Electric Universe: A Short Summary of How It Fails

I decided to use a comment that appeared on a rather ancient post (Electric Universe: Plasma Physics for Fun AND Profit!) to be the basis of this weeks post, providing another excuse to generate yet another summary of the failings of EU 'theory', hopefully a little shorter than Challenges for Electric Universe 'Theorists'.  The original comment is here and reproduced below, with the original typos/spelling errors/etc..

A answer to to you, Tom Bridgman, about how you compared "Dark Matter", "Electric Plasma Currents"...

That we don't have radio-telescope good enough to observe potential low voltage currents in space. Even if intergalactic and interstellar currents exists. Invicible plasma currents are not mystical. They exist between the sun and the earth, between saturn and Io and have been proven to exist in laboratories.
A nother thing is that the EU theory isn't based on plasma currentes trough space, but a comparison between lab tested plasma formations and observed space phenomenon, which led to the conclusion that interpgalactic and interstellar currents should exist. It is not ad hoc to asume that electric currents exist, neither would it make sence if most of the currents between stars and galaxies would have been vicible to the naked eye.
Dark Matter, in the other hand, is from start pure invention. There are no predictions for dark matter, it is not even based on anything known to exist. It is just supose to have similar properties as gravity, though it apears to create filnamentary structures between galaxies and between stars. Dark matter is unquestionably pseudoscience.
You could claim that EU is pseudoscience, but not on the base that the theory postulates electric currents, which are invicible to use (at least for now).
Thanks :D

The commenter does not seem to understand the range of observational capability which exists in modern astronomy, going so far as claiming that astronomy is limited to mere 'naked eye' observation!  This is a common misunderstanding among Electric Universe (EU) 'theorists', whose understanding of science seems to be limited to pre-space flight, even pre-1900 understanding of science! 

The commenter also seems to confuse Electric Universe (EU) and Plasma Cosmology (PC) claims with the well-established cosmic plasma physics which has been under study by astronomers and physicists for many decades.  These groups routinely check astronomical observations against laboratory experiments and computer models (see Electric Universe: Plasma Modeling vs. 'Mystic Plasma' and others in the plasma modeling series).  This work is based on far more than just the 'look' of something matching between a lab experiment and in the cosmos.  In the laboratory we require a bunch of equipment to build these plasma configurations.  What plays the role of this equipment in nature?   That is a question that EU 'theorists' evade, but which real astronomers and astrophysicists must answer  (see Electric Universe: Making Electric Fields).  EU 'theorists' routinely try to highjack the discoveries in this area as support for their claims of stars, comets, and galaxies, etc. actually being powered by external electric currents.  For EU, any mention of an electric environment is automatically evidence for their claims.

The commenter also claims that voltages are too low to be detectable, when we have been detecting them for decades.  But if they are claiming that the voltages are too low to detect things like electrically-powered stars and galaxies, then they are wrong.  To accommodate electrically-powered stars and galaxies depends on the total power in the driving voltage and current.  The power in these currents must be greater than stars and galaxies (and MUCH greater if a given current can power multiple stars), so these currents will emit radiation, much like an antenna.  We have many full-sky surveys across many wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation from radio to gamma-rays that can detect these emissions.  Even Tony Peratt and Eric Lerner have computed the microwave emission of these claimed currents in an attempt to explain the microwave background.  They found that these currents, if they existed, would be very detectable in the microwave band with present day technologies.  But we do not see current streams connecting stars or galaxies in any of these surveys.

• Scott Rebuttal. II. The Peratt Galaxy Model vs. the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Electric Universe: More data refuting the EU galaxy model

We do see cosmic electric currents driven by other processes  but they are nowhere near the power, nor configuration, needed to power stars and/or galaxies by this mechanism.

• 365 Days of Astronomy: The Electric Universe
• Electric Universe: Measurement of the Electric Current in a Kpc-Scale Jet

EU 'theorists have yet to describe any power source for their system of star- and galaxy-powering currents.  Where are these batteries and/or generators hiding and what powers them?  EU 'theorists' take known particles, like electrons and protons, and attach near-mystical properties to them to make them hide in ways that are not observed in the laboratory.  This is a bigger problem for EU than Dark Matter and Dark Energy are for mainstream astronomy.

• Electric Sun: Energy Budget from KNOWN Sources
• On Dark Matter. I: What & Why?
• On Dark Matter. II: An Exotic Hack?
• Theory Vs. Experiment. II

EU 'theorists' ignore the fact that the particle environment needed to power an electric sun would be deadly to astronauts and satellites, as documented in my "Death by Electric Universe" series linked below.  The challenge still stands for EU theorists to predict the intensity of the particle environment using THEIR solar model for the upcoming 'Solar Probe' mission (Wikipedia).

• Death by Electric Universe. I. EU's Unsolvable Problem
• Death by Electric Universe. II. The Solar Capacitor Model
• Death by Electric Universe. III. EU Excuses
• Death by Electric Universe. IV. The Z-Pinch (Solar Resistor) Model
• Death by Electric Universe.  Radiation Exposure Revisited
• Death by Electric Universe: Current vs. Voltage

The fact is that NO ONE who actually designs and builds spacecraft to visit previously unexplored regions of the solar system and needs to understand the solar radiation environment, use any EU "Electric Sun" model because EU 'theorists' have provided no model that actually matches the solar environment where we have explored.

When you want an electrical configuration built for your industrial facility, a satellite, or even your home, and you hire an electrical engineer, that electrical engineer is EXPECTED to be able to tell you the power requirements and other characteristics of the configuration they design, not in a hand-wavy wishy-washy way, but with actual numbers that you can use.  If they could not, you would be right in questioning their competence.  Yet EU 'theorists' routinely build these configurations for the cosmos and can't, or won't, answer these basic questions.