by  David Talbott
Thunderbolts.info

from Rense Website

Part I
February 2, 2006

Credit: Photograph taken by the Leonid Kulik expedition in 1930.

Shattered trees from the now-famous "Tunguska Event" testified to the force of the mysterious aerial explosion.
 

(No one can dispute the occurrence, but how it happened is the subject of continuing, and often heated, controversy. Despite the best efforts of science, every acceptable "explanation" leaves inescapable facts still shouting for attention.)

The event began at about 7:15 on the morning of June 30, 1908 in a remote region of central Siberia near the Stony Tunguska River. A blue-white fireball -- brighter than the Sun, some said -- raced across the sky, then exploded with the force of a 10- to 15-megaton hydrogen bomb.

The explosion felled some 60 million trees across an area of 2000 square kilometers. Yet some trees near the blast center were not burnt and a ring of burnt trees circling the epicenter was left standing. The thunderous sounds were accompanied by a shock wave that knocked people off their feet and broke windows hundreds of kilometers away.

The explosion registered on seismic stations across Europe and Asia, and as far away as Britain meteorologists registered fluctuations in atmospheric pressure. The resulting pulse of air pressure circled the Earth twice, and astronomers observed for several nights afterwards a glowing red haze in the upper atmosphere, though they were not aware of the cause at the time. Curiously, reports of an unusually bright night sky began THE NIGHT BEFORE THE TUNGUSKA EVENT and continued for several days afterwards.

For the next few weeks, reports suggest that the night skies were aglow to such an extent that one could read in their light. Both the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Mount Wilson Observatory reported a decrease in atmospheric transparency persisting for several months.

What, then, was experienced by the witnesses to the event: Accounts gathered by the Russian mineralogist Leonid Kulik, in his 1930 expedition to the site of the explosion are consistent enough on many details to be considered generally reliable. Here is an excerpt from the account of resident Semen Semenov:

"At breakfast time I was sitting by the house at Vanavara factory facing North. [...] I suddenly saw that directly to the North, over Onkoul’s Tunguska road, the sky split in two and fire appeared high and wide over the forest. The split in the sky grew larger, and the entire Northern side was covered with fire. At that moment I became so hot that I couldn’t bear it, as if my shirt was on fire; from the northern side, where the fire was, came strong heat.

"I wanted to tear off my shirt and throw it down, but then the sky shut closed, and a strong thump sounded, and I was thrown a few yards. I lost my senses for a moment, but then my wife ran out and led me to the house. After that such noise came, as if rocks were falling or cannons were firing, the earth shook, and when I was on the ground, I pressed my head down, fearing rocks would smash it. When the sky opened up, hot wind raced between the houses, like from cannons, which left traces in the ground like pathways, and it damaged some crops. Later we saw that many windows were shattered."

Kulik’s expedition to the Tunguska explosion site was inspired by his belief that a gigantic meteorite struck the area and that the iron recovered could pay for the cost of the expedition. He received support from the Soviet Academy of Sciences. The story is curiously similar to Daniel Barringer’s investigation of Meteor Crater in Arizona -- except that in Kulik’s case neither a meteor nor an "impact crater" could be found.

However, a later investigation by mineralogist O. A. Kirova recovered both magnetite globules and various forms of silicate globules from samples obtained by Kiril Pavlovich Florensky’s expedition in 1958. Thousands of "tiny brilliant spheres," many fused together, were found embedded like pellets in the earth and in the trees. Globules of this sort are characteristic of the enigmatic particles produced when meteoroids enter the atmosphere. (As we shall note in the submission to follow, the study of such formations leaves many unanswered questions.) The Tunguska globules occur over a fairly well-defined ellipse, with high concentrations between 100 and 200 kilometers to the north-north-west of the epicenter. Florensky suggested that this distribution might be explained by fallout downwind of the high-altitude location of the final explosion.

Most astronomers today envision the cause of the destruction as either a small comet or asteroid exploding a few miles above the surface. Some estimates point to an object 100 meters in diameter. According to the calculations of Christopher Chyba of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, only a stony meteorite would explode at an altitude of 10 kilometers, the commonly agreed height of the Tunguska blast. A comet of the assumed size would disintegrate much higher in the atmosphere and cause less damage on the ground.

Yet scientists are still arguing over certain unexplained events and the fact that no samples of the "impacting" object have ever been found. "If a group of experts cannot agree for almost a hundred years, it’s probably a third option," says Wolfgang Kundt, an astrophysicist from the University of Bonn in Germany.

Andrei Ol’Khovatov, an independent Russian physicist who is intrigued by the Tunguska event, agrees that the impact theory leaves too many unanswered questions. He points out, for example, that witnesses reported strange weather and increased seismic activity in the area for days BEFOREHAND.

The absence of a coherent explanation has inspired a host of speculations. Some exotic theories suggest a miniature black hole passing through the earth, or a miniature "bomb" of anti-matter. Alternatively, either an exploding alien spacecraft, or an alien-produced nuclear bomb has been offered. Some suggest that it was Tesla testing his "death ray". As a light-hearted jest amid the carnival of speculations, electrical theorists wonder if a "microscopic packet of neutronium" (the fictional content of "neutron stars") might be the next explanation offered.


Part 2
February 3, 2006

Caption: Pictures such as this, taken by the Leonid Kulik expedition in 1930, show the directional fall of trees over a wide area.
 

An Explanation that Works

(It seems that scientific investigation has left the mystery of the fiery Tunguska explosion unresolved. From the beginning, the debate excluded the electric force, the one force that allows for a unified solution and excludes no field of evidence.)

Proponents of the "Electric Universe" ask that this new perspective on the physical world be judged by its predictive ability, and its ability to explain all relevant data. In accounting for the Tunguska event they insist that, unlike prior "explanations", the Electric Universe does not leave a substantial body of evidence unexplained.
 

The extraordinary power of the high-energy explosion above ground

The most likely origin of the object that caused the Tunguska event is the short-period comet Encke, the acknowledged source of the Beta Taurid meteor shower. On June 30, the shower was at its peak. In the electric model of comets, the energy released when a comet fragment encounters the Earth is not limited by the mass and kinetic energy of the fragment, but includes the electrical energy due to the charge differential between it and the Earth. This stored electrical energy also accounts for the "astonishing" explosion that occurred when the Deep Impact probe (below) met up with Comet Tempel 1.

Calculations of the mass and size of the Tunguska bolide, based solely on mechanical considerations, will be exaggerated. This, of course, has implications when searching for fragments that survived the fall.
 

Repeated testimony of strange sounds before the event

In terms of the speed of sound in Earth’s atmosphere, the reports of weird sounds in advance appear absurd. But they are entirely plausible as "electrophonic sounds" heard either before, or simultaneous with, the sighting of brilliant meteor fireballs up to 100km distant. Electrophonic sounds signify the direct conversion, by transduction, of very low frequency electromagnetic energy into audible sounds (through a medium that can be as simple as a gold tooth filling or a pair of glasses). Abundant reports of peculiar sounds in connection with meteors, auroras, earthquakes and even nuclear bomb tests are sufficient to substantiate the effect. The cause is most easily understood as a natural resonance of an extensive plasma discharge in the Earth’s atmosphere (or underground in the case of earthquakes). In the case of an approaching comet, the incoming body is electrified with respect to the Earth.
 

The glowing of the sky before the event

In the electric solar system, the planets and all comets have plasma sheaths that isolate them electrically from the solar plasma. When two plasma sheaths "touch", the two bodies "see" each other electrically for the first time. Comets have plasma sheaths that are millions of kilometers in diameter. So even at their high speed their electrical effect could be felt days in advance of a physical encounter. In such instances, the electrical effect upon the Earth may take the form of unusual auroral displays. The prior "sky glows" associated with Tunguska could also be due to cometary fragments, lying along the comet’s orbit in advance of the comet nucleus, entering the stratosphere and reflecting sunlight long after sunset. Of course, a simple "asteroidal" explanation of Tunguska cannot address either this phenomenon, or any of the other advanced signs of the intruder’s approach (noted below).
 

Reports of strange weather before the event

In an electric solar system electric currents flowing between the solar plasma and the planets are the primary factors driving Earth’s weather patterns. In fact, the most violent winds occur on planets most distant from the Sun, where solar heating is negligible. Ice-cold Neptune, the gas giant farthest from Earth, has 2,000 km/h winds! When seen in these terms, it becomes clear that an electrical disturbance might be evident in the form of unusual weather days before the arrival of a comet.
 

Reports of strange seismic activity before the event

New evidence links earthquakes to the occurrence of "underground lightning". A minor electrical disturbance of the Earth, due to the intrusion of a charged body, could indeed trigger earthquakes, in the same way that electrical sunspot activity influences earthquakes.
 

Geomagnetic effects before the event

Professor Weber of Kiel University observed unusual regular periodic deviations of the compass needle. This effect was repeated each evening from 27 June through 30 June 1908. The recordings looked like geomagnetic storms, usually associated with solar electrical activity. This time the approaching comet was the most likely source of the electrical disturbance. The duration of the storms indicates that comets are a copious source of electrons. That is, comets are highly negatively charged with respect to the inner solar system. Their influence can be vastly greater than mere gravitational and inertial considerations would suggest.
 

Global atmospheric pressure pulse

The Earth’s atmosphere forms the dielectric of a capacitor with the two "plates" of the capacitor being the Earth and the ionosphere.

The comet’s electrical disturbance will cause pressure pulses in the atmosphere before the comet arrives as well as upon arrival. It is noteworthy in this respect that a giant ionospheric disturbance accompanied the magnitude 9.3 Sumatra earthquake of 26 December 2004. The ionosphere moved up and down by about 40 km! And changes in the ionosphere have been registered 5 to 10 days before an earthquake.
 

Missing crater

At a comet’s closest approach, a plasma discharge takes place between the Earth and the comet. The comet is fragmented explosively by internal electrical stresses, and all of the fragments may be melted or vaporized in a plasma discharge so that no impact crater is formed. An interesting fact is that the Tunguska epicenter almost exactly coincides with the muzzle of a Triassic volcano. Volcanoes are the focus of electric discharge activity and may retain an electrical conductivity different from that of the surrounding crust. This fact can only accentuate the argument that the blast was electrical.
 

Absence of meteoric fragments

If we had to rely on the fireball and air friction alone to heat the bolide or to break it apart, we should expect to find stony remnants. However, as noted above, most or all of the comet fragments will be melted and vaporized in the plasma discharge. Also, "ground zero" is the focus of the plasma discharge between the Earth and the comet. It is not the site of any impact and we should not expect to find cometary fragments there.
 

Instantaneous eruption of fire across hundreds of square kilometers

The plasma discharge between the comet and the Earth would have had many strange effects in the atmosphere and at ground level unlike anything ever experienced by the inhabitants. In addition to fires started by radiation from the fireball, electrically ignited fires would have been started at the same instant over a wide area.
 

Frightful lightning and thunder in the midst of the firestorm

Unusual lightning, such as St. Elmo’s fire and ball lightning would have been generated at the Earth’s surface. Lightning would have struck from a clear blue sky. (See addendum to this discussion below.)
 

Blast of heat along with a shock wave many kilometers away from the explosion

Wherever the discharges touch down there will be sudden heating of the air and a blast. Touchdown points may be a considerable distance from the bolide’s track and the explosion center.
 

Presence of microscopic glassy spherules over a large area

The final result of the explosive fragmentation, melting and vaporization of the bolide will be a spray of glassy spherules beyond the point where the main plasma discharge and explosion took place. The creation of spherules by electric discharge and electrical fusing, a common effect of lightning, is now well demonstrated in the laboratory.

Almost 100 years after the event, the specialists are still debating whether the exploding object was a comet or an asteroid. Conventional proponents of the comet explanation note the presence of cometary material in the ground over a wide area. Proponents of the asteroid or meteor hypothesis say that a fragile comet would be destroyed too high in the atmosphere. The debate is entirely irrelevant from an electrical vantage point.

Comets, asteroids, and meteors have the same origins and are formed in the same way. It is the contemporary mythology of comets that suggests they are fragile "icy dirtballs." An asteroid large enough to hold its charge while moving on a highly elliptical (comet-like orbit) through the Sun’s electric field, would become a comet irrespective of its composition. In fact, we have an instance of this occurring when the asteroid Chiron, on a chaotic orbit between Saturn and Uranus, unexpectedly sported a tail and became classified as a comet.

In considering theories of the Tunguska event, certain questions must be asked without prejudice. Does a proposed explanation address all of the facts? Are the facts predictable under the proposed explanation? Is there anything we should expect to find that has not been found? The electric theorists are confident that, if official science will withdraw its investment in a discredited, electrically sterile view of the physical universe, the answers to these questions will be obvious.
 

ADDENDUM

In the case of the Tunguska event, some of the most compelling evidence comes from those who experienced the terror first hand. In 1928, I. M. Suslov recorded the following testimony from a member of Shanyagir tribe (this taken from the Wikipedia site):

"We had a hut by the river with my brother Chekaren. We were sleeping. Suddenly we both woke up at the same time. Somebody shoved us. We heard whistling and felt strong wind. Chekaren said, "can you hear all those birds flying overhead?" We were both in the hut, couldn’t see what was going on outside. Suddenly, I got shoved again, this time so hard I fell into the fire. I got scared. Chekaren got scared too. We started crying for out father, mother, brother, but no one answered.

"There was noise beyond the hut, we could hear trees falling down. Me and Chekaren got out of our sleeping bags and wanted to run out, but then the thunder struck. This was the first thunder. The Earth began to move and rock, wind hit our hut and knocked it over. My body was pushed down by sticks, but my head was in the clear. Then I saw a wonder: trees were falling, the branches were on fire, it became mighty bright, how can I say this, as if there was a second sun, my eyes were hurting, I even closed them. It was like what the Russians call lightning. And immediately there was a loud thunderclap. This was the second thunder. The morning was sunny, there were no clouds, our Sun was shining brightly as usual, and suddenly there came a second one!

Me and Chekaren had some difficulty getting under from the remains of our hut. Then we saw that above, but in a different place, there was another flash, and loud thunder came. This was the third thunder strike. Wind came again, knocked us off our feet, struck against the fallen trees.

"We looked at the fallen trees, watched the tree tops get snapped off, watched the fires. Suddenly Chekaren yelled "Look up" and pointed with his hand. I looked there and saw another flash, and it made another thunder. But the noise was less than before. This was the fourth strike, like normal thunder.

"Now I remember well there was also one more thunder strike, but it was small, and somewhere far away, where the Sun goes to sleep".