Biological warfare – On Setup

Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm, or incapacitate humans, animals, or plants as an act of war. Biological weapons (often termed "bio-weapons", "biological threat agents", or "bio-agents") are living organisms or replicating entities ( i.e. viruses, which are not universally considered "alive"). It is probably germ warfare right now.

Biological warfare is distinct from warfare involving other types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear warfare, chemical warfare, and radiological warfare. None of these are considered conventional weapons, which are deployed primarily for their explosive, kinetic, or incendiary potential.

Biological weapons may be employed in various ways to gain a strategic or tactical advantage over the enemy, either by threats or by actual deployments. Biological weapons may also be useful as area denial weapons. These agents may be lethal or non-lethal and may be targeted against a single individual, a group of people, or even an entire population.

Overview

A biological attack could conceivably result in large numbers of civilian casualties and cause severe disruption to economic and societal infrastructure. Accordingly, biological agents are potentially useful as strategic deterrents, in addition to their utility as offensive weapons on the battlefield.

As a tactical weapon for military use, a significant problem with biological warfare is that it would take days or years to be effective, and therefore might not immediately stop an opposing force. Some biological agents (smallpox, pneumonic plague) have the capability of person-to-person transmission via aerosolized respiratory droplets. This feature can be undesirable, as the agent(s) may be transmitted by this mechanism to unintended populations, including neutral or even friendly forces. During a pandemic, the government faces an incentive to not disclose negative information about vaccines to not jeopardize public vaccine acceptance, while disclosing negative information may increase hesitancy, transparency sustains trust in health authorities and hinders the spread of conspiracy beliefs, and from this situation, a vaccine can be the best candidate for a new delivery agent(s). Worse still, such a weapon could "escape" the laboratory where it was developed, even if there was no intent to use it.

Genetic warfare Bio-agents

Theoretically, novel approaches in biotechnology, such as synthetic biology could be used in the future to design novel types of biological warfare agents.

1.   Would demonstrate how to render a vaccine ineffective;

2.   Would confer resistance to therapeutically useful antibiotics or antiviral agents;

3.   Would enhance the virulence of a pathogen or render a nonpathogen virulent;

4.   Would increase the transmissibility of a pathogen;

5.   Would alter the host range of a pathogen;

6.   Would enable the evasion of diagnostic/detection tools; Would enable the weaponization of a biological agent or toxin.

Hypothesis Bio-agents in Experimental Covid19 vaccine

Platforms being developed in 2020 involved nucleic acid technologies (nucleoside-modified messenger RNA and DNA), non-replicating viral vectors, peptides, recombinant proteins, live attenuated viruses, and inactivated viruses. 

An inactivated vaccine (or killed vaccine) is a vaccine consisting of virus particles, bacteria, or other pathogens that have been grown in culture and then killed to destroy disease-producing capacity. In contrast, live vaccines use pathogens that are still alive (but are almost always attenuated, that is, weakened). Pathogens for inactivated vaccines are grown under controlled conditions and are killed as a means to reduce infectivity and thus prevent infection from the vaccine. The virus is killed using a method such as heat or formaldehyde. Inactivated vaccines are further classified depending on the method used to inactivate the virus. Whole virus vaccines use the entire virus particle, fully destroyed using heat, chemicals, or radiation. The pathogens formulated in the experimental COVID vaccine are origin from (Bat) the first animal of concerned pathogens. Pathogen particles are destroyed and cannot divide, but the pathogens maintain some of their integrity to be recognized by the immune system and evoke an adaptive immune response. When manufactured correctly, the vaccine is not infectious, but improper inactivation can result in intact and infectious particles and can be the tools of bio-weapon agents 

Hypothesis comorbid from Bio-agents

Short/Long-term Neuropathic pain is pain caused by damage or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system. Neuropathic pain may be associated with abnormal sensations called dysesthesia or pain from normally non-painful stimuli (allodynia). It may have continuous and/or episodic (paroxysmal) components. The latter resemble stabbings or electric shocks. Common qualities include burning or coldness, "pins and needles" sensations, numbness, and itching.

Comorbidities

Neuropathic pain caused by virus/toxin has profound physiological effects on the brain which can manifest as

psychological disorders. Neuropathic pain has important effects on social well-being that should not be ignored. Neuropathic pain sufferers may have difficulty working exhibit higher levels of presenteeism, absenteeism, and unemployment, exhibit higher levels of substance misuse (which may be related to attempted self-medication), and present difficulties with social interactions. Moreover, uncontrolled neuropathic pain is a significant risk factor for suicide, depression, and hypertension. Certain classes of neuropathic pain may cause serious adverse effects necessitating hospital admission, for instance, trigeminal neuralgia can present as a severe crisis where the patient may have difficulty talking, eating, and drinking.

Common epidemiological clues that may signal a biological attack

From most specific to least specific:

1.   Single cause of a certain disease caused by an uncommon agent, with lack of an epidemiological explanation.

2.   Unusual, rare, genetically engineered strain of an agent.

3.   High morbidity and mortality rates in regards to patients with the same or similar symptoms.

4.   Unusual presentation of the disease.

5.   Unusual geographic or seasonal distribution.

6.   Stable endemic disease, but with an unexplained increase in relevance.

7.   Rare transmission (aerosols, food, water).

8.   No illness presented in people who were/are not exposed to "common ventilation systems (have separate closed ventilation systems) when illness is seen in persons in close proximity who have a common ventilation system."

9.   Different and unexplained diseases coexisting in the same patient without any other explanation.

10. Rare illness that affects a large, disparate population (respiratory disease might suggest the pathogen or agent was inhaled).

11. Illness is unusual for a certain population or age group in which it takes presence.

12. Unusual trends of death and/or illness in animal populations, previous to or accompanying illness in humans.

13. Many affected reaching out for treatment at the same time.

14. Similar genetic makeup of agents in affected individuals.

15. Simultaneous collections of similar illnesses in non-contiguous areas, domestic, or foreign. An abundance of cases of unexplained diseases and deaths.

Incubation theory for multiple mutated variants from vaccine

Escape mutation from vaccine occurs when the immune system of a host, especially of a human being, is unable to

respond to an infectious agent, or, in other words, the host's immune system is no longer able to recognize and eliminate a pathogen such as a virus. This process can occur in a number of different ways of both a genetic and environmental nature. Such mechanisms include homologous recombination and manipulation and resistance of the host's immune responses. Different antigens are able to escape through a variety of mechanisms. Antigenic escape is not only crucial for the host's natural immune response, but also for the resistance against vaccinations. The problem of antigenic escape has greatly deterred the process of creating new vaccines. Because vaccines generally cover a small ratio of strains of one virus, the recombination of antigenic DNA that leads to diverse pathogens allows these invaders to resist even newly developed vaccinations. Some antigens may even target pathways different from those the vaccine had originally intended to target.

Consequences of recent vaccines

While vaccines are created to strengthen the immune response to pathogens, in many cases these vaccines are not able to cover the wide variety of strains a pathogen may have. Instead, they may only protect against one or two strains, leading to the escape of strains not covered by the vaccine. This results in the pathogens being able to attack targets of the immune system different than those intended to be targeted by the vaccination.

Various ways to successful Setup in Bio-warfare

As we all know, there is no proven flu vaccine and there is no vaccine with long-lasting protection from the virus. Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include getting vaccinated (vaccine without virus), staying at home, wearing a mask in public, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, ventilating indoor

spaces, managing potential exposure durations, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least twenty seconds, practicing good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands, also reduce the population of pigs in this world. Following this method efficiently is enough to vanish the COVID virus altogether. Using Saline Water as a vaccine will also give an advantage for future setup victory, by predicting novel findings of new technology vaccines malfeasance.

Option to counter Bio-agents

After people recover from infection with a COVID virus, the immune system retains a memory of it, while that’s good for the immune system, it also means that even after you recover from COVID, it’s still inside your body and can resurface. Studies have been unclear how long immunity lasts and how many viruses are, after having from the first shot of the COVID vaccine.

Cure Hypotheses 1- If people are not affected again for some period of time, the virus and synthetic formulation in the vaccine can be toxins and can cause unknown illnesses for your mental and body health. To counter this, proponents claim cupping has a therapeutic effect and removes unspecified "toxins", stagnant blood, or "vital energy" when used over acupuncture points with the goal of improving blood circulation. Modern suction devices are sometimes used instead of traditional cups.

Cure Hypotheses 2- An antitoxin is an antibody with the ability to neutralize a specific toxin, although they are most effective in neutralizing toxins, they can also kill bacteria and other microorganisms. Antitoxins are made within organisms and can be injected into other organisms, including humans, to treat an infectious disease. Most antitoxin preparations are prepared from donors with high titers of antibody against the toxin, making them hyperimmune globulins, the blood donors must be from healthy unvaccinated people.

So you have a few choices here, 1. to deny and be a noble unvaccinated person. 2. to accept the experimental vaccine and keep the virus to retain a memory of it for protection or 3. to remove the virus before it starts generating toxins in the future. Action is on your hand, make your wise choice, what does your gut tell you?.

Plant Virus

Plant viruses are viruses that affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathogenic to higher plants.

Most plant viruses are rod-shaped, with protein discs forming a tube surrounding the viral genome; isometric particles are another common structure. They rarely have an envelope. The great majority have an RNA genome, which is usually small and single-stranded (ss), but some viruses have double-stranded (ds) RNA, ssDNA, or dsDNA genomes. Although plant viruses are not as well understood as their animal counterparts, one plant virus has become very recognizable: tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), the first virus to be discovered. This and other viruses cause an estimated US $60 billion loss in crop yields worldwide each year. Plant viruses are grouped into 73 genera and 49 families. However, these figures relate only to cultivated plants, which represent only a tiny fraction of the total number of plant species. Viruses in wild plants have not been well-studied, but the interactions between wild plants and their viruses often do not appear to cause disease in the host plants.

To transmit from one plant to another and from one plant cell to another, plant viruses must use strategies that are usually different from animal viruses. Most plants do not move, and so plant-to-plant transmission usually involves vectors (such as insects). Plant cells are surrounded by solid cell walls, therefore transport through plasmodesmata is the preferred path for virions to move between plant cells. Plants have specialized mechanisms for transporting mRNAs through plasmodesmata, and these mechanisms are thought to be used by RNA viruses to spread from one cell to another. Plant defenses against viral infection include, among other measures, the use of siRNA in response to dsRNA. Most plant viruses encode a protein to suppress this response. Plants also reduce transport through plasmodesmata in response to injury.

Structure

Viruses are extremely small and can only be observed under an electron microscope. The structure of a virus is given by its coat of proteins, which surround the viral genome. Assembly of viral particles takes place spontaneously.

Over 50% of known plant viruses are rod-shaped (flexuous or rigid).

The length of the particle is normally dependent on the genome but it is usually between 300–500 nm with a diameter of 15–20 nm. Protein subunits can be placed around the circumference of a circle to form a disc. In the presence of the viral genome, the discs are stacked, then a tube is created with room for the nucleic acid genome in the middle.

The second most common structure amongst plant viruses is isometric particles. They are 25–50 nm in diameter. In cases when there is only a single coat protein, the basic structure consists of 60 T subunits, where T is an integer. Some viruses may have 2 coat proteins that associate to form an icosahedral-shaped particle.

There are three genera of Geminiviridae that consist of particles that are like two isometric particles stuck together.

A very small number of plant viruses have, in addition to their coat proteins, a lipid envelope. This is derived from the plant cell membrane as the virus particle buds off from the cell.

Transmission of plant viruses

Through sap

Viruses can be spread by direct transfer of sap by contact of a wounded plant with a healthy one. Such contact may occur during agricultural practices, as by damage caused by tools or hands, or naturally, as by an animal feeding on the plant. Generally, TMV, potato viruses, and cucumber mosaic viruses are transmitted via sap.

Insects

Plant viruses need to be transmitted by a vector, most often insects such as leafhoppers. One class of viruses, the Rhabdoviridae, has been proposed to actually be insect viruses that have evolved to replicate in plants. The chosen insect vector of a plant virus will often be the determining factor in that virus's host range: it can only infect plants that the insect vector feeds upon. This was shown in part when the old world white fly made it to the United States, where it transferred many plant viruses into new hosts. Depending on the way they are transmitted, plant viruses are classified as non-persistent, semi-persistent, and persistent. In non-persistent transmission, viruses become attached to the distal tip of the stylet of the insect and on the next plant it feeds on, it inoculates it with the virus. Semi-persistent viral transmission involves the virus entering the foregut of the insect. Those viruses that manage to pass through the gut into the haemolymph and then to the salivary glands are known as persistent. There are two sub-classes of persistent viruses: propagative and circulative. Propagative viruses are able to replicate in both the plant and the insect (and may have originally been insect viruses), whereas circulative can not. Circulative viruses are protected inside aphids by the chaperone protein symbionin, produced by bacterial symbionts. Many plant viruses encode within their genome polypeptides with domains essential for transmission by

insects. In non-persistent and semi-persistent viruses, these domains are in the coat protein and another protein is known as the helper component. A bridging hypothesis has been proposed to explain how these proteins aid in insect-mediated viral transmission. The helper component will bind to the specific domain of the coat protein, and then the insect mouthparts – creating a bridge. In persistent propagative viruses, such as tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), there is often a lipid coat surrounding the proteins that are not seen in other classes of plant viruses. In the case of TSWV, 2 viral proteins are expressed in this lipid envelope. It has been proposed that the viruses bind via these proteins and are then taken into the insect cell by receptor-mediated endocytosis.

Nematodes

Soil-borne nematodes also have been shown to transmit viruses. They acquire and transmit them by feeding on infected roots. Viruses can be transmitted both non-persistently and persistently, but there is no evidence of viruses being able to replicate in nematodes. The virions attach to the stylet (feeding organ) or to the gut when they feed on an infected plant and can then detach during later feeding to infect other plants. Examples of viruses that can be transmitted by nematodes include the tobacco ringspot virus and the tobacco rattle virus.

Plasmodiophorids

A number of virus genera are transmitted, both persistently and non-persistently, by soil-borne zoosporic protozoa. These protozoa are not phytopathogenic themselves, but parasitic. Transmission of the virus takes place when they become associated with the plant roots. Examples include Polymyxa graminis, which has been shown to transmit plant viral diseases in cereal crops, and Polymyxa betae which transmits Beet necrotic yellow vein virus. Plasmodiophorids also create wounds in the plant's root through which other viruses can enter.

Seed and pollen borne viruses

Plant virus transmission from generation to generation occurs in about 20% of plant viruses. When viruses are transmitted by seeds, the seed is infected in the generative cells and the virus is maintained in the germ cells and sometimes, but less often, in the seed coat. When the growth and development of plants are delayed because of situations like unfavorable weather, there is an increase in the number of virus infections in seeds. There does not seem to be a correlation between the location of the seed on the plant and its chances of being infected. Little is known about the mechanisms involved in the transmission of

plant viruses via seeds, although it is known that it is environmentally influenced and that seed transmission occurs because of a direct invasion of the embryo via the ovule or by an indirect route with an attack on the embryo mediated by infected gametes. These processes can occur concurrently or separately depending on the host plant. It is unknown how the virus is able to directly invade and cross the embryo and the boundary between the parental and progeny generations in the ovule. Many plants species can be infected through seeds including but not limited to the families Leguminosae, Solanaceae, Compositae, Rosaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Gramineae. Bean common mosaic virus is transmitted through seeds.

Direct plant-to-human transmission

Researchers from the University of the Mediterranean in Marseille, France have found tenuous evidence that suggests a virus common to peppers, the Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV) may have moved on to infect humans. This is a very rare and highly unlikely event as, to enter a cell and replicate, a virus must "bind to a receptor on its surface, and a plant virus would be highly unlikely to recognize a receptor on a human cell. One possibility is that the virus does not infect human cells directly. Instead, the naked viral RNA may alter the function of the cells through a mechanism similar to RNA interference, in which the presence of certain RNA sequences can turn genes on and off," according to Virologist Robert Garry from the Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Applications of plant viruses

Plant viruses can be used to engineer viral vectors, tools commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material into plant cells; they are also sources of biomaterials and nanotechnology devices. Knowledge of plant viruses and their components has been instrumental in the development of modern plant biotechnology. The use of plant viruses to enhance the beauty of ornamental plants can be considered the first recorded application of plant viruses. Tulip breaking virus is famous for its dramatic

effects on the color of the tulip perianth, an effect highly sought after during the 17th-century Dutch "tulip mania." Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) is frequently used in plant molecular biology. Of special interest is the CaMV 35S promoter, which is a very strong promoter most frequently used in plant transformations. Viral vectors based on the tobacco mosaic virus include those of the magnICON®and TRBO plant expression technologies. 

Representative applications of plant viruses are listed below.

Applications of plant viruses

Use	Description
Enhanced plant aesthetics	Increase the beauty and commercial value of ornamental plants
Cross‐protection	Delivery of mild virus strains to prevent infections by their severe relatives
Weed biocontrol	Viruses triggering lethal systemic necrosis as bioherbicides
Pest biocontrol	Enhanced toxin and pesticide delivery for insect and nematode control
Nanoparticle scaffolds	Virion surfaces are functionalized and used to assemble nanoparticles
Nanocarriers	Virions are used to transport cargo compounds
Nanoreactors	Enzymes are encapsulated into virions to engineer cascade reactions
Recombinant protein/peptide expression	Fast, transient overproduction of recombinant peptide, polypeptide libraries, and protein complexes
Functional genomic studies	Targeted gene silencing using VIGS and miRNA viral vectors
Genome editing	Targeted genome editing via transient delivery of sequence‐specific nucleases
Metabolic pathway engineering	Biosynthetic pathway rewiring to improve the production of native and foreign metabolites
Flowering induction	Viral expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T to accelerate flowering induction and crop breeding
Crop gene therapy	Open‐field use of viral vectors for transient reprogramming of crop traits within a single growing season

Corona discharge

A corona discharge is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a fluid such as air surrounding a conductor carrying a high voltage. It represents a local region where the air (or other fluid) has undergone electrical breakdown and become conductive, allowing charge to continuously leak off the conductor into the air. A corona occurs at locations where the strength of the electric field (potential gradient) around a conductor exceeds the dielectric strength of the air. It is often seen as a bluish glow in the air adjacent to pointed metal conductors carrying high voltages and emits light by the same mechanism as a gas discharge lamp.

In many high voltage applications, the corona is an unwanted side effect. Corona discharge from high voltage electric power transmission lines constitutes an economically significant waste of energy for utilities. In high voltage equipment like cathode ray tube televisions, radio transmitters, X-ray machines, and particle accelerators, the current leakage caused by coronas can constitute an unwanted load on the circuit. In the air, coronas generate gases such as ozone (O₃) and nitric oxide (NO), and in turn, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and thus nitric acid (HNO₃) if water vapor is present. These gases are corrosive and can degrade and embrittle nearby materials and are toxic to humans and the environment.

Corona discharges can often be suppressed by improved insulation, corona rings, and making high voltage electrodes in smooth rounded shapes. However, controlled corona discharges are used in a variety of processes such as air filtration, photocopiers, and ozone generators.

Introduction

A corona discharge is a process by which a current flows from an electrode with a high potential into a neutral fluid, usually air, by ionizing that fluid to create a region of plasma around the electrode. The ions generated eventually pass the charge to nearby areas of lower potential, or recombine to form neutral gas molecules.

When the potential gradient (electric field) is large enough at a point in the fluid, the fluid ionizes and becomes conductive. If a charged object has a sharp point, the electric field strength

around that point will be much higher than elsewhere. Air near the electrode can become ionized (partially conductive), while regions more distant do not. When the air near the point becomes conductive, it increases the apparent size of the conductor. Since the new conductive region is less sharp, the ionization may not extend past this local region. Outside this region of ionization and conductivity, the charged particles slowly find their way to an oppositely charged object and are neutralized.

Along with the similar brush discharge, the corona is often called a "single-electrode discharge", as opposed to a "two-electrode discharge" – an electric arc. A corona only forms when the conductor is widely enough separated from conductors at the opposite potential that an arc cannot jump between them. If the geometry and gradient are such that the ionized region continues to grow until it reaches another conductor at a lower potential, a low resistance conductive path between the two will be formed, resulting in an electric spark or electric arc, depending upon the source of the electric field. If the source continues to supply current, a spark will evolve into a continuous discharge called an arc.

Corona discharge only forms when the electric field (potential gradient) at the surface of the conductor exceeds a critical value, the dielectric strength, or the disruptive potential gradient of the fluid. In air at atmospheric pressure, it is roughly 30 kilovolts per centimeter, but this decreases with pressure, so corona is more of a problem at high altitudes. Corona discharge usually forms at highly curved regions on electrodes, such as sharp corners, projecting points, edges of metal surfaces, or small diameter wires. The high curvature causes a high potential gradient at these locations so that the air breaks down and forms plasma there first. On sharp points in the air, corona can start at potentials of 2–6 kV. To suppress corona formation, terminals on high voltage equipment are frequently designed with smooth large-diameter rounded shapes like balls or toruses, and corona rings are often added to insulators of high voltage transmission lines.

Coronas may be positive or negative. This is determined by the polarity of the voltage on the highly curved electrode. If the curved electrode is positive concerning the flat electrode, it has a positive corona; if it is negative, it has a negative corona. The physics of positive and negative coronas are strikingly different. This asymmetry is a result of the great difference in mass between electrons and positively charged ions, with only the electron having the ability to undergo a significant degree of ionizing inelastic collision at common temperatures and pressures.

An important reason for considering coronas in the production of ozone around conductors undergoing corona processes in air. A negative corona generates much more ozone than the corresponding positive corona.

Applications

Corona discharge has several commercial and industrial applications:

• Removal of unwanted electric charges from the surface of aircraft in flight and thus avoiding the detrimental effect of uncontrolled electrical discharge pulses on the performance of avionic systems
• Manufacture of ozone
  
• Sanitization of pool water
• In an electrostatic precipitator, removal of solid pollutants from a waste gas stream, or scrubbing particles from the air in air-conditioning systems
• Photocopying
• Air ionizers
• Production of photons for Kirlian photography to expose photographic film
• EHD thrusters, lifters, and other ionic wind devices
• Nitrogen laser
• Ionization of a gaseous sample for subsequent analysis in a mass spectrometer or an ion mobility spectrometer
• Static charge neutralization, as applied through antistatic devices like ionizing bars
• Refrigeration of electronic devices by forced convection

Coronas can be used to generate charged surfaces, which is an effect used in electrostatic copying (photocopying). They can also be used to remove particulate matter from air streams by first charging the air, and then passing the charged stream through a comb of alternating polarity, to deposit the charged particles onto oppositely charged plates.

The free radicals and ions generated in corona reactions can be used to scrub the air of certain noxious products, through chemical reactions, and can be used to produce ozone.

Problems

Coronas can generate audible and radio-frequency noise, particularly near electric power transmission lines. Therefore, power transmission equipment is designed to minimize the formation of corona discharge.

Corona discharge is generally undesirable in:

• Electric power transmission, where it causes:
  • Power loss
    
  • Audible noise
  • Electromagnetic interference
  • Purple glow
  • Ozone production
  • Insulation damage
  • Possible distress in animals that are sensitive to ultraviolet light
• Electrical components such as transformers, capacitors, electric motors, and generators:
  • Corona can progressively damage the insulation inside these devices, leading to equipment failure
  • Elastomer items such as O-rings can suffer ozone cracking
  • Plastic film capacitors operating at mains voltage can suffer progressive loss of capacitance as corona discharges cause local vaporization of the metallization

In many cases, coronas can be suppressed by corona rings, toroidal devices that serve to spread the electric field over a larger area and decrease the field gradient below the corona threshold.

Electrical wind

Ionized gases produced in a corona discharge are accelerated by the electric field, producing a movement of gas or electrical wind. The air movement associated with a discharge current of a few hundred

microamperes can blow out a small candle flame within about 1 cm of a discharge point. A pinwheel, with radial metal spokes and pointed tips bent to point along the circumference of a circle, can be made to rotate if energized by a corona discharge; the rotation is due to the differential electric attraction between the metal spokes and the space charge shield region that surrounds the tips.