In this case, the negative electrode was connected to the plant, and the positive one was immersed in the substrate. In 45 days, 89 percent of the cuttings took root, and they had well-developed roots. In the control (without electrical stimulation) for 70 days, the yield of rooted cuttings was 75 percent, but their roots were much less developed. Thus, electrical stimulation reduced the period of growing cuttings by 1.7 times, increased the yield of products per unit area by 1.2 times. As you can see, stimulation of growth under the influence of electric current is observed if a negative electrode is attached to the plant. This can be explained by the fact that the plant itself is usually negatively charged. Connecting a negative electrode increases the potential difference between it and the atmosphere, and this, as already noted, has a positive effect on photosynthesis.

The beneficial effect of electric current on the physiological state of plants was used by American researchers to treat damaged tree bark, cancerous growths, etc. In the spring, electrodes were inserted into the tree, through which an electric current was passed. The duration of processing depended on the specific situation. After such an impact, the bark was renewed.

The electric field affects not only adult plants, but also seeds. If they are placed for some time in an artificially created electric field, then they will quickly give friendly shoots. What is the reason for this phenomenon? Scientists suggest that inside the seeds, as a result of exposure to an electric field, part of the chemical bonds are broken, which leads to the appearance of fragments of molecules, including particles with excess energy - free radicals. The more active particles inside the seeds, the higher the energy of their germination. According to scientists, such phenomena occur when seeds are exposed to other radiations: X-ray, ultraviolet, ultrasonic, radioactive.

Let us return to the results of Grando's experiment. The plant, placed in a metal cage and thus isolated from the natural electric field, did not grow well. Meanwhile, in most cases, the collected seeds are stored in reinforced concrete rooms, which, in essence, are exactly the same metal cage. Are we doing damage to the seeds? And is it not for this reason that the seeds stored in this way react so actively to the action of an artificial electric field?

Further study of the effect of electric current on plants will make it possible to more actively manage their productivity. These facts indicate that there is still a lot of unknown in the world of plants.

ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION.

The electric field affects not only adult plants, but also seeds. If they are placed for some time in an artificially created electric field, then they will quickly give friendly shoots. What is the reason for this phenomenon? Scientists suggest that inside the seeds, as a result of exposure to an electric field, part of the chemical bonds are broken, which leads to the appearance of fragments of molecules, including particles with excess energy - free radicals. The more active particles inside the seeds, the higher the energy of their germination.

Understanding the high efficiency of using electrical stimulation of plants in agriculture and household plots, an autonomous, long-term source of low-potential electricity that does not require recharging was developed to stimulate plant growth.

The device for plant growth stimulation is a high-tech product (which has no analogues in the world) and is a self-healing power source that converts free electricity into electric current generated as a result of the use of electropositive and electronegative materials separated by a permeable membrane and placed in a gaseous environment, without the use of electrolytes in the presence of a nanocatalyst. As a result of the ionization of gas molecules, a low-potential charge is transferred from one material to another and an EMF occurs.

The specified low-potential electricity is almost identical to the electrical processes that occur under the influence of photosynthesis in plants and can be used to stimulate their growth. The formula of the utility model is the use of two or more electropositive and electronegative materials without limiting their size and methods of their connection, separated by any permeable membrane and placed in a gaseous medium with or without the use of a catalyst.

"ELECTRIC GROUND" you can make yourself.

An aluminum tube filled with (U-Yo...) composition is attached to a three-meter pole.
A wire is stretched from the tube along the pole into the ground
which is the anode (+0.8 volts).

Installation of the device "ELECTRIC ROAD" from an aluminum tube.

1 - Attach the device to a three meter pole.
2 - Attach three extensions of aluminum wire m-2.5mm.
3 - Attach a copper wire m-2.5mm to the wire of the device.
4 - Dig up the ground, the diameter of the beds can be up to six meters.
5 - Install a pole with a device in the center of the bed.
6 - Lay the copper wire in a spiral in 20cm increments.
deepen the end of the wire by 30 cm.
7- From above, cover the copper wire with earth for 20 cm.
8 - Drive three pegs into the ground along the perimeter of the beds, and three nails in them.
9 - Attach aluminum wire extensions to the nails.

Tests of the ELECTRIC GROUND in a greenhouse for the lazy 2015.

Install an electric garden in a greenhouse, you will start harvesting two weeks earlier - there will be twice as many vegetables as in previous years!

"ELECTRIC GROUND" from a copper tube.

You can make your own device
"ELECTRIC GARDEN" at home.

Send a donation

In the amount of 1,000 rubles

During the day, after a notification letter by E-mail: [email protected]
You will receive detailed technical documentation for the manufacture of TWO models of "ELECTRIC HOUSE" devices at home.

Sberbank Online

Card No.: 4276380026218433

VLADIMIR POCHEEVSKY

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Qiwi translation

Tests of "ELECTRIC GRID" in the cold summer of 2017.

Installation instructions "ELECTRIC ROADS"

1 - Gas tube (generator of natural, pulsed earth currents).

2 - Copper wire tripod - 30 cm.

3 - Stretching wire resonator in the form of a spring above the ground 5 meters.

4 - Stretching wire resonator in the form of a spring in the soil 3 meters.

Remove the details of the "Electric Bed" from the package, stretch the springs along the length of the bed.
Stretch the long spring by 5 meters, the short one by 3 meters.
The length of the springs can be increased with a conventional conductive wire to infinity.

Attach the spring (4) to the tripod (2) - 3 meters long, as shown in the figure,
insert the tripod into the soil and deepen the spring into the ground by 5 cm.

Connect the gas tube (1) to the tripod (2). Fix the tube vertically
using a peg from a branch (iron pins cannot be used).

Connect the spring (3) to the gas pipe (1) - 5 meters long and fasten it on pegs from branches
at intervals of 2 meters. The spring must be above the ground, height no more than 50 cm.

After installing the "Electric Garden", connect a multimeter to the ends of the springs
for verification, the reading must be at least 300 mV.

The device for stimulating plant growth "ELECTRIC GROUND" is a high-tech product (which has no analogues in the world) and is a self-healing power source that converts free electricity into electric current, sap flow in plants accelerates, they are less exposed to spring frosts, grow faster and bear more fruit!

Your financial assistance goes to support
folk program "REVIVAL OF SPRINGS OF RUSSIA"!

If you are not able to pay for the technology and financially help the national program "REVIVAL OF SPRINGS OF RUSSIA", write to us by Email: [email protected] We will review your letter and send you the technology for free!

Interregional program "REVIVAL OF RUSSIAN SPRINGS"- is PEOPLE!
We work only on private donations from citizens and do not accept funding from commercial government and political organizations.

HEAD OF THE PEOPLE'S PROGRAM

"REVIVAL OF RUSSIAN SPRINGS"

Global Capacitor

In nature, there is a completely unique alternative energy source, environmentally friendly, renewable, easy to use, which is still not used anywhere. This source is the atmospheric electric potential.

Our planet is electrically like a spherical capacitor charged to about 300,000 volts. The inner sphere - the surface of the Earth - is negatively charged, the outer sphere - the ionosphere - positively. The Earth's atmosphere serves as an insulator (Fig. 1).

Ionic and convective capacitor leakage currents constantly flow through the atmosphere, which reach many thousands of amperes. But despite this, the potential difference between the capacitor plates does not decrease.

And this means that in nature there is a generator (G), which constantly replenishes the leakage of charges from the capacitor plates. The generator is the Earth's magnetic field., which rotates with our planet in the flow of the solar wind.

To use the energy of this generator, you need to somehow connect an energy consumer to it.

Connecting to the negative pole - Earth - is simple. To do this, it is enough to make a reliable grounding. Connecting to the positive pole of the generator - the ionosphere - is a complex technical problem, which we will deal with.

As in any charged capacitor, there is an electric field in our global capacitor. The intensity of this field is distributed very unevenly along the height: it is maximum at the Earth's surface and is approximately 150 V/m. With height, it decreases approximately according to the exponential law and at a height of 10 km is about 3% of the value at the Earth's surface.

Thus, almost the entire electric field is concentrated in the lower layer of the atmosphere, near the surface of the Earth. E-mail intensity vector. Earth's field E is generally directed downward. In our reasoning, we will use only the vertical component of this vector. The electric field of the Earth, like any electric field, acts on charges with a certain force F, which is called the Coulomb force. If you multiply the magnitude of the charge by the intensity of email. field at this point, then we get just the value of the Coulomb force Fcool .. This Coulomb force pushes positive charges down to the ground, and negative charges up into the clouds.

Conductor in an electric field

We will install a metal mast on the surface of the Earth and ground it. The external electric field will immediately begin to move negative charges (conduction electrons) up to the top of the mast, creating an excess of negative charges there. And the excess of negative charges at the top of the mast will create its own electric field directed towards the external field. There comes a moment when these fields become equal in magnitude, and the movement of electrons stops. This means that in the conductor from which the mast is made, the electric field is zero.

This is how the laws of electrostatics work.

Let's put the height of the mast h = 100 m, the average tension along the height of the mast Esr. = 100 V/m.

Then the potential difference (emf) between the Earth and the top of the mast will be numerically equal to: U = h * Eav. \u003d 100 m * 100 V / m \u003d 10,000 volts. (one)

This is a very real potential difference that can be measured. True, it will not be possible to measure it with an ordinary voltmeter with wires - exactly the same emf will appear in the wires as in the mast, and the voltmeter will show 0. This potential difference is directed opposite to the intensity vector E of the Earth's electric field and tends to push out the conduction electrons from the top of the mast up into the atmosphere. But this does not happen, the electrons cannot leave the conductor. The electrons do not have enough energy to leave the conductor from which the mast is made. This energy is called the work function of an electron from a conductor, and for most metals it is less than 5 electron volts - a very insignificant value. But an electron in a metal cannot acquire such energy between collisions with the crystal lattice of the metal and therefore remains on the surface of the conductor.

The question arises: what will happen to the conductor if we help the excess charges at the top of the mast to leave this conductor?

The answer is simple: the negative charge at the top of the mast will decrease, the external electric field inside the mast will no longer be compensated and will again move the conduction electrons up to the top of the mast. This means that current will flow through the mast. And if we manage to constantly remove excess charges from the top of the mast, current will constantly flow in it. Now it is enough for us to cut the mast in any place convenient for us and turn on the load (energy consumer) there - and the power plant is ready.

Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of such a power plant. Under the action of the Earth's electric field, conduction electrons from the ground move along the mast through the load and further up the mast to the emitter, which releases them from the metal surface of the mast top and sends them in the form of ions to freely float through the atmosphere. The Earth's electric field, in full accordance with Coulomb's law, lifts them up until they are neutralized on their way by positive ions, which always fall down from the ionosphere under the influence of the same field.

Thus, we have closed the electrical circuit between the plates of the global electric capacitor, which in turn is connected to the generator G, and included an energy consumer (load) in this circuit. One important question remains to be solved: how to remove excess charges from the top of the mast?

Emitter design

The simplest emitter can be a flat disk made of sheet metal with many needles located around its circumference. It is "mounted" on a vertical axis and set in rotation.

As the disc rotates, the incoming moist air strips the electrons from its needles and thus releases them from the metal.

A power plant with a similar emitter already exists. True, no one uses her energy, they fight with her.
This is a helicopter carrying a metal structure on a long metal sling during the installation of tall buildings. Here are all the elements of the power plant shown in Fig. 3, with the exception of the energy consumer (load). The emitter is the rotor blades of a helicopter, which are blown by a stream of moist air, the mast is a long steel sling with a metal structure. And the workers who install this structure in place know very well that it is impossible to touch it with bare hands - it will “shock”. And indeed, at that moment they become a load in the power plant circuit.

Of course, other emitter designs are also possible, more efficient, complex, based on different principles and physical effects, see fig. 4-5.

The emitter in the form of a finished product does not currently exist. Everyone interested in this idea is forced to independently design their own emitter.

To help such creative people, the author gives below his considerations on the design of the emitter.

The following emitter designs seem to be the most promising.

The first version of the emitter

The water molecule has a well-defined polarity and can easily capture a free electron. If you blow steam over a negatively charged metal plate, then the steam will capture free electrons from the surface of the plate and carry them away with it. The emitter is a slotted nozzle along which an insulated electrode A is placed and to which a positive potential is applied from a source I. Electrode A and the sharp edges of the nozzle form a small charged capacitance. Free electrons are collected on the sharp edges of the nozzle under the influence of the positive insulated electrode A. The steam passing through the nozzle breaks off the electrons from the edges of the nozzle and carries them into the atmosphere. On fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of this structure. Since electrode A is isolated from the external environment, the current in the emf source circuit no. And this electrode is needed here only in order to create a strong electric field in this gap together with the sharp edges of the nozzle and to concentrate conduction electrons on the edges of the nozzle. Thus, electrode A with a positive potential is a kind of activating electrode. By changing the potential on it, you can achieve the desired value of the emitter current.

A very important question arises - how much steam should be supplied through the nozzle and will it not turn out that all the energy of the station will have to be spent on turning water into steam? Let's do a little calculation.

One gram molecule of water (18 ml) contains 6.02 * 1023 water molecules (Avogadro's number). The charge of one electron is 1.6 * 10 (- 19) Coulomb. Multiplying these values, we get that 96,000 Coulombs of electric charge can be placed on 18 ml of water, and more than 5,000,000 Coulombs on 1 liter of water. And this means that at a current of 100 A, one liter of water is enough to operate the installation for 14 hours. To turn this amount of water into steam requires a very small percentage of the energy produced.

Of course, attaching an electron to each water molecule is hardly a feasible task, but here we have determined a limit that can be constantly approached by improving the design of the device and technology.

In addition, calculations show that it is energetically more profitable to blow through the nozzle not steam, but moist air, adjusting its humidity within the required limits.

The second version of the emitter

At the top of the mast is a metal vessel filled with water. The vessel is connected to the metal of the mast by a reliable contact. A glass capillary tube is installed in the middle of the vessel. The water level in the tube is higher than in the vessel. This creates an electrostatic tip effect - in the upper part of the capillary tube, the maximum concentration of charges and the maximum electric field strength are created.

Under the action of an electric field, the water in the capillary tube will rise and will be sprayed into small droplets, taking with it a negative charge. At a certain low current strength, the water in the capillary tube will boil, and the steam will already carry away the charges. And this should increase the emitter current.

In such a vessel, several capillary tubes can be installed. How much water is needed - see calculations above.

The third version of the emitter. spark emitter.

When the spark gap breaks down, a cloud of conduction electrons jumps out of the metal together with the spark.

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a spark emitter. From the high-voltage pulse generator, negative pulses are fed to the mast, positive pulses are sent to the electrode, which forms a spark gap with the top of the mast. It turns out something similar to a car spark plug, but the device is much simpler.
The high-voltage pulse generator is fundamentally not much different from a conventional Chinese-made household gas lighter powered by a single AA battery.

The main advantage of such a device is the ability to regulate the emitter current using the frequency of discharges, the size of the spark gap, you can make several spark gaps, etc.

The pulse generator can be installed in any convenient place, not necessarily at the top of the mast.

But there is one drawback - spark discharges create radio interference. Therefore, the top of the mast with spark gaps must be shielded with a cylindrical mesh, which must be isolated from the mast.

The fourth version of the emitter

Another possibility is to create an emitter based on the principle of direct electron emission from the emitter material. This requires a material with a very low work function. Such materials have existed for a long time, for example, barium oxide paste-0.99 eV. Perhaps there is something better now.

Ideally, this should be a room temperature superconductor (RTS), which does not yet exist in nature. But according to various reports, it should appear soon. Here all hope lies in nanotechnology.

It is enough to place a piece of CTSP on the top of the mast - and the emitter is ready. Passing through the superconductor, the electron encounters no resistance and very quickly acquires the energy necessary to leave the metal (about 5 eV).

And one more important note. According to the laws of electrostatics, the intensity of the Earth's electric field is highest at higher elevations - on the tops of hills, hills, mountains, etc. It is minimal in lowlands, depressions and depressions. Therefore, it is better to build such devices in the highest places and away from tall buildings, or install them on the roofs of the highest buildings.

Another good idea is to lift the conductor with a balloon. The emitter, of course, must be mounted on top of the balloon. In this case, it is possible to obtain a sufficiently large potential for spontaneous emission of electrons from the metal, giving it the form of otium, and, therefore, no complex emitters are required in this case.

There is another good opportunity to get an emitter. In industry, electrostatic painting of metal is used. Sprayed paint, flying out of the sprayer, carries an electric charge, which is why it settles on the painted metal, which is charged with the opposite sign. The technology has been worked out.

Such a device, which charges the sprayed paint, is precisely the real emitter of email. charges. It remains only to adapt it to the installation described above and replace the paint with water, if the need arises in water.

It is quite possible that the moisture always contained in the air will be sufficient for the operation of the emitter.

It is possible that there are other similar devices in industry that can easily be turned into an emitter.

conclusions

As a result of our actions, we connected the consumer of energy to the global generator of electrical energy. We connected to the negative pole - the Earth - using an ordinary metal conductor (grounding), and to the positive pole - the ionosphere - using a very specific conductor - the convective current. Convective currents are electric currents due to the ordered transport of charged particles. They are often found in nature. This is the usual convective ascending jets that carry negative charges into the clouds, these are tornadoes (tornadoes). which drag a cloud mass strongly charged with positive charges to the ground, these are ascending air currents in the intertropical convergence zone, which carry a huge amount of negative charges into the upper layers of the troposphere. And such currents reach very large values.

If we create a sufficiently efficient emitter that can release from the top of the mast (or several masts), let's say, 100 coulombs of charges per second (100 amperes), then the power of the power plant we have built will be equal to 1,000,000 watts or 1 megawatt. Pretty decent power!

Such an installation is indispensable in remote settlements, at weather stations and other places remote from civilization.

From the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:

The energy source is exceptionally simple and convenient to use.

At the output, we get the most convenient form of energy - electricity.

The source is environmentally friendly: no emissions, no noise, etc.

The unit is exceptionally easy to manufacture and operate.

The exceptional cheapness of the energy received and a host of other advantages.

The electric field of the Earth is subject to fluctuations: it is stronger in winter than in summer, it reaches a maximum daily at 19 hours GMT, and also depends on the state of the weather. But these fluctuations do not exceed 20% of its average value.

In some rare cases, under certain weather conditions, the strength of this field can increase several times.

During a thunderstorm, the electric field changes over a wide range and can change direction to the opposite, but this happens in a small area directly under the thunderstorm cell.

Kurilov Yuri Mikhailovich

PHYSICS

BIOLOGY

Plants and their electrical potential.

Completed by: Markevich V.V.

GBOU secondary school No. 740 Moscow

Grade 9

Head: Kozlova Violetta Vladimirovna

physics and mathematics teacher

Moscow 2013

Content

Introduction

1. Relevance

   Goals and objectives of the work

   Research methods

   Significance of work

Analysis of the studied literature on the topic "Electricity in life

plants"

1. Ionization of indoor air

Research methodology and technique

1. Study of damage currents in various plants

   1. Experiment #1 (with lemons)

      Experiment #2 (with an apple)

      Experiment #3 (with a plant leaf)

Study of the influence of an electric field on seed germination

1. Experiments to observe the effect of ionized air on the germination of pea seeds

   Experiments to observe the effect of ionized air on the germination of bean seeds

conclusions

Conclusion

Literature

Chapter 1Introduction

"Surprising as electrical phenomena are,

inherent in inorganic matter, they do not go

in no way comparable to those associated with

life processes."

Michael Faraday

In this paper, we turn to one of the most interesting and promising areas of research - the effect of physical conditions on plants.

Studying the literature on this issue, I learned that Professor P.P. Gulyaev, using highly sensitive equipment, managed to establish that a weak bioelectric field surrounds any living thing and it is still known for sure: each living cell has its own power plant. And cellular potentials are not so small. For example, in some algae they reach 0.15 V.

“If 500 pairs of halves of peas are assembled in a certain order in a series, then the final electrical voltage will be 500 volts ... It is good that the cook does not know about the danger that threatens him when he prepares this special dish, and fortunately for him, the peas do not connect in ordered series. This statement of the Indian researcher J. Boss is based on a rigorous scientific experiment. He connected the inner and outer parts of the pea with a galvanometer and heated up to 60°C. The device at the same time showed a potential difference of 0.5 V.

How does this happen? On what principle do living generators and batteries work? Eduard Trukhan, Deputy Head of the Department of Living Systems of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, believes that one of the most important processes occurring in a plant cell is the process of assimilation of solar energy, the process of photosynthesis.

So, if at that moment scientists manage to “pull apart” positively and negatively charged particles in different directions, then, in theory, we will have at our disposal a wonderful living generator, the fuel for which would be water and sunlight, and in addition to energy, it would also produce pure oxygen.

Perhaps in the future such a generator will be created. But to realize this dream, scientists will have to work hard: they need to select the most suitable plants, and maybe even learn how to make chlorophyll grains artificially, create some kind of membrane that would allow them to separate charges. It turns out that a living cell, storing electrical energy in natural capacitors - intracellular membranes of special cell formations, mitochondria, then uses it to perform a lot of work: building new molecules, drawing nutrients into the cell, regulating its own temperature ... And that's not all. With the help of electricity, the plant itself performs many operations: it breathes, moves, grows.

Relevance

Already today it can be argued that the study of the electrical life of plants is beneficial to agriculture. I. V. Michurin also conducted experiments on the effect of electric current on the germination of hybrid seedlings.

Pre-sowing seed treatment is the most important element of agricultural technology that allows you to increase their germination, and ultimately the yield of plants. And this is especially important in our not very long and warm summer.

Goals and objectives of the work

The aim of the work is to study the presence of bioelectric potentials in plants and to study the effect of an electric field on seed germination.

To achieve the goal of the study, it is necessary to solve the following tasks :

The study of the main provisions concerning the doctrine of bioelectric potentials and the influence of an electric field on the vital activity of plants.

Conducting experiments to detect and observe damage currents in various plants.

Conducting experiments to observe the effect of an electric field on seed germination.

Research methods

To fulfill the objectives of the study, theoretical and practical methods are used. Theoretical method: search, study and analysis of scientific and popular science literature on this issue. Of the practical research methods used: observation, measurement, experimentation.

Significance of work

The material of this work can be used in the lessons of physics and biology, since this important issue is not covered in textbooks. And the methodology for conducting experiments is as a material for practical classes of an elective course.

Chapter 2 Literature Analysis

History of the study of the electrical properties of plants

One of the characteristic features of living organisms is the ability to be irritated.

Charles Darwinattached great importance to the irritability of plants. He studied in detail the biological characteristics of insectivorous representatives of the plant world, which are highly sensitive, and outlined the results of the research in the remarkable book On Insectivorous Plants, which was published in 1875. In addition, the attention of the great naturalist was attracted by various movements of plants. Taken together, all the studies suggested that the plant organism is remarkably similar to the animal.

The widespread use of electrophysiological methods has allowed animal physiologists to achieve significant progress in this field of knowledge. It was found that electric currents (biocurrents) constantly arise in animal organisms, the distribution of which leads to motor reactions. C. Darwin suggested that similar electrical phenomena also take place in the leaves of insectivorous plants, which have a rather pronounced ability to move. However, he himself did not test this hypothesis. At his request, experiments with the Venus flytrap plant were carried out in 1874 by an Oxford University physiologist.Burdan Sanderson. Connecting the leaf of this plant to a galvanometer, the scientist noted that the arrow immediately deviated. This means that electrical impulses arise in the living leaf of this insectivorous plant. When the researcher irritated the leaves by touching the bristles located on their surface, the galvanometer needle deviated in the opposite direction, as in the experiment with the muscle of an animal.

German physiologistHermann Munch, who continued the experiments, in 1876 came to the conclusion that the leaves of the Venus flytrap are electrically similar to the nerves, muscles and electrical organs of some animals.

In Russia, electrophysiological methods have been usedN. K. Levakovskyto study the phenomena of irritability in bashful mimosa. In 1867 he published a book called "On the Movement of the Irritable Organs of Plants". In the experiments of N. K. Levakovsky, the strongest electrical signals were observed in those specimensmimosa , which most energetically responded to external stimuli. If a mimosa is quickly killed by heating, then the dead parts of the plant do not produce electrical signals. The author also observed the emergence of electrical impulses in the stamensthistle and thistle, in petioles of sundew leaves. Subsequently, it was found that

Bioelectric potentials in plant cells

Plant life is dependent on moisture. Therefore, the electrical processes in them are most fully manifested in the normal mode of moistening and fade when withering. This is associated with the exchange of charges between the liquid and the walls of capillary vessels during the flow of nutrient solutions through the capillaries of plants, as well as with the processes of ion exchange between cells and the environment. The most important for life electric fields are excited in the cells.

So, we know that...

Wind-blown pollen has a negative charge. ‚ approaching in magnitude the charge of dust particles during dust storms. Near pollen-losing plants, the ratio between positive and negative light ions changes dramatically, which favorably affects the further development of plants.

In the practice of spraying pesticides in agriculture, it has been found thatchemicals with a positive charge are deposited on the beet and apple tree to a greater extent, on the lilac - with a negative charge.

One-sided illumination of a leaf excites an electrical potential difference between its illuminated and unilluminated areas and the petiole, stem and root. This potential difference expresses the plant's response to changes in its body associated with the start or stop of the process of photosynthesis.

Germination of seeds in a strong electric field (e.g. near the corona electrode)leads to change stem height and thickness and crown density of developing plants. this occurs mainly due to the redistribution in the plant body under the influence of an external electric field of the space charge.

A damaged place in plant tissues is always negatively charged. relatively undamaged areas, and the dying areas of plants acquire a negative charge in relation to areas growing under normal conditions.

Charged seeds of cultivated plants have a relatively high electrical conductivity and therefore quickly lose their charge. Weed seeds are closer in their properties to dielectrics and can retain a charge for a long time. This is used to separate crop seeds from weeds on the conveyor.

Significant potential differences in the plant organism cannot be excited Because plants do not have a specialized electrical organ. Therefore, among plants there is no "tree of death" that could kill living beings with its electrical power.

Effect of atmospheric electricity on plants

One of the characteristic features of our planet is the presence of a constant electric field in the atmosphere. The person does not notice it. But the electrical state of the atmosphere is not indifferent to him and other living beings inhabiting our planet, including plants. Above the Earth at an altitude of 100-200 km, there is a layer of positively charged particles - the ionosphere.
So, when you walk across a field, street, square, you move in an electric field, you inhale electric charges..

The effect of atmospheric electricity on plants has been studied since 1748 by many authors. This year Abbe Nolet reported experiments in which he electrified plants by placing them under charged electrodes. He observed the acceleration of germination and growth. Grandieu (1879) observed that plants that were not affected by atmospheric electricity, as they were placed in a grounded wire mesh box, showed a weight reduction of 30 to 50% compared to control plants.

Lemström (1902) exposed plants to the action of air ions, placing them under a wire equipped with spikes and connected to a high voltage source (1 m above ground level, ion current 10-11 - 10 -12 A / cm 2 ), and he found an increase in weight and length of more than 45% (for example, carrots, peas, cabbage).

The fact that plant growth was accelerated in an atmosphere with an artificially increased concentration of positive and negative small ions was recently confirmed by Krueger and his collaborators. They found that oat seeds responded to positive as well as negative ions (a concentration of about 10 4 ions/cm3 ) increase by 60% in total length and increase in fresh and dry weight by 25-73%. Chemical analysis of the aerial parts of plants revealed an increase in the content of protein, nitrogen and sugar. In the case of barley, there was an even greater increase (about 100%) in total elongation; the increase in fresh weight was not large, but there was a noticeable increase in dry weight, which was accompanied by a corresponding increase in protein, nitrogen and sugar content.

Experiments with plant seeds were also carried out by Vorden. He found that the germination of green beans and green peas became earlier with an increase in the level of ions of either polarity. The final percentage of germinated seeds was lower with negative ionization compared to the control group; germination in the positive ionized group and control was the same. As the seedlings grew, the control and positively ionized plants continued to grow, while the negatively ionized plants mostly withered and died.

Influence in recent years there has been a strong change in the electrical state of the atmosphere; various regions of the Earth began to differ from each other in the ionized state of the air, which is due to its dust content, gas contamination, etc. The electrical conductivity of air is a sensitive indicator of its purity: the more foreign particles in the air, the greater the number of ions settles on them and, consequently, the electrical conductivity of the air becomes less.
So, in Moscow, 1 cm 3 of air contains 4 negative charges, in St. Petersburg - 9 such charges, in Kislovodsk, where the standard of air purity is 1.5 thousand particles, and in the south of Kuzbass in the mixed forests of the foothills, the number of these particles reaches up to 6 thousand. This means that where there are more negative particles, it is easier to breathe, and where there is dust, a person gets less of them, since dust particles settle on them.
It is well known that near fast-flowing water, the air is refreshing and invigorating. It contains many negative ions. Back in the 19th century, it was determined that larger droplets in water splashes are positively charged, while smaller droplets are negatively charged. Since larger droplets settle faster, negatively charged small droplets remain in the air.
On the contrary, the air in cramped rooms with an abundance of various kinds of electromagnetic devices is saturated with positive ions. Even a relatively short stay in such a room leads to lethargy, drowsiness, dizziness and headaches.

Chapter 3 Research methodology

Study of damage currents in various plants.

3 lemons, apple, tomato, plant leaf;

3 shiny copper coins;

3 galvanized screws;

wires, preferably with clamps at the ends;

small knife;

several sticky leaves;

low voltage LED 300mV;

nail or awl;

multimeter.

Experiments to detect and observe damage currents in plants

Technique for performing experiment No. 1. Current in lemons.

They screwed a galvanized screw into the lemons by about a third of its length. Using a knife, carefully cut a small strip in the lemon - 1/3 of its length. A copper coin was inserted into the slot in the lemon so that half of it remained outside.

We inserted screws and coins in the same way into the other two lemons. Then we connected the wires and clamps, connected the lemons in such a way that the screw of the first lemon was connected to the coin of the second, and so on. We connected the wires to the coin from the first lemon and the screw from the last. The lemon works like a battery: the coin is the positive (+) pole and the screw is the negative (-). Unfortunately, this is a very weak source of energy. But it can be enhanced by combining a few lemons.

Connect the positive pole of the diode to the positive pole of the battery, connect the negative pole. Diode on fire!

Over time, the voltage at the poles of the lemon battery will decrease. We noticed how long the lemon battery lasts. After a while, the lemon darkened near the screw. If you remove the screw and insert it (or a new one) in another place on the lemon, you can partially extend the battery life. You can also try to crush the battery by moving the coins from time to time.

We experimented with a large number of lemons. The diode began to glow brighter. The battery now lasts longer.

Larger pieces of zinc and copper were used.

Take a multimeter and measure the battery voltage.

Technique for performing experiment No. 2. Current in apples.

The apple was cut in half, the core was removed.

If both electrodes assigned to the multimeter are applied to the outer side of the apple (peel), the multimeter will not record the potential difference.

One electrode has been moved to the inside of the pulp, and the multimeter will note the occurrence of a fault current.

Let's experiment with vegetables - tomatoes.

The measurement results were placed in a table.

the other is in the pulp of an apple

0.21 V

Electrodes in the pulp of a cut apple

0.05 V

Electrodes in tomato pulp

0.02 V

Technique for performing experiment No. 3. Current in a cut stem.

Cut off the leaf of the plant with the stem.

We measured the damage currents in the cut stem at different distances between the electrodes.

The measurement results were placed in a table.

RESULTS OF THE STUDY

In any plant, the occurrence of electrical potentials can be detected.

Study of the effect of an electric field on seed germination.

Tools and materials

pea seeds, beans;

Petri dishes;

air ionizer;

watch;

water.

Experiments to observe the effect of ionized air on seed germination

Experiment Technique #1

The ionizer was switched on daily for 10 minutes.

(5 did not germinate)

10.03.09

Sprout growth

at 10 seeds (3 did not germinate)

Sprout growth

11.03.09

Sprout growth

at 10 seeds (3 did not germinate)

Sprout growth

12.03.09

Sprout growth

Sprout growth

(4 did not germinate)

11.03.09

Increasing seed sprouts

Germination of 2 seeds

(2 did not germinate)

12.03.09

Increasing seed sprouts

Increasing seed sprouts

Research results

The results of the experiment indicate that seed germination is faster and more successful under the influence of the electric field of the ionizer.

Order of execution of experiment No. 2

For the experiment, we took the seeds of peas and beans, soaked them in Petri dishes and placed them in different rooms with the same illumination and room temperature. In one of the rooms, an air ionizer was installed - a device for artificial air ionization.

The ionizer was switched on daily for 20 minutes.

Every day we moistened the seeds of peas, beans and watched when the seeds hatched.

Germination of 9 seeds

(3 did not germinate)

19.03.09

Germination of 2 seeds

(4 did not germinate)

Increasing seed sprouts

20.03.09

Increasing seed sprouts

Increasing seed sprouts

21.03.09

Increasing seed sprouts

Increasing seed sprouts

(with treated seeds)

control cup

15.03.09

seed soaking

seed soaking

16.03.09

seed swelling

seed swelling

17.03.09

Without changes

Without changes

18.03.09

Germination of 3 seeds

(5 did not germinate)

Germination of 4 seeds

(4 did not germinate)

19.03.09

Germination of 3 seeds

(2 did not germinate)

Germination of 2 seeds

(2 did not germinate)

20.03.09

Sprout growth

Germination of 1 seed

(1 did not germinate)

21.03.09

Sprout growth

Sprout growth

Research results

The results of the experiment indicate that a longer exposure to an electric field had a negative effect on seed germination. They sprouted later and not so successfully.

Order of execution of experiment No. 3

For the experiment, we took the seeds of peas and beans, soaked them in Petri dishes and placed them in different rooms with the same illumination and room temperature. In one of the rooms, an air ionizer was installed - a device for artificial air ionization.

The ionizer was switched on daily for 40 minutes.

Every day we moistened the seeds of peas, beans and watched when the seeds hatched.

The timing of the experiments was placed in tables

(4 did not germinate)

05.04.09

Without changes

Sprout growth

06.04.09

Germination of 2 seeds

(10 did not germinate)

Sprout growth

07.04.09

Sprout growth

Sprout growth

Germination of 3 seeds

(4 did not germinate)

06.04.09

Germination of 2 seeds

(5 did not germinate)

Germination of 2 seeds

(2 did not germinate)

07.04.09

Sprout growth

Sprout growth

Research results

The results of the experiment indicate that a longer exposure to an electric field had a negative effect on seed germination. Their germination has noticeably decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

In any plant, the occurrence of electrical potentials can be detected.

The electrical potential depends on the type and size of plants, on the distance between the electrodes.

Treatment of seeds with an electric field within reasonable limits leads to an acceleration of the process of seed germination and more successful germination..

After processing and analyzing the experimental and control samples, a preliminary conclusion can be drawn - an increase in the time of exposure to an electrostatic field has a depressing effect, since the quality of seed germination is lower with an increase in the ionization time.

Chapter 4 Conclusion

Currently, numerous studies of scientists are devoted to the issues of the influence of electric currents on plants. The effect of electric fields on plants is still being carefully studied.

Research carried out at the Institute of Plant Physiology made it possible to establish the relationship between the intensity of photosynthesis and the value of the difference in electrical potentials between the earth and the atmosphere. However, the mechanism underlying these phenomena has not yet been investigated.

When starting the study, we set ourselves the goal of determining the effect of the electric field on plant seeds.

After processing and analysis of experimental and control samples, a preliminary conclusion can be drawn - an increase in the time of exposure to an electrostatic field has a depressing effect. We believe that this work is not finished, since only the first results have been obtained.

Further research on this issue can be continued in the following areas:

influenced whether the treatment of seeds with an electric field on the further growth of plants?

Chapter 5 LITERATURE

Bogdanov K. Yu. A physicist visiting a biologist. - M.: Nauka, 1986. 144 p.

Vorotnikov A.A. Physics for the young. - M: Harvest, 1995-121s.

Katz Ts.B. Biophysics at physics lessons. - M: Enlightenment, 1971-158s.

Perelman Ya.I. Entertaining physics. - M: Science, 1976-432s.

Artamonov V.I. Interesting plant physiology. – M.: Agropromizdat, 1991.

Arabadzhi V.I. Riddles of plain water.- M .: "Knowledge", 1973.

http://www.pereplet.ru/obrazovanie/stsoros/163.html

http://www.npl-rez.ru/litra/bios.htm

http:// www.ionization.ru

Plants respond not only to the sound waves of music, but also to electromagnetic waves from the earth, the moon, planets, space and a variety of artificial devices. It remains only to determine exactly which waves are useful and which are harmful.

One evening in the late 1720s, the French writer and astronomer Jean-Jacques Dertous de Mairan was watering Mimosa pudica indoor mimosas in his Paris studio. Suddenly, he was surprised to find that after sunset, a sensitive plant folds its leaves in exactly the same way as if they were touched by a hand. Meran was distinguished by an inquisitive mind and won the respect of such prominent contemporaries as Voltaire. He did not jump to conclusions that his plants simply "fall asleep" after dark. Instead, after waiting for the sun to rise, Meran placed the two mimosas in a completely dark closet. At noon, the scientist saw that the mimosa leaves in the closet had fully opened, but after sunset they folded as quickly as those of the mimosa in his studio. Then he concluded that plants must "feel" the sun even in complete darkness.

Meran was interested in everything - from the movement of the moon in its orbit and the physical properties of the northern lights to the causes of the glow of phosphorus and the features of the number 9, but he could not explain the mimosa phenomenon. In his report to the French Academy of Sciences, he timidly suggested that some unknown force must be acting on his plants. Meran here drew parallels with patients in the hospital who experience an extreme breakdown at certain times of the day: maybe they feel this power too?

Two and a half centuries later, Dr. John Ott, director of the Research Institute for Environmental and Light Exposure to Human Health in Sarasota, Florida, was stunned by Meran's observations. Ott repeated his experiments and wondered if this "unknown energy" could penetrate the vast thickness of the earth - the only known barrier capable of blocking the so-called "cosmic radiation".

At noon, Ott lowered six mimosa plants into the shaft to a depth of 220 meters. But unlike Meran's mimosas, placed in a dark pantry, Otta's mimosas immediately closed their leaves without waiting for the sun to set. Moreover, they covered the leaves even when the mine was illuminated by the bright light of electric lamps. Ott related this phenomenon to electromagnetism, about which little was known in Meran's time. Otherwise, however, Ott was as puzzled as his French predecessor, who lived in the 17th century.

Meran's contemporaries knew about electricity only what they inherited from the ancient Hellenes. The ancient Greeks knew the unusual properties of amber (or, as they called it, electron) which, if rubbed well, attracted a feather or a straw to itself. Even before Aristotle, it was known that the magnet, black iron oxide, also had the inexplicable ability to attract iron filings. In one of the regions of Asia Minor, called Magnesia, rich deposits of this mineral were discovered, so it was dubbed magnes lithos, or magnesian stone. Then in Latin this name was shortened to magnes, and in English and other languages ​​to a magnet.

Scientist William Gilbert, who lived in the 16th century, was the first to connect the phenomena of electricity and magnetism. Thanks to his deep knowledge of medicine and philosophy, Gilbert became the personal physician of Queen Elizabeth I. He argued that the planet is nothing more than a spherical magnet, and therefore the magnetic stone, which is part of the animate Mother Earth, also has a "soul". Gilbert also discovered that besides amber, there are other materials that, if rubbed, can attract light objects to themselves. He called them "electricians" and also coined the term "electric force".

For centuries, people believed that the reason for the attraction of amber and the magnet is the "all-pervading ethereal fluids" emitted by these materials. True, few could explain what it is. Even 50 years after Meran's experiments, Joseph Priestley, mostly known as the discoverer of oxygen, wrote in his popular textbook on electricity: philosophers called "electrician". If the body contains fluids more or less than its natural rate, a remarkable phenomenon occurs. The body becomes electrified and able to influence other bodies, which is associated with the effect of electricity.

Another hundred years passed, but the nature of magnetism remained a mystery. As Professor Sylvanus Thompson said shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, “the mysterious properties of magnetism, which for centuries have fascinated all mankind, have remained unexplained. It is necessary to study this phenomenon on an experimental basis, the origin of which is still unknown. A paper published shortly after the end of World War II by the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry stated that man still does not know why the earth is a magnet; how an attractive material reacts to other magnets at a distance; why electric currents have a magnetic field around them; why the smallest atoms of matter occupy huge volumes of empty space filled with energy.

In the three hundred and fifty years that have passed since the publication of Gilbert's famous work "Magnet" (De Magnete), many theories have been created to explain the nature of geomagnetism, but none of them is exhaustive.

The same applies to modern physicists who have simply replaced the theory of "ethereal fluids" with wave "electromagnetic radiation". Its spectrum ranges from huge macro-pulsations lasting several hundred thousand years with wavelengths of millions of kilometers to ultra-short energy pulsations with a frequency of 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 cycles per second and with an infinitesimal length of one ten-billionth of a centimeter. The first type of pulsation is observed during such phenomena as a change in the Earth's magnetic field, and the second - during the collision of atoms, usually helium and hydrogen, moving at great speed. In this case, radiation is emitted, which was given the name "cosmic rays". Between these two extremes there are an infinite number of other waves, including gamma rays originating in the nucleus of an atom; x-rays emanating from the shells of atoms; a series of rays visible to the eye, called light; waves used in radio, television, radar and other fields - from space exploration to microwave cooking.

Electromagnetic waves differ from sound waves in that they can pass not only through matter, but also through nothing. They move at a tremendous speed of 300 million kilometers per second through the vast expanses of space, filled, as previously thought, with ether, and now with almost absolute vacuum. But no one has yet really explained how these waves propagate. One eminent physicist complained that "we simply cannot explain the mechanism of this damned magnetism."

In 1747, a German physicist from Wittenberg told the French abbot and physics teacher of the Dauphin Jean Antoine Nollet about an interesting phenomenon: if you pump water into the thinnest tube and let it flow freely, it will flow out of the tube slowly, drop by drop. But if the tube is electrified, then the water will flow out immediately, in a continuous stream. After repeating the German's experiments and setting up a number of his own, Nolle "began to believe that the properties of electricity, if properly used, could have a remarkable effect on structured bodies, which in a sense can be regarded as hydraulic machines created by nature itself." Nollet placed several plants in metal pots next to the conductor and noticed with excitement that the plants began to evaporate moisture faster. Then Nolle conducted many experiments in which he meticulously weighed not only daffodils, but also sparrows, pigeons and cats. As a result, he found that electrified plants and animals lose weight faster.

Nolle decided to test how the phenomenon of electricity affects the seeds. He planted several dozen mustard seeds in two tin boxes and electrified one of them from 7 to 10 am and from 3 to 8 pm for seven consecutive days. By the end of the week, all the seeds in the electrified container had germinated and reached an average height of 3.5 cm. Only three seeds hatched in the non-electric container, growing only to 0.5 cm. Although Nolle could not explain the reasons for the observed phenomenon, in in his voluminous report to the French Academy of Sciences, he noted that electricity has a huge impact on the growth of living things.

Nolle made his conclusion a few years before the new sensation that swept through Europe. Benjamin Franklin was able to capture the electricity from a lightning strike with a kite he flew during a thunderstorm. When lightning hit the metal tip of the kite frame, the charge traveled down the wet string and hit the Leyden jar - the accumulator of electricity. This device was developed at the University of Leiden and was used to store electrical charge in an aquatic environment; the discharge took place in the form of a single electric spark. Until now, it was believed that only static electricity produced by a static electricity generator could be stored in a Leiden jar.

While Franklin was collecting electricity from the clouds, the brilliant astronomer Pierre Charles Lemonnier, admitted to the French Academy of Sciences at the age of 21 and later making a sensational discovery about the inclination of the ecliptic, determined that there was a constant electrical activity in the Earth's atmosphere even in sunny cloudless weather. But how exactly this ubiquitous electricity interacts with plants remains a mystery.

The next attempt to use atmospheric electricity to increase the fruiting of plants was made in Italy. In 1770, Professor Gardini strung several wires over the garden of a monastery in Turin. Soon, many plants began to wither and die. But as soon as the monks removed the wires over their garden, the plants immediately revived. Gardini suggested that either the plants stopped receiving the dose of electricity needed for growth, or the dose of electricity received was excessive. One day, Gardini learned that in France, the brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier (Joseph-Michel, Jacques-Et-ienne Montgolfier) ​​built a huge balloon filled with warm air and sent it on an air trip over Paris with two passengers on board. Then the balloon flew a distance of 10 km in 25 minutes. Gardini proposed to apply this new invention in horticulture. To do this, you need to attach a long wire to the ball, through which electricity from a height will go down to the ground, to garden plants.

Scientists of that time did not pay any attention to the events in Italy and France: even then they were more interested in the effect of electricity on inanimate objects than on living organisms. Scientists were also not interested in the work of Abbé Bertholon, who in 1783 wrote the voluminous treatise "Electricity of Plants" (De l "Electricite des Vegetaux). Bertolon was a professor of experimental physics at French and Spanish universities and fully supported Nollet's idea that that, by changing the viscosity, or hydraulic resistance, of the liquid medium in a living organism, electricity thereby affects

On the process of its growth. He also referred to the report of the Italian physicist Giuseppe Toaldo, who described the effect of electricity on plants. Toaldo noticed that in the planted row of jasmine bushes, two of them were next to the lightning rod. It was these two bushes that grew 10 meters in height, while the rest of the bushes were only 1.5 meters.

Bertolon, reputed to be almost a sorcerer, asked the gardener to stand on something that did not conduct electricity before watering the plants from an electrified watering can. He reported that his salads had grown to an incredible size. He also invented the so-called "electrovegetometer" to collect atmospheric electricity with an antenna and pass it through the plants growing in the fields. “This tool,” he wrote, “affects the process of growth and development of plants, it can be used in any conditions, in any weather. Only cowardly and cowardly people, who, hiding behind the mask of prudence, can doubt its effectiveness and usefulness, are panicky afraid of everything new. In conclusion, the abbot explicitly stated that in the future the best fertilizers in the form of electricity would be delivered free of charge to plants "straight from heaven."

The remarkable idea that electricity interacts with all living things and even penetrates them through and through, was developed in November 1780. The wife of a scientist from Bologna, Luigi Galvani, accidentally noticed that a static electricity generator causes convulsive contractions in the cut off leg of a frog. When she told her husband about this, he was very surprised and immediately assumed that electricity was of animal origin. On Christmas Eve, he decided that this was the case, and wrote in his work diary: “Most likely, electricity is the causative agent of neuromuscular activity.”

Over the next six years, Galvani studied the effect of electricity on the functioning of muscles, and one day accidentally discovered that frog legs twitch with the same success and without the use of electricity, when a copper wire with suspended legs touches an iron rod when the wind blows. For Galvani, it became obvious that in this closed electrical circuit, either metals or frogs could be the source of electricity. Considering that electricity has an animal nature, he concluded that the observed phenomenon is associated with animal tissue and such a reaction is a consequence of the circulation of the vital fluid (energy) of the bodies of frogs. Galvani dubbed this fluid "animal electricity".

Galvani's discovery was initially supported by his compatriot Alessandro Volta, a physicist at the University of Pavia in the Duchy of Milan. But by repeating Galvani's experiments, Volta was able to produce the effect of electricity with just two kinds of metals. He wrote to Abbé Tommaselli that apparently the electricity did not come from the legs of a frog, but simply "the result of the use of two metals with different properties." Having delved into the study of the electrical properties of metals, in 1800 Volta created the first electric battery. It was a stack of alternating zinc and copper discs with pieces of damp paper between them. It was instantly charged and could be used as a source of current countless times, and not just once, like a Leyden jar. So researchers for the first time ceased to depend on static and natural electricity. As a result of the invention of this progenitor of the modern battery, artificial dynamic or kinetic electricity was discovered. The idea of ​​Galvani about the existence of a special vital energy in the tissues of living organisms was almost forgotten.

At first, Volta supported Galvani's discoveries, but later he wrote: “Galvani's experiments are certainly spectacular. But if we discard his beautiful ideas and assume that the organs of animals are devoid of their own electrical activity, then they can be regarded as just the latest supersensitive electrometers. Shortly before his death, Galvani made a prophetic statement that one day an analysis of all the necessary physiological aspects of his experiments "will help to better understand the nature of the vital forces and their differences depending on sex, age, temperament, diseases and even the composition of the atmosphere." But scientists reacted to him with distrust and considered his ideas untenable.

A few years earlier, the Hungarian Jesuit Maximilian Hell, unfamiliar with Galvani, picked up Gilbert's ideas about the animation of the magnet, which conveys this quality to other metal-containing materials. Armed with this idea, he made an unusual device from magnetized steel plates, with the help of which he was cured of chronic rheumatism. Hell's success in healing sick people made a great impression on his friend, the Viennese physician Franz Anton Mesmer, who became interested in magnetism after reading the works of Paracelsus. Then Mesmer took up the experimental verification of Hell's work and became convinced that living matter is indeed influenced by "terrestrial and celestial magnetic forces." In 1779, he called these forces "animal magnetism" and devoted his doctoral dissertation to them, "The Influence of the Planets on the Human Body." One day, Mesmer learned of a Swiss priest, J. Gassner, who healed his patients by the laying on of hands. Mesmer successfully adopted Gassner's technique and explained the effectiveness of this method of healing by the fact that some people, including himself, are endowed with more "magnetic" power than others.

It would seem that such amazing discoveries of bioelectrical and biomagnetic energy could mark a new era of research that combines physics, medicine and physiology. But the new era had to wait at least another hundred years. Mesmer's success in healing against the backdrop of the failure of everyone else aroused the black envy of his Viennese colleagues. They called Mesmer a demon-possessed sorcerer and organized a commission to investigate his claims. The conclusion of the commission was not in his favor, and then Mesmer was expelled from the teaching staff of the medical faculty and forbidden to treat people.

In 1778 he moved to Paris, where, as he said, he met "people more enlightened and not so indifferent to new discoveries." There, Mesmer found a powerful supporter of his new methods, Charles d "Eslon, the first doctor at the court of Louis XVI's brother, who introduced Mesmer to influential circles. But soon everything happened again: now envy seized the French doctors, as Mesmer's Austrian colleagues once did. They raised such a fuss that the king was forced to appoint a royal commission to investigate Mesmer's statements, and this despite the fact that d "Eslon at a meeting of the medical faculty of the University of Paris called Mesmer's work "one of the greatest scientific achievements of our time." The royal commission included the director of the French Academy of Sciences, who in 1772 solemnly proclaimed that meteorites did not exist; The commission was chaired by the American ambassador Benjamin Franklin. The commission concluded that "animal magnetism does not exist and has no healing effect." Mesmer was exposed to public ridicule, and his great popularity began to fade. He left for Switzerland and in 1815, a year before his death, completed his most important work: “Mesmerism or a system of mutual influences; or Theory and Practice of Animal Magnetism.

In 1820, the Danish scientist Hans Christian Oersted discovered that if you place a compass next to a live wire, the arrow always takes a position perpendicular to the wire. When you change the direction of the current, the arrow turns 180°. From this it followed that around the wire under voltage there is a magnetic field. This led to the most profitable invention in the history of science. Michael Faraday in England and Joseph Henry in the USA independently concluded that the opposite phenomenon must also exist: when a wire moves through a magnetic field, an electric current is generated in the wire. Thus, the “generator” was invented, and with it the whole army of electrical appliances.

Today there are a huge number of books about what a person can do with electricity. In the US Library of Congress, books on this topic occupy seventeen thirty-meter shelves. But the essence of electricity and the principles of its work remain the same mystery as in the days of Priestley. Modern scientists, still unaware of the composition of electromagnetic waves, have cleverly adapted them for use in radio, radar, television, and toasters.

With such a one-sided interest only in the mechanical properties of electromagnetism, very few paid attention to its effects on living beings. Baron Karl von Reichenbach of Tubingen, Germany, was one of the few alternative thinkers. In 1845, he invented various wood tar-based substances, including creosote, which is used to protect above-ground fences and underwater structures made of wood from decay. According to Reichenbach's observations, especially gifted people, whom he called "psychics", could see with their own eyes a strange energy emanating from all living organisms and even from the ends of a magnet. He called this energy odil or od. Reichenbach's works - Researches into the Forces of Magnetism, Electricity, Heat and Light in Relation to the Force of Life - were translated into English by the eminent physician William Gregory appointed in 1844 professor of chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. Despite this, all attempts by Reichenbach to prove the existence of od to his contemporaries-physiologists in England and Europe - from the very beginning failed.

Reichenbach named the reason for such a contemptuous attitude towards his “odic power”: “As soon as I touch this subject, I immediately feel that I am hurting scientists to the quick. They equate od and psychic abilities with so-called "animal magnetism" and "mesmerism". As soon as this happens, all sympathy immediately evaporates. According to Reichenbach, the identification of ods with animal magnetism is completely unfounded, and although the mysterious odic force somewhat resembles animal magnetism, it exists completely independently of the latter.

Wilhelm Reich later argued that “the ancient Greeks and contemporaries, starting with Gilbert, dealt with a completely different kind of energy that they had studied since the time of Volta and Faraday. The second type of energy was obtained by moving wires through magnetic fields, this energy differs from the first type not only in the way it is received, but also in its nature.

Reich believed that the ancient Greeks, using the principle of friction, discovered a mysterious energy, to which he gave the name "orgone". It is very similar to the ode of Reichenbach and the ether of the ancients. Reich argued that orgone fills all space and is the medium in which light, electromagnetic waves, and the force of gravity propagate. Orgone fills the entire cosmos, though not uniformly everywhere, and is present even in a vacuum. Reich considered orgone as the main link connecting inorganic and organic matter. By the 1960s, shortly after Reich's death, there was too much evidence that living organisms were electrical in nature. D. S. Halasi, in his book on orthodox science, put it very simply: “The flow of electrons is the basis of almost all life processes.”

Between the Reichenbach and the Reich, scientists, instead of studying natural phenomena in their entirety, began to disassemble them into small components - and this, in part, became the cause of all the difficulties in science. At the same time, the gap between the so-called life sciences and physics, which believed only in the existence of what can be directly seen with the eyes or measured with instruments, widened. Somewhere in the middle was chemistry, which sought to break matter into molecules. By artificially combining and grouping molecules, chemists have synthesized countless new substances.

In 1828, for the first time, an organic substance, urea, was obtained under laboratory conditions. The artificial synthesis of organic substances seemed to destroy the idea of ​​the existence of any special "life" aspect in living matter. With the discovery of cells, the biological counterparts of classical Greek philosophy's atoms, scientists began to look at plants, animals, and humans as just different combinations of these cells. In other words, a living organism is just a chemical aggregate. In the light of such ideas, few people have the desire to understand electromagnetism and its influence on living matter. Nevertheless, individual "renegades" from science from time to time drew general attention to questions about the influence of space on plants, and thus did not allow the discoveries of Nollet and Bertolon to sink into oblivion.

Overseas in North America, William Ross, testing claims that electrified seeds germinate faster, planted cucumbers in a mixture of black manganese oxide, table salt, and pure sand, and watered them with dilute sulfuric acid. When he passed an electric current through the mixture, the seeds germinated much faster than non-electrified ones planted in a similar mixture. A year later, in 1845, in the first issue of the London Journal of the Horticultural Society, a lengthy report entitled "The Effect of Electricity on Plants" was published. The author of the report was agriculturist Edward Solly, who, like Gardini, hung wires over the garden and, like Ross, tried to put them underground. Solli did seventy experiments with various grains, vegetables, and flowers. Of the seventy cases studied, only nineteen showed a positive effect of electricity on plants, and about the same number of cases - a negative one.

Such conflicting results indicated that for each plant species the quantity, quality and duration of electrical stimulation is of great importance. But physicists did not have the necessary equipment to measure the effects of electricity on different species, and they did not yet know how artificial and atmospheric electricity affects plants. Therefore, this area of ​​​​research was left to the mercy of persistent and curious gardeners or "eccentrics". However, there were more and more observations that plants have electrical properties.

In 1859, in one of the issues of the London Gardeners' Chronicle, a report was published of light flashes from one scarlet vervain to another. The report mentioned that this phenomenon was especially clearly visible at dusk before a thunderstorm after a long period of dry weather This confirmed Goethe's observations that Oriental poppy flowers glow in the dark.

Only at the end of the nineteenth century in Germany did new data appear that shed light on the nature of atmospheric electricity discovered by Lemonnier. Julius Elster and Hans Geitel (Julius Elster, Hans Geitel), interested in "radioactivity" - the spontaneous emission of inorganic substances - began a large-scale study of atmospheric electricity. In the course of this study, it turned out that the soil of the earth constantly emits electrically charged particles into the air. They were given the name ions (from the Greek present participle ienai, which means "going"), these were atoms, groups of atoms or molecules that, after losing or gaining electrons, had a positive or negative charge. Lemonnier's observation that the atmosphere was constantly filled with electricity finally received at least some material explanation.

In clear, cloudless weather, the Earth has a negative charge, and the atmosphere has a positive one, then the electrons from the soil and plants tend upwards, into the sky. During a thunderstorm, the polarity is reversed: the Earth acquires a positive charge, and the lower layers of clouds a negative charge. At any moment, 3-4 thousand "electric" thunderstorms rage over the surface of the globe, therefore, due to them, the charge lost in the solar regions is restored, and thus the general electrical balance of the Earth is maintained.

As a result of the constant flow of electricity, the electrical voltage increases with distance from the surface of the Earth. Between the head of a person 180 cm tall and the ground, the voltage is 200 volts; from the top of a 100-story skyscraper to the sidewalk, the voltage increases to 40,000 volts, and between the lower ionosphere and the Earth's surface, the voltage is 360,000 volts. It sounds intimidating, but in fact, due to the lack of a strong particle current, these volts do not turn into deadly energy. A person could learn how to use this colossal energy, but the main difficulty here is that he did not understand how and according to what laws this energy functions.

New attempts to investigate the effect of atmospheric electricity on plants have been made by Selim Lemström, a Finnish scientist with varied interests. Lemström was considered an expert on the aurora and terrestrial magnetism, and from 1868 to 1884. made four expeditions to the polar regions of Svalbard and Lapland. He assumed that the luxuriant vegetation of these latitudes, attributed to the long summer days, was in fact due, in his words, to "this intense manifestation of electricity, the northern lights."

It has been known since Franklin's time that atmospheric electricity is best attracted by sharp objects, and it was this observation that led to the creation of the lightning rod. Lemström reasoned that "the sharp tops of plants act as lightning rods for collecting atmospheric electricity and facilitating the exchange of charges between air and earth." He studied the annual rings on the saw cuts of fir trees and found that the amount of annual growth is clearly correlated with periods of increased activity of the sun and the northern lights.

Returning home, the scientist decided to back up his observations with experiments. He connected a row of plants in metal pots to a static electricity generator. To do this, he stretched wires at a height of 40 cm above the plants, from which metal rods descended to the ground in pots. Other plants were left alone. After eight weeks, the electrified plants gained 50% more weight than the non-electrified ones. When Lemström moved his design to the garden, the barley crop grew by a third, and the strawberry crop doubled. Moreover, it turned out to be much sweeter than usual.

Landström carried out a long series of experiments in different parts of Europe, at different latitudes, as far south as Burgundy; the results depended not only on the specific type of vegetable, fruit or cereal, but also on temperature, humidity, natural fertility and fertilization of the soil. In 1902, Landström described his progress in the book "Electro Cultur", published in Berlin. The term was included in Liberty Hyde Bailey's Standard Encyclopedia of Horticulture.

An English translation of Lendström's book, Electricity in Agriculture and Horticulture, went out of print in London two years after the German original. The introduction to the book contained a rather harsh, but as it turned out later, true warning. The subject matter of the book concerns three separate disciplines—physics, botany, and agronomy—and is unlikely to be "particularly attractive" to scientists. However, this warning did not deter one of the readers - Sir Oliver Lodge (Oliver Lodge). He made outstanding progress in physics and later became a member of the London Society for Psychical Research. Wrote a dozen books confirming his belief that there are many more worlds beyond the material world.

To avoid the long and complicated manipulation of moving the wires up as the plants grew, Lodge placed the network of wires on insulators suspended from tall poles, thus allowing people, animals and machinery to move freely through the electrified fields. In one season, Lodge managed to increase the yield of one of the wheat varieties by 40%. Moreover, the bakers noted that the bread made from Lodge flour turned out to be much tastier than the flour that they usually bought.

Lodge's associate John Newman adopted his system and achieved a 20% increase in wheat in England and potatoes in Scotland. Newman's strawberries were not only more prolific, they, like Landstrom's strawberries, were juicier and sweeter than usual. As a result of the tests carried out, the sugar content in Newman's sugar beet exceeded the average norm. By the way, Newman published a report on the results of his research not in a botanical journal, but in the fifth edition of the Standard Book for Electrical Engineers, published in New York by the large and authoritative publishing house McGraw-Hill ). Since then, engineers have become more interested in the effect of electricity on plants than plant growers.