Homopolar Generator - Astrophysical Unipolar Inductors

Astrophysical Unipolar Inductors

Unipolar inductors occur in astrophysics where a conductor rotates through a magnetic field, for example, the movement of the highly conductive plasma in a cosmic body's ionosphere through its magnetic field. In their book, Cosmical Electrodynamics, Hannes Alfvén and Carl-Gunne Fälthammar write:

"Since cosmical clouds of ionized gas are generally magnetized, their motion produces induced electric fields For example the motion of the magnetized interplanetary plasma produces electric fields that are essential for the production of aurora and magnetic storms"
".. the rotation of a conductor in a magnetic field produces an electric field in the system at rest. This phenomenon is well known from laboratory experiments and is usually called 'homopolar ' or 'unipolar' induction.

Unipolar inductors have been associated with the aurorae on Uranus, binary stars, black holes, galaxies, the Jupiter Io system, the Moon, the Solar Wind, sunspots, and in the Venusian magnetic tail.

Read more about this topic:  Homopolar Generator