Wiktor Wise
Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges and phenomena that occur in the Earth's atmosphere. It involves the movement of charges between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere, known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit. This field of study explores natural phenomena such as lightning, St. Elmo's fire, and the aurora borealis, which are the result of electrical discharges and the interaction of atmospheric ions, electric fields, and currents. Understanding atmospheric electricity aids in researching Earth's electrical circuit, storm microphysics, lightning safety, and global lightning climatology.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere or that of another planet. |
| Phenomena | Lightning, St. Elmo's fire, aurora borealis, atmospheric ionization, air-earth current, and other quiescent electrical processes. |
| Causes | Thunderstorms, ionization from cosmic rays, and natural radioactivity. |
| Measurement | The potential gradient and the current in the atmosphere can be measured. |
| Current Density | About 10 micromicroamperes crosses each square meter parallel to the Earth. |
| Voltage | Thunderstorms can charge the electrosphere to about 400,000 volts with respect to the surface. |
| Current | The total electric current reaching the Earth's surface is 1800 amperes. |
| Power | The power generated is 700 megawatts. |
| Circuit | The global atmospheric electrical circuit involves the movement of charge between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere. |
| Discovery | Franklin, Dalibard, Romas, Cavallo, Lemonnier, Beccaria, Saussure, Coulomb, and Kelvin have all contributed to the discovery and understanding of atmospheric electricity. |
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What You'll Learn
Lightning
Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere. Thunderstorms are a key component of this, acting as a giant battery that charges the electrosphere to about 400,000 volts. This results in the creation of an electric field throughout the atmosphere, which decreases with altitude.
The flash of lightning temporarily equalizes the charged regions in the atmosphere until the opposite charges build up again. There are three primary forms of lightning, distinguished by where they occur: Intra-cloud (IC) or in-cloud, which occurs within a single thundercloud; Cloud-to-cloud (CC) or inter-cloud, which occurs between two clouds; and Cloud-to-ground (CG), which occurs between a cloud and the ground and is referred to as a lightning strike. While intra-cloud and cloud-to-cloud lightning are more common, cloud-to-ground lightning has the most direct effects on humans.
Due to the speed at which light travels through the air compared to sound, you can use thunder to estimate the distance to lightning. By counting the number of seconds between seeing a flash and hearing thunder, and then dividing by five, you can calculate the number of miles between you and the lightning flash. Lightning is fascinating to watch but can also be extremely dangerous, causing fatalities and leaving some victims with lifelong health problems. Therefore, it is important to understand the dangers and seek shelter when thunderstorms threaten.
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Electrification of the air
Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges and phenomena that occur in the Earth's atmosphere. This includes lightning, atmospheric ionization, the air-earth current, and other quiescent electrical processes. The movement of electrical charge between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit.
The electrification of the air, or atmospheric ionization, is a key component of atmospheric electricity. The air becomes electrified due to ionization from cosmic rays and natural radioactivity, ensuring that the atmosphere is never truly neutral. This ionization occurs when high-energy particles from space, or cosmic rays, interact with the atoms and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere, causing the release or transfer of electrons, creating positively charged ions and free electrons. These charged particles can then be influenced by electric fields, leading to the electrification of the air.
The process of atmospheric ionization is crucial in the formation of lightning. Thunderstorms act as giant batteries in the atmosphere, charging it to approximately 400,000 volts with respect to the Earth's surface. This charge creates an electric field that increases towards the ground. The negative charges at the bottom of the thunderstorm are then attracted to the positive charges on the Earth's surface, resulting in lightning strokes. These lightning strokes carry about 20 to 30 coulombs of charge and can have a significant impact, such as creating ozone-producing chemicals, triggering wildfires, or causing property damage.
The electrification of the air is not limited to thunderstorm conditions. Fair weather and clear-day electrification of the atmosphere have also been observed and studied. For example, Saussure (1779) recorded data on a conductor's induced charge in the atmosphere, noting annual and height-based variations. Additionally, Coulomb's discovery of the electrical conductivity of air in 1785 contradicted the prevailing belief that atmospheric gases were insulators. This discovery further emphasized the ongoing electrification of the air, even in the absence of visible electrical discharges.
The study of atmospheric electricity and the electrification of the air have a long history, with early experimenters such as Hauksbee, Newton, Wall, Nollet, and Gray contributing to our understanding. Benjamin Franklin's experiments in the 18th century, including his famous kite experiment, provided significant insights into the electrical nature of lightning and its similarities to laboratory-produced electricity. Today, organizations like NASA continue to advance our knowledge of atmospheric electricity through various ground-, airborne-, and space-based instruments, aiding in storm prediction, lightning safety, and the understanding of transient luminous events in the upper atmosphere.
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Thunderstorms
Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere. It involves the movement of charge between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere, known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit. Thunderstorms are a key component of atmospheric electricity, acting as a giant battery in the atmosphere. They play a crucial role in charging up the electrosphere to approximately 400,000 volts with respect to the surface, creating an electric field that decreases with increasing altitude.
The main charging area of a thunderstorm is located in its central region, where rapid upward air movement (updraft) occurs, and temperatures are extremely low, ranging from -15 to -25 degrees Celsius. Within this updraft, a mixture of super-cooled cloud droplets, small ice crystals, and soft hail, known as graupel, can be found. As the super-cooled cloud droplets and ice crystals are carried upward by the updraft, they collide with the graupel, resulting in a transfer of charges. The rising ice crystals become positively charged, while the graupel acquires a negative charge.
As the negative charge in the cloud intensifies, the ground responds by becoming more positively charged. Additionally, the positive charge in the anvil-shaped top of the thunderstorm cloud can induce a negative charge on the ground beneath it, even at a significant distance from the thunderstorm's base. This complex interplay of charges sets the stage for lightning, a dramatic and powerful discharge of electricity.
Lightning is a spectacular manifestation of atmospheric electricity, occurring when the differences in charges within the cloud or between the cloud and the ground become too significant for the insulating capacity of the air to withstand. It can manifest as intra-cloud lightning, taking place between opposite charges within the thunderstorm cloud, or as cloud-to-ground lightning, striking between opposite charges in the cloud and on the Earth's surface. The rapid release of electricity during lightning can heat the air to an astonishing 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, making it approximately five times hotter than the surface of the sun.
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Atmospheric ionization
Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere or that of another planet. It involves natural phenomena such as lightning, St. Elmo's fire, and the aurora borealis. Thunderstorms, for instance, create lightning bolts that rapidly discharge large amounts of atmospheric charge stored in storm clouds.
Solar activity plays a significant role in modulating the flux of cosmic ray particles, with its impact varying from days to millennia. On geological time scales, the position of the solar system within our galaxy becomes crucial for ionization. The radioactive isotope radon-222 (Rn-222), a product of uranium-238 decay, is another important source of ionization near the ground. Rn-222 is injected into the atmosphere through exhalation due to changes in pressure, temperature, and soil moisture evaporation. While its half-life of 3.826 days is too short to reach the middle atmosphere, it significantly affects near-ground ionization and the global electric circuit.
The impact of atmospheric ionization on aerosols and clouds has been a subject of investigation. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated that ions facilitate the nucleation of new aerosol particles, and airborne observations have confirmed that ion nucleation is a vital source of aerosols in the free troposphere. However, the link between ionization, aerosols, and clouds remains a subject of ongoing research, with some studies questioning the significance of ionization in altering cloud properties.
Additionally, atmospheric ionization is influenced by sporadic events, such as strong gamma-ray bursts originating from our galaxy or beyond, which can impact the ionosphere. Understanding the effects of ionization on the atmospheric vertical current and the ozone layer is an area of ongoing study.
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Electric field
Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere, as well as those of other planets. The movement of these charges between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit.
The electric field is an essential component of atmospheric electricity. It is created by the potential difference between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere. This potential difference can be as high as 100 million volts between a cloud and the Earth's surface. The electric field is directed downwards towards the ground, and its strength decreases with increasing altitude. Near the surface of the Earth, the average magnitude of the electric field is around 100 V/m, driving positive charges downwards.
The electric field in the atmosphere is influenced by various factors, including thunderstorms, cosmic rays, and natural radioactivity. Thunderstorms act as giant batteries, charging the electrosphere to approximately 400,000 volts relative to the surface. This charge sets up an electric field that extends throughout the atmosphere. Even in the absence of thunderstorms, the atmospheric electricity and electric field can vary significantly. For instance, the electric field is typically enhanced in foggy or dusty conditions, while atmospheric electrical conductivity decreases.
The Earth's atmosphere is never truly neutral due to the continual electrification of the air caused by ionization from cosmic rays and natural radioactivity. These sources of ionization create atmospheric ions, which move within the electric field, resulting in a weak conduction current of approximately 2 picoamperes per square meter. This current contributes to the overall conductivity of the atmosphere, which increases with altitude.
The understanding of atmospheric electricity and the electric field has evolved over time through the contributions of scientists such as Le Monnier, Linss, Elster, Geitel, Wilson, Coulomb, and others. Their experiments and theories have provided insights into the electrified nature of the atmosphere, the existence of conducting fluids, and the behaviour of ions and charges within the atmospheric electric field.
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Frequently asked questions
Atmospheric electricity refers to the electrical charges and phenomena that occur in the Earth's atmosphere. This includes lightning, atmospheric ionization, the air-earth current, and other quiescent electrical processes.
Atmospheric electricity is caused by a combination of minor and major processes. Minor processes include spray electrification and dust electrification, while major processes include cosmic-ray ionization, radioactive-particle ionization, and thunderstorm electrification.
Atmospheric electricity is studied using a variety of remote sensing techniques, such as global positioning systems, satellite observations, and ground-based instruments. These instruments detect lightning and atmospheric electricity, helping scientists better understand storm behavior and improve predictions and safety.
Understanding atmospheric electricity aids in research related to Earth's electrical circuit, storm microphysics, lightning safety, and global lightning climatologies. Additionally, it helps explain transient luminous events, such as colored jets and rings seen in the upper atmosphere beyond the troposphere.
