The Richat Structure, also known as the “Eye of the Sahara,” is a prominent circular feature in the Sahara Desert of west-central Mauritania. The structure is 30 miles in diameter and is a good match for Plato’s description of the Lost city of Atlantis.
It is said to have been formed either by the impact of a meteorite or by the erosion of a bubble of molten lava.
Laboratory experiments, however, with electric currents and metallic plates show patterns very similar to the Richat structure, suggesting that it may have been caused by a similar mechanism. That is to say, an enormously powerful electrical discharge was responsible for carving out a section of the Earth’s crust at some time in the past.
The diagram depicts a plasma tornado – a powerful whirlwind of electrically charged air.
These can arise from Marklund currents which are self-organising vortices of alternating wind direction powered by the Earth’s weather system.
The magnetic fields within the tornado will cause, by induction, alternating electrical currents in both the air and rock itself, leading to super-heating and cracking of the rock and very rapid expansion of air causing ultra-sonic shockwaves and wind erosion of the fragmented rocks.
These alternating circles of damage can be clearly seen in the Richat structure and many other such craters on Earth,
As well as circular patterns, electrical discharge can form longitudinal ridges, dykes and square shaped pyramids (right) and even whole mountain ranges comprised of characteristic shapes and features.
From left to right below, Gosses Bluff – Australia, dikes in Mauritania , Vredefort dome – S. Africa
Moon craters have a similar appearance and are thought to be produced by a slightly different mechanism.
Laboratory experiments are consistent with the idea that the craters are created by a direct current discharge.
Many have noted that the depth of craters, particularly on the moon, seems to be independent of the size of meteorite that is supposed to have created them, and have used this to promote theories that the moon is really a hollow spaceship inhabited by aliens.
The electrical discharge theory provides us with an adequate explanation without the need for extra (unproven) assumptions.
Crop circles – Simple crop circles often display the alternating circles typical of plasma tornadoes and this has indeed been proposed as a cause of the phenomenon by Terence Meaden, William Leavengood and even Stephen Hawking.
The plants are subject to mechanical, electromagnetic and thermal stress.
Plasma craters from experiments match real craters
Amusing Planet: The Most Visually Impressive Impact Craters on Earth
Crop circle weekly
Levengood, W.. (1994). Anatomical anomalies in crop formation plants. Physiologia Plantarum. 92. 356 – 363. 10.1111/j.1399-3054.1994.tb05348.x.
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