Is The Earth’s Electron Shield Real Or A Myth?

An Earth electron shield? Is this even possible? Apparently, the answer to this is a big YES. A University of Colorado-Boulder-led team has found enough evidence to support the claim that this barrier exists.

According to 9News, the researchers discovered that the Earth's electron shield is situated about 7,200 above the living planet.

It even serves as a special barrier that wars off "killer electrons" that tend to whip around the Earth at near-light speeds.

These "killer electrons" were regarded as such because they are very threatening to astronauts and they can even fry satellites, as well as degrade space systems amid intense solar storms.

The Earth's electron shield was observed in the Van Allen radiation belts - two doughnut-shaped rings that encircle the planet comprising high-energy electrons and protons, according to CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics Director Daniel Baker.

Scientists say the Van Allen radiation belts, discovered in 1958, have a special role in the Earth's protective mechanism since they pretty much swell and shrink to help the planet face any energy disturbances coming from the sun.

At the edges of these rings is where the Earth's electron shield exists. This is where atomic particles simply stop moving, reports DailyDigestNews.

"It's almost like theses electrons are running into a glass wall in space," Baker, who is the lead author of the new study, said. "Somewhat like the shields created by force fields on Star Trek that were used to repel alien weapons, we are seeing an invisible shield blocking these electrons. It's an extremely puzzling phenomenon."

As of late, researchers can only think of possible theories how this electron shield came into existence, and they are even considering the possibility that this was due to man-made radio waves.

Another theory claims that the Earth's electron shield is a some type of plasmasphere or a ball of cold gas that stretches out of the Van Allen radiation belts.

"Nature abhors strong gradients and generally finds ways to smooth them out, so we would expect some of the relativistic electrons to move inward and some outward," said Baker. "It's not obvious how the slow, gradual processes that should be involved in motion of these particles can conspire to create such a sharp, persistent boundary at this location in space."

While scientists continue to find answers, one thing is certain: the Earth's electron shield is very similar to the certain type of barrier featured in the famous "Star Trek" television series that served as a means of stopping alien energy weapons from vaporising starships, BetaWired reports.