Overview

What keeps us from flying off the spinning earth? Gravity, you say? But what if gravity has an invisible partner — a powerful force that explains why clouds float, what triggers rainfall, and how birds fly? Could such a force reside in electrical charge? Renowned scientist and author, Gerald Pollack returns with a paradigm-shifting exploration into the profound significance of electricity in nature. Pollack addresses everyday phenomena we often take for granted, revealing a complex web of contradictions. In response, he presents a fresh vision, demonstrating how a simple, direct understanding emerges from recognizing the power of electrical charge. Topics covered range from the origins of weather and gravity to how birds and airplanes fly, and how fish swim. You'll also learn what turns the Earth every 24 hours — and even how sailboats can sail almost directly into the wind.

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9780988778900

Table of Contents

Reviews

​""Delightfully illustrated and perspicuously written, Charged uncovers and untangles spellbinding anomalies of everyday life -- from the unexpected origin of clouds, winds and raindrops to that of falling and flying of objects, animals, and machines -- through the pervasive role of electrical attraction and repulsion in the natural world. Pollack's proposal is profoundly simple, bold, original, democratic, relevant, and grounded. This book shall captivate children and Nobel laureates alike."" --Alex Gómez-Marín, professor of the Spanish Research Council and director of the Pari Center in Italy ""Charged forces you to walk through the world with eyes a lot more open than before; you cannot unsee the many observations once pointed out. It presents a mind-boggling series of paradoxes that scientists seemingly worked around for decades without questioning what now seem to be mere assumptions rather than proven concepts. The material in the book has the potential to be the source of many disruptive technologies across a wide area of applications."" --Achim Hoffmann, PhD, CEO of Ocane Ltd. ""Charged is the book I seriously wish had been available before I entered engineering school many years ago. It is a marvelously readable tour through the underpinnings of how our reality appears to work -- that often flies in the face of convention ... But always makes great sense. Absolutely brilliant!"" --John L. Petersen, Founder and President of the Arlington Institute ""Charged presents a cogent case for alternative theses that challenge the generally accepted theories describing some well-known, but not necessarily well understood phenomena. The theses delve into details that are not always present in the accepted theories and are certainly worthy of serious consideration and further study."" --Susan Schirott, The Thunderbolts Project ""A lot of my culinary creativity and insight is inspired by my motto: question everything. Gerald Pollack is an explorer and visionary who figures out the fundamental questions we all need answers to (even if we haven't realized it yet) and explains them with lucidity and clarity. Charged will open your eyes, your mind and your understanding."" --Heston Blumenthal, award-winning chef, cookbook author and restaurateur, including 3-Michelin-Star The Fat Duck ""A reminder that the true purpose of science is to understand and appreciate the true workings of nature. Charged continues this exploration. It redirects focus to matters that should have been the center of attention long ago."" --Ari Pentilla, CEO of Prorink ""Another foundational book from Gerald Pollack. In this new work, Pollack builds on his discoveries of charge separation in water to extend straight out to the edge of the cosmos. Understanding electrical charges as a veritable counterforce to gravity gives us a new future to shape. This is the next textbook for all our science. I read it with glee. Every new revelation about how Nature works came with a satisfying ""click"" that made sense. Read it in little ""sips"" to hold on to the unveiling of wonder."" --Gina Bria, Founder of Hydration Foundation ""Another proof of Pollack's open mind to look at common phenomena with fresh eyes and question the status quo. And again a very pleasant read, with a very didactic and fun writing style. A must read for students, who should know that what they are taught may not yet be the ultimate truth, and to urge them to explore."" --Everine van de Kraats, PhD, Founder and Director of World Water Lab and World Water Community ""Gerald Pollack has done it again! Pollack guides us masterfully through the complex topic of electrical charge and how it impacts life as we know it. Painting a completely new picture with compelling and captivating writing, Charged is a must-read book for anyone interested in science!"" --Catherine Clintion, Naturopathic Physician, Author, Speaker ""Gerald Pollack is one of my favorite scientists. He asks penetrating questions about everyday phenomena, like clouds, the rotation of the earth and the flight of birds and comes up with radical yet simple suggestions for a new scientific vision. He reveals that our current scientific understanding, which we usually take for granted, is often a misunderstanding that lulls us into a false sense of certainty. His book is a breath of fresh air, and indeed gives a new way of thinking about fresh air itself. Charged is clearly written with delightful diagrams and drawings which make concepts easier to grasp. It is rare to encounter such a brilliant, original and stimulating book that changes the way we see the world around us. I am very grateful to Pollack for writing it."" --Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, biologist and author of Science Set Free ""Here, science is practiced as it should be. A researcher makes his own observations and experiments in nature and then begins -- wide-eyed, curious and impartial like a child -- to investigate whether there is already evidence from others that supports what he has concluded. It takes a lot of courage for a scientist to question common narratives. At the same time, it takes perseverance not to be swayed by ignoramuses and nay-sayers. I hope that the book -- as it did for me -- will also encourage other researchers to 'stick at it.'"" --Dr. Cornelia Renate Gottwald, Magnetic Field Therapist, Germany ""I was positively astounded by this book. There are countless positive provocations for our sleepy, not to say clinically dead, 'incremental' scientists, especially in physics. In fact, I fear the electric shocks stemming from this book will probably not suffice to rouse most scientists from the dark tomb in which they have happily shut themselves. However, I do hope it will help to awaken those who have not yet been fully gripped by the whirlpool of modern scientific religion. It is a book that brings new light, new challenges, and new perspectives on how to deal with nature in a much simpler way."" --Igor Jerman, PhD, Director of Bion Institute, Slovenia ""In the current century, the electroneutrality paradigm is being challenged by experimental results in areas ranging from atmospheric science to synthetic chemistry. This book is an excellent contribution, presenting a wealth of information illuminated by the original thinking and provocative style of a leading contributor to knowledge on Earth's surface (and beyond)."" --Fernando Galembeck, Emeritus Professor, Unicamp, Brazil ""Many anomalies don't fit the currently accepted paradigm. Through these anomalies, a new paradigm may emerge. Pollack follows this path, wielding Occam's razor (the principle of simplicity) to reveal multiple new paradigms of understanding, all centered on electrical charge. He demonstrates the centrality of electrical charge in the understanding of so many familiar phenomena involving the Earth and the entire universe. The result is mind-blowing."" --Won H. Kim, Professor, Yonsei University, Korea ""Pollack presents a groundbreaking synthesis that challenges long-held assumptions about how nature really works. With its rare interdisciplinary perspective, Charged deserves careful study by all intelligent people, not just scientists but anyone with even a modicum of curiosity."" --Roberto Germano, CEO of Promete, CTO of OXHY ""Pollack's book explodes the bubble: electrical charge is a super power. He illustrates -- quite literally with great drawings -- that if one electron is removed from each of two vertically stacked bodies, the repulsive force will be so high that in order to prevent the rise of the upper body, you would need to pile 50,000 trucks on top. This revelation has dramatically changed my own perception of the material realm. Schools must include it right away. So many things are governed by charge and charge collapse -- but how can charge collapse? Pollack explains all of this, and how it directly governs the natural world around us. And he presents it in an intriguing, readable way that cannot help but draw you in.""--Ralf Otterpohl, Dr.-Ing, Professor Emeritus, Hamburg University of Technology ""Prof. Pollack is extrapolating upon his great discoveries. This is the kind of thinking needed to advance our paradigms scientifically. Reading this book changed how I look at ... Everything!"" --George Wiseman, Alternative Energy Innovator and President of Eagle-Research ""Thank you, Prof. Pollack, for this insightful book. It asks fundamental questions about natural phenomena that we see every day, and draws bold conclusions about how they really work. All involve electric charge. Reading this book was an exciting journey, full of intellectual pleasure."" --GunWoong Bahng PhD, Leading Professor, SUNY Korea ""The same scientist who revolutionized our understanding of water a decade ago, is about to do the same to the role of electric charge in the world... I almost fell off my chair several times when reading the Introduction, but chapter after chapter convinced me that he had very solid evidence for every claim. And Prof. Pollack's courage for challenging the status quo -- rarely popular -- is astounding and inspiring!!"" --Yonah Alexandre Bronstein, PhD, President and CTO of ASTAV, Inc. ""This book demystifies the pivotal role of electrical charge in nature, to be understood by everyone. By applying 'Occam's razor' of simplicity, Pollack enables the scientist as well as the novice to understand and value the profound connections between electricity, water, and all life."" --Stuart Rudick, EverBlue Ventures ""This is a mind-blowing book! For the first time I have found a reasonable explanation for most fundamental phenomena, from cloud formation to the rotation of the Earth and the origin of the magnetic field. This is a real scientific thriller, and a must read for all open-minded people, regardless of their profession and education. Ethan Pollack's illustrations make this book lively and sometimes even funny."" --Konstantin Korotkov, President of Bio-Well Companies, USA and Spain, author of 17 books

Author Information

Professor Gerald Pollack is Founding Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal, WATER and is recognized as an international leader in science and engineering. The University of Washington Faculty chose Pollack, in 2008, to receive their highest annual distinction: the Faculty Lecturer Award. He was the 2012 recipient of the coveted Prigogine Medal for thermodynamics of dissipative systems. He has received an honorary doctorate from Ural State University in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and was more recently named an Honorary Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Foreign Member of the Srpska Academy. Pollack is a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow of both the American Heart Association and the Biomedical Engineering Society. He recently received an NIH Director's Transformative R01 Award for his work on water, and maintains an active laboratory in Seattle.Pollack's interests have ranged broadly, from biological motion and cell biology to the interaction of biological surfaces with aqueous solutions. His 1990 book, Muscles and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion, won an “Excellence Award” from the Society for Technical Communication; his subsequent book, Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life, won that Society's “Distinguished Award.” Pollack is recognized worldwide as a dynamic speaker and a scientist willing to challenge any long-held dogma that does not fit the facts.

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