The image above shows a crater and a rille on the Moon. The presently accepted
theory posits that the crater was caused long ago by the impact of an
asteroid-size body. The rille is the remains of a lava tube whose roof
collapsed, also long ago.
Astronomical bodies, whether asteroids or planets or even stars, are miniscule
with respect to the
volume of space in which they move. The chances of collision are remote. The
probability of close approach is increased if the bodies move on similar orbits,
but then their mutual gravity acts to prevent collisions, as we see for example
with the "double planet" situation of Earth and Moon or Pluto and Charon. But if
there were more bodies long ago, and if there were a long time interval, remote
chances of collisions could have accumulated.
Craters that have been identified as impact structures on the Earth have failed
to yield significant remains of the impactors. Perhaps the incoming bodies
exploded or were vaporized. The amount of debris around the craters appears to
be a fraction of the volume excavated. Perhaps the force of the impact explosion
scattered most of the debris far from the crater. Also, the shape of the
crater-flat floor, terraced walls, and steep central peak-is unlike craters
produced in lab impacts and explosions. Perhaps the physics of asteroid-size
impacts is different from that of lab experiments.
Collapsed lava tubes on Earth have rubble piled on their floors. But rilles have
clean floors. They also have narrow sinuous grooves incised into the floors. Few
rilles have outflows of material that would be expected if lava had once flowed
through them.
But again, time heals all wounds, and with enough time, under conditions that no
longer exist, impact scars and lava tubes might come to have an unexpected look.
The Electric Universe posits that the crater was caused long ago (but not that
long ago!) by a planet-size
electrical discharge. The shape of the crater corresponds to the shapes
created by electrical discharges in labs, and the lack of debris corresponds
to the electrical cleaning of spark-discharge machined surfaces.
The rille is the remains of a
subsurface discharge that probably accompanied the crater-forming one. The
discharge channel excavated the narrow sinuous groove in the floor, and the
shock effects of the discharge blasted out the wider clean valley above it. The
shape corresponds to the shape of scars left by
lightning strikes to the surface of the Earth.
No one has seen an electrical discharge of a size to produce a lunar crater and
rille, but spacecraft have discovered low-energy currents between bodies, for
example the "flux
tubes" connecting Jupiter and its moons or the "stringy things" in Venus's
elongated sheath. Perhaps long ago (but not that long ago!) the planetary
circuits experienced a surge that caused discharges.
The missing matter in impacts and debris is matched with the missing discharges.
But in contrast to the mismatch between lunar craters and lab impacts, the
effects of the missing discharges can be
reproduced in miniature in labs.
