Potentially dumb question: wouldn't the existence of a global magnetic field already imply the presence of a global electric field? Or is this discovery a separate unrelated electric field?
A permanent magnet produces magnetic field, but not electric field (unless it's electrically charged, but that's usually not the case), so no, magnetic field doesn't automatically imply electric field (charge).
I think OP is asking: if there's a static magnetic field but conductive stuff (say, the oceans) moves through it, doesn that not induce an electric field?
Not a physicist so this may not be related but AFAIU magnetic fields must change to produce current. Just having a magnetic field does not imply electrical current.
0.55 volts. Would this be enough to use for electricity generation (visualising some large, multi-thousand-kilometer cable pole-to-Europe/Canada, for example?) What is the amperage, what could this reasonably be used for?
We might need some superconductors to make use of a voltage that low across distances that great. But we have been making progress on higher-temperature superconductors....
Still, don't hold your breath. We have this awesome geothermal temperature gradient, with hot rocks underneath us if we just dig down a few kilometers, occasionally less. Unfortunately, it's only cost effective to use in a rare few places.
That's not the launch rail exploding, it's a styrofoam box that is built around a portion of the rocket as insulation. The payload was under a warm dry nitrogen purge before launch to keep certain components in good shape. The styrofoam is colored black so that the chunks can be easily collected from the snow.
“ On May 11, 2022, Endurance launched and reached an altitude of 477.23 miles (768.03 kilometers), splashing down 19 minutes later in the Greenland Sea. Across the 322-mile altitude range where it collected data, Endurance measured a change in electric potential of only 0.55 volts.”
