Spinning Earth, Spinning Ideas: Can We Tap Earth’s Rotation for Power?
Here is a fun indulgent nerdy mindchime for Sunday to escape the Trump shitstorm, its exciting and shows that Nikola Tesla the scientist was right! I’ve added what Alan Watts might say about this discovery.
For over a century, physicists have believed that you can’t generate electricity just by spinning along with the Earth’s magnetic field—because you're moving through it symmetrically. It’s like trying to make waves while floating calmly in a still lake. But what if there was a clever way to break that symmetry?
Christopher F. Chyba * Department of Astrophysical Sciences and School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA Kevin P. Hand Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA Thomas H. Chyba Spectral Sensor Solutions, LLC, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111, USA. (Link to the paper at the end of the article)
This team of researchers revisited this old assumption and asked: What if we change the material, shape, and structure of the conductor? Turns out, with the right setup, Earth’s rotation can produce a small but measurable current
Here’s what they did:
* They built a cylindrical shell made of a special material (manganese-zinc ferrite—a kind of soft magnetic ceramic).
* This material was chosen because it allows magnetic fields to “diffuse” through it, making it different from a traditional solid metal conductor.
* They carefully isolated it from all the usual noise—like background electricity, thermoelectric effects, or radio signals.
The result? A small but steady stream of direct current (DC) electricity. Not noise. Not an illusion. Real, measurable power.
Even better:
* The current was strongest when the device was positioned just right relative to Earth’s spin and magnetic field.
* It disappeared when turned the wrong way.
* It flipped direction when rotated again.
* And if they used the wrong kind of material (like a solid block or something with too much resistance), it produced nothing.
This isn’t a new energy source just yet. The voltage is small. But it proves the principle—and that’s a big deal. It suggests that we might, one day, be able to build devices that quietly harvest energy from Earth’s rotation itself, without burning fuel or spinning massive turbines.
It’s early-stage, but it’s real. And it challenges something physics used to say was impossible.
What would Alan Watts the great philosopher who introduced America to Eastern Mysticism?
I can only guess having spent time with His Holiness the Dali Lama and come away with a little understanding of interconnectedness he probably start with nothing is real-
The Turning Earth and the Illusion of Stillness
We live, Alan Watts once said, under the spell of separation—believing ourselves to be spectators of a universe we are in fact woven into. The Earth spins, the stars wheel, and yet we call ourselves “still.” But stillness is a point of view. And physics, too, can be a kind of meditation on illusion.
For years, scientists believed it was impossible to draw power from Earth’s rotation through its own magnetic field. Why? Because if you move with it—if you're part of the ride—then nothing changes. No sparks fly. No electricity flows. You are “inside” the system, and so, as the logic went, you can't witness the change needed to generate energy.
But what if that, too, is a trick of the mind?
A team of researchers recently showed that with the right kind of listening—using a special soft magnetic material shaped not like a wire, but like a shell—Earth's quiet movement can, in fact, be felt. They built a device that doesn’t force electricity into being, but rather allows it to emerge—gently, in tune with the planet’s rhythm.
They placed this shell carefully. Turned it. Aligned it with the Earth’s rotation and magnetic field. And like a wind chime catching the faintest breeze, it sang. A small but real current. A whisper, where physics once expected silence.
Watts might remind us: “You are the universe experiencing itself.”This experiment echoes that idea—not with poetry, but with proof.
We are not outside the system.We are not separate.And even in stillness, something deep within us is moving.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this nerdy deep dive into a mindchime that came across the wire yesterday. The paper is here
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