The End of the Copper Age. Part 1

I am a second-generation inventor with a passion for experimenting with electricity, magnetism, sound, and light. Through my research, I have concluded that the way we currently generate electricity using copper must come to an end. In order for humanity to survive as a species on Earth, we must shift to utilizing light for energy generation. While some may worry about the future of the planet, I am confident that the Earth will recover from any damage caused by human behavior. Eventually, the planet will return to a state where human influence is no longer present.

As a scientist, I often wonder if the pain and struggle of innovation is truly worth it. It’s disheartening to see that even after introducing new energy generation technologies to society, energy resources are still being hoarded for political leverage, leaving those in desperate need of resources behind. It’s frustrating to think that we’re still using fossil fuels or nuclear energy to boil water in order to produce steam to rotate 19th-century-designed electrical generators. Our electrical grid is faltering and was designed in the 50s, which means engineers couldn’t have predicted the number of electrical devices that would be used by today’s ever-growing population of electrical consumers.

Currently, our Sun is experiencing a high level of Coronal Mass Ejections, which poses a threat to the copper power lines that are mounted on telephone poles. These power lines are vulnerable to the immense magnetic energy that is released during a CME event. Although most of these events have not been directed toward Earth, it is highly likely that in the future, a CME event will result in a wave of energy that will convert the magnetic fields into powerful electrical fields, resulting in an increase in electrical energy by a thousandfold. In the 80s, Canada’s electrical grid was severely affected by a Solar flare, leaving Canadians with the challenge of staying warm rather than enjoying the spectacular Northern Lights.

What can I do? I am aware of these “what if” scenarios. I thought by now think tanks or institutions would have presented a solution by now. Maybe this is all theoretical; after all, I use electricity every day and experience no power outages or adverse effects from this electrical generation technology. Perhaps this energy problem will be solved so I can continue my research in light generation. What if we do lose power this summer? What will people in our neighborhood do in the absence of electricity? The thought of having to protect my solar panel arrays and backup generator from an angry mob? Honestly, what would my life be without electricity?

My Personal Experience with Electrical Generation

At the age of 12, I accidentally electrocuted myself trying to remove a broken lightbulb from my bedroom table lamp. After the initial feeling of electrocution, I could taste and smell something metallic. The analogy that comes to mind is angry wasps. Like the time I accidentally cut through a wasp nest with the hedge trimmer. I heard the buzzing and immediately dropped the trimmer and started to run. As I looked down, I could see the shadow of the swarm of wasps directly above my head. That visual kicked in my adrenals as I sprinted across my neighbor’s yards. I’m sure from their perspective, it would have been quite funny to see. Electricity was not what I expected it to be, but I was hooked on learning everything I could about it.

My father was a research and development engineer for GTE Sylvania Lighting for 25 years, retiring with 26 U.S. Patents. The basement was his home laboratory, where he repaired old television sets for friends and family. My dad taught me strict protocols regarding high voltage as electron tube televisions produced enough high voltage to stop your heart. At that age, I was fortunate to learn to respect electricity, even after receiving several more accidental shocks. The worst was the lawnmower sparkplug. I couldn’t believe that a permanent magnet moving past a coil of copper wire could hurt so much. I was literally paralyzed until my legs gave out from under me, which separated my touch from the running lawnmower. I still related the feeling of electrocution to the energy of “angry wasps.”

Ten years later, I had the opportunity and privilege to work at a 100,000-ampere, three-phase, 50,000-volt test laboratory in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The 600-horsepower electric motors required 45 minutes to rotate 12 tons of precision-wrapped copper wire generators to their operating speeds. We partnered with Underwriters Laboratories to test industrial factory circuit breakers, diodes, and fuses. To witness for the first time the generation of such power was too much for my mind to comprehend. The orchestration requires precision timing, monitoring of all support systems, and strict protocols for personal safety. At this level of power generation, one mistake will instantly evaporate your physical body; not even your dental records would be of any use for identification.

After several months of experiencing and managing this high-powered electrical generation process, my health started to decline. The constant exposure to such high levels of electric and magnetic fields stressed my immune system. I was more susceptible to colds. I developed allergies for the first time from the pollen I grew up with here in New England. At the time, my excitement to be working with such an elite group of electrical engineers would dismiss the symptoms as “work-related stress.” 
My curious mind was allowed full reign to design a switching technology precise enough to display exactly where circuit breakers, fuses, and diodes would fail in the three-phase power waveforms. This was cutting-edge research for 1988 that propelled my career into various professional fields of energy generation. 

I began to study the lives and innovations of scientists from Michael Faraday and Marie Curie to Walter Russel and George Gurdjieff. Any topic relating to energy fascinates me as, eventually, I started to connect how they related to one another, from a differential equation to a different electrical circuit, to the positraction limited-slip differential in my 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442. All were algorithms for directing energy.

The Death of Electrical Generation research

Tesla’s Alternating Current technology gained popularity thanks to the support of Tesla’s admirers. Many brilliant engineers, whose names remain unknown, played a crucial role in the success of alternating current generation over Edison’s Direct Current model. Edison was the one who popularized and represented direct current. Similarly, hundreds of unknown engineers contributed to the research and development of direct current generation. The introduction of electricity revolutionized various industries, products, and employment opportunities, ultimately elevating our quality of life. It’s important to recognize that the careers and popularity of both Tesla and Edison were made possible by the brilliance of Michael Faraday.

James Clark Maxwell’s equations and his discoveries regarding electromagnetic radiation are crucial aspects of our understanding of electricity. However, after the implementation of the current electric grid with alternating current, research and development in this field gradually declined. Today, we are limited to using AC electrical generation unless a more efficient alternative is developed. It’s possible that a solar technology could be invented that generates alternating current directly from solar cells, which would be an exciting development for the industry.

The use of solar generators could revolutionize the way we generate electricity by providing a clean and advanced alternative to nineteenth-century electric generators. However, the development and investment in this technology would require the support of many countries and wealthy visionaries. Introducing this technology to engineers who are only familiar with nineteenth-century physics could be a challenge, especially if their livelihood depends on outdated technologies. Despite this, the electrical grid is at risk from solar winds, which have caused massive outages and damages worth millions of dollars in the past. If we were to lose our electricity, our civilization would regress to the days of horse and buggy. Many brilliant minds have come up with innovative solutions, but they remain unsupported due to our over-reliance on a single point of failure.

When we spend a lot of time on something and rely solely on our memory, it can either cause confusion or build our confidence. Nowadays, with our easy access to information, it can be challenging to distinguish the truth from the overwhelming amount of data available. In comparison, a hundred years ago, inventors would document their scientific observations and share them with a select scientific community. However, there were already misunderstandings about the written word’s limitations in describing personal observations. We must be cautious as we might fall into the trap of believing “popular” interpretations of theories rather than the actual discovery of the scientists. The English language is complex, and words can have multiple meanings based on the context. If we rely on the original language of the authors without questioning, we may have different interpretations than the translated version. Furthermore, history itself is a distorted representation of the truth as it reflects the authors’ intentions and social biases of that era. To be continued…