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donkey

Feb 26, 2011
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actually i just wiki'ed it.
I thought the earths magnetic pole could be used for making a small current, it turns out I was slightly wrong and found telluric current. I can't find too much out on how many volts though or standard current, but I have found that it was used to help telegraph poles in US so I was thinking it would have to be at least 1volts, then that little device you showed us from linear technologies might be useful in upping it to a decent voltage
 

poor mystic

Apr 8, 2011
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Looks to me like telluric currents are getting confused with "Earth Battery" currents.

In many battery designs, dissimilar metals are placed in an electrolyte and the potential that develops between the dissimilar plates is exploited as a voltage source.
In the Earth Battery, the electrolyte is the groundwater, and the single conductor between the plates provides a relatively low resistance path for the resulting current.
I believe that telluric currents due to natural causes could cause noise on such telegraph systems, and could possibly extend the workable length of some stages.
 
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