The celestial body called planet Earth has an electrical charge that creates the Earth's natural electric field. One of the characteristics of an electric field is potential, and the Earth's electric field is also characterized by potential. We can also say that in addition to the natural electric field, there is also a natural direct electric current (DC) of the planet Earth. The Earth's potential gradient is distributed from its surface to the ionosphere. In good weather for static electricity, the atmospheric electric field is approximately 150 volts per meter (V/m) near the Earth's surface, but this value drops exponentially with increasing altitude to 1 V/m or less (at 30 km altitude). The reason for the decrease in the gradient is, among other things, the increase in atmospheric conductivity.
If you wear clothes made of a good insulator, which is an excellent dielectric, for example clothes made of nylon, and use exclusively rubber shoes, and do not have any metal objects on the surface of the clothes, then the potential difference can be measured between the surface of the earth and the top of the head. Since each meter is 150 Volts, then with a height of 170 cm, at the top of the head there will be a potential difference of 1.7 x 150 = 255 Volts relative to the surface. If you put a metal pan on your head, a surface charge will collect on it. The reason for this charge collection is that nylon clothing is a good insulator and shoes are rubber. Grounding, that is, there is no conductive contact with the surface of the earth. In order not to accumulate electrical charges on yourself, you need to “ground yourself.” In the same way, objects, things, buildings and structures, especially high-rise ones, are capable of accumulating atmospheric electricity. This can lead to unpleasant consequences, since any accumulated charge can cause electric current and spark breakdown in gases. Such electrostatic discharges can damage electronics and cause fires, especially for flammable materials.
In order not to accumulate charges of atmospheric electricity, it is enough to connect the upper point to the lower (ground) with an electrical conductor, and if the area is large, then the grounding is done in the form of a cage, a circuit, but, in fact, they use what is called a “Faraday cage.”
Characteristics of atmospheric electricity
The earth is negatively charged and has a charge equal to 500,000 Coulombs (C) of electrical charge. The potential difference ranges from 300,000 Volts (300 kV), if we consider the voltage between the positively charged ionosphere and the Earth's surface. There is also a direct current of electricity of about 1350 Amperes (A), and the resistance of the Earth's atmosphere is about 220 ohms. This gives a power output of approximately 400 megawatts (MW), which is regenerated by solar activity. This power affects the Earth's ionosphere as well as lower layers, causing thunderstorms. The electrical energy that is stored and stored in the earth's atmosphere is about 150 gigajoules (GJ).
The Earth-Ionosphere system acts like a giant capacitor with a capacity of 1.8 Farads. Considering the enormous size of the Earth's surface area, there is only 1 nC of electrical charge per square meter of surface.
The Earth's electrosphere extends from sea level to a height of about 60 km. In the upper layers, where there are many free ions and this part of the sphere is called the ionosphere, the conductivity is maximum, since there are free charge carriers. The potential in the ionosphere can be said to be leveled, since this sphere is essentially considered a conductor of electric current; there are currents in gases and a transfer current in it. The source of free ions is the radioactivity of the Sun. The flow of charged particles coming from the Sun and from space “knocks” electrons out of gas molecules, which leads to ionization. The higher you are from the sea surface, the lower the conductivity of the atmosphere. At the sea surface, the electrical conductivity of air is about 10 -14 Siemens/m (S/m), but it increases rapidly with increasing altitude, and at an altitude of 35 km it is already 10 -11 S/m. At this altitude, the air density is only 1% of that at the surface of the sea. Further, with increasing altitude, the conductivity changes non-uniformly, because the Earth’s magnetic field and photon fluxes from the Sun influence. This means that the conductivity of the electrosphere above 35 km from sea level is non-uniform and depends on the time of day (photon flux) and on the geographical location (Earth’s magnetic field).
In order for an electrical breakdown to occur between two flat parallel electrodes (the distance between which is 1 meter), which are located at sea surface level, in dry air, a field strength of 3000 kV/m is required. If these electrodes are raised to a height of 10 km from sea level, then only 3% of this voltage will be required, that is, 90 kV/m is sufficient. If the electrodes are brought together so that the distance between them is 1 mm, then a breakdown voltage will be required 1000 times less, that is, 3 kV (sea level) and 9 V (at an altitude of 10 km).
The natural value of the Earth's electric field strength at its surface (sea level) is about 150 V/m, which is much less than the values required for a breakdown between the electrodes even in a gap of 1 mm (3 kV/m required).
Where does the Earth's electric field potential come from?
As mentioned above, the Earth is a capacitor, one plate of which is the surface of the Earth, and the other plate of the supercapacitor is the region of the ionosphere. On the surface of the Earth the charge is negative, and behind the ionosphere it is positive. Just like the surface of the Earth, the ionosphere is also a conductor, and the layer of atmosphere between them is an inhomogeneous gas dielectric. The positive charge of the ionosphere is formed due to cosmic radiation, but what charges the Earth's surface with a negative charge?
For clarity, it is necessary to remember how a conventional electrical capacitor is charged. It is included in an electrical circuit to a current source, and it is charged to the maximum voltage value on the plates. For a capacitor like the Earth, something similar happens. In the same way, a certain source must turn on, current must flow, and opposite charges are formed on the plates. Think about lightning, which is usually accompanied by thunderstorms. These lightning bolts are the very electrical circuit that charges the Earth.
It is lightning striking the surface of the Earth that is the source that charges the surface of the Earth with a negative charge. Lightning has a current of about 1800 Amperes, and the number of thunderstorms and lightning per day is more than 300. A thundercloud has polarity. Its upper part at an altitude of approximately 6-7 km at an air temperature of about -20°C is positively charged, and its lower part at an altitude of 3-4 km at an air temperature of 0° to -10°C is negatively charged. The charge at the bottom of a thundercloud is enough to create a potential difference with the Earth's surface of 20-100 million volts. The charge of lightning is usually on the order of 20-30 Coulombs (C) of electricity. Lightning strikes in discharges between clouds and between clouds and the surface of the Earth. Each recharge requires about 5 seconds, so lightning discharges can occur in this order, but this does not mean that a discharge will necessarily occur after 5 seconds.
Lightning
An atmospheric discharge in the form of lightning has a rather complex structure. In any case, this is a phenomenon of electric current in gases, which occurs when the necessary conditions for gas breakdown are achieved, that is, the ionization of air molecules. The most curious thing is that the Earth's atmosphere acts like a continuous dynamo that charges the Earth's surface negatively. Each lightning discharge strikes under the condition that the Earth's surface is devoid of negative charges, which provides the necessary potential difference for the discharge (gas ionization).
As soon as lightning strikes the ground, the negative charge flows to the surface, but after that the lower part of the thundercloud is discharged and its potential changes, it becomes positive. Next, a reverse current occurs and the excess charge that reaches the surface of the Earth moves upward, charging the thundercloud again. After this, the process can be repeated again, but with lower values of electrical voltage and current. This happens as long as there are conditions for the ionization of gases, the necessary potential difference and an excess of negative electric charge.
To summarize, we can say that lightning strikes in steps, thereby creating an electrical circuit through which current flows in gases, alternating in direction. Each lightning recharge lasts about 5 seconds and strikes only when the necessary conditions exist for this (breakdown voltage and gas ionization). The voltage between the beginning and end of lightning can be on the order of 100 million volts, and the average current value is about 1800 Amperes. The peak current reaches more than 10,000 Amperes, and the transferred charge is equal to 20-30 Coulombs of electricity.
Global capacitor
In nature, there is a completely unique alternative energy source, environmentally friendly, renewable, easy to use, which has not yet been used anywhere. This source is the atmospheric electrical potential.
Electrically, our planet is like a spherical capacitor charged to approximately 300,000 volts. The inner sphere - the surface of the Earth - is negatively charged, the outer sphere - the ionosphere - is positively charged. The Earth's atmosphere serves as an insulator (Fig. 1).
Ionic and convective capacitor leakage currents, which reach many thousands of amperes, constantly flow through the atmosphere. But despite this, the potential difference between the capacitor plates does not decrease.
This means that in nature there is a generator (G) that constantly replenishes the leakage of charges from the capacitor plates. Such a generator is the Earth's magnetic field, which rotates along with our planet in the flow of solar wind.
To use the energy of this generator, you need to somehow connect an energy consumer to it.
Connecting to the negative pole - the Earth - is simple. To do this, it is enough to make a reliable grounding. Connecting to the positive pole of the generator - the ionosphere - is a complex technical problem, which we will solve.
As in any charged capacitor, there is an electric field in our global capacitor. The strength of this field is distributed very unevenly in height: it is maximum at the surface of the Earth and is approximately 150 V/m. With height it decreases approximately according to the exponential law and at an altitude of 10 km it is about 3% of the value at the Earth's surface.
Thus, almost the entire electric field is concentrated in the lower layer of the atmosphere, near the surface of the Earth. Electrical tension vector The Earth's field E is generally directed downward. In our discussions we will use only the vertical component of this vector. The Earth's electric field, like any electric field, acts on charges with a certain force F, which is called the Coulomb force. If you multiply the amount of charge by the electric voltage. fields at this point, then we get just the magnitude of the Coulomb force Fcoul.. This Coulomb force pushes positive charges down to the ground, and negative charges up into the clouds.
Conductor in an electric field
Let's install a metal mast on the surface of the Earth and ground it. The external electric field will instantly begin to move negative charges (conduction electrons) upward to the top of the mast, creating an excess of negative charges there. And the excess of negative charges at the top of the mast will create its own electric field directed towards the external field. There comes a moment when these fields become equal in magnitude, and the movement of electrons stops. This means that in the conductor from which the mast is made, the electric field is zero.
This is how the laws of electrostatics work.
Let us assume that the height of the mast is h = 100 m, the average tension along the height of the mast is Eсr. = 100 V/m.
Then the potential difference (emf) between the Earth and the top of the mast will be numerically equal: U = h * Eav. = 100 m * 100 V/m = 10,000 volts. (1)
This is a completely real potential difference that can be measured. True, it will not be possible to measure it with an ordinary voltmeter with wires - exactly the same emf will arise in the wires as in the mast, and the voltmeter will show 0. This potential difference is directed opposite to the strength vector E of the Earth's electric field and tends to push out conduction electrons from the top of the mast up into the atmosphere. But this does not happen; the electrons cannot leave the conductor. The electrons do not have enough energy to leave the conductor that makes up the mast. This energy is called the work function of an electron from a conductor and for most metals it is less than 5 electron volts - a very insignificant value. But an electron in a metal cannot acquire such energy between collisions with the crystal lattice of the metal and therefore remains on the surface of the conductor.
The question arises: what will happen to the conductor if we help the excess charges at the top of the mast to leave this conductor?
The answer is simple: the negative charge at the top of the mast will decrease, the external electric field inside the mast will no longer be compensated and will again begin to move conduction electrons upward to the upper end of the mast. This means that current will flow through the mast. And if we manage to constantly remove excess charges from the top of the mast, current will constantly flow in it. Now we just need to cut the mast in any place convenient for us and turn on the load (energy consumer) there - and the power plant is ready.
Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of such a power plant. Under the influence of the Earth's electric field, conduction electrons from the ground move along the mast through the load and then up the mast to the emitter, which releases them from the metal surface of the top of the mast and sends them as ions to float freely through the atmosphere. The Earth's electric field, in full accordance with Coulomb's law, lifts them up until they are neutralized on their way by positive ions, which always fall down from the ionosphere under the influence of the same field.
Thus, we have closed the electrical circuit between the plates of the global electric capacitor, which in turn is connected to the generator G, and have included an energy consumer (load) in this circuit. One important question remains to be resolved: how to remove excess charges from the top of the mast?
Emitter design
The simplest emitter can be a flat disk of sheet metal with many needles located around its circumference. It is “mounted” on a vertical axis and rotated.
As the disk rotates, the incoming moist air strips electrons from its needles and thus releases them from the metal.
A power plant with a similar emitter already exists. True, no one uses its energy; they fight against it.
This is a helicopter carrying a metal structure on a long metal sling during the installation of tall buildings. Here there are all the elements of the power plant shown in Fig. 3, with the exception of the energy consumer (load). The emitter is the helicopter rotor blades, which are blown by a stream of moist air; the mast is a long steel sling with a metal structure. And the workers who install this structure in place know very well that it is forbidden to touch it with bare hands - “it will give you an electric shock.” And indeed, at this moment they become a load in the power plant circuit.
Of course, other emitter designs are possible, more efficient, complex, based on different principles and physical effects, see Fig. 4-5.
The emitter does not currently exist in the form of a finished product. Everyone interested in this idea is forced to independently construct their own emitter.
To help such creative people, the author provides below his thoughts on the design of the emitter.
The following emitter designs seem to be the most promising.
The first version of the emitter
The water molecule has a well-defined polarity and can easily capture a free electron. If you blow steam on a negatively charged metal plate, the steam will capture free electrons from the surface of the plate and take them with it. The emitter is a slotted nozzle along which an insulated electrode A is placed and to which a positive potential is applied from a source I. Electrode A and the sharp edges of the nozzle form a small charged capacitance. Free electrons are collected at the sharp edges of the nozzle under the influence of the positive insulated electrode A. The steam passing through the nozzle picks electrons from the edges of the nozzle and carries them into the atmosphere. In Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of this structure. Since electrode A is isolated from the external environment, the current in the emf source circuit is No. And this electrode is needed here only in order to create, together with the sharp edges of the nozzle, a strong electric field in this gap and concentrate conduction electrons at the edges of the nozzle. Thus, electrode A with a positive potential is a kind of activating electrode. By changing the potential on it, you can achieve the desired value of the emitter current.
A very important question arises: how much steam should be supplied through the nozzle and will it turn out that all the energy of the station will have to be spent on converting water into steam? Let's do a little calculation.
One gram molecule of water (18 ml) contains 6.02 * 1023 water molecules (Avogadro's number). The charge of one electron is equal to 1.6 * 10 (- 19) Coulomb. Multiplying these values, we find that 96,000 Coulombs of electric charge can be placed on 18 ml of water, and more than 5,000,000 Coulombs on 1 liter of water. This means that at a current of 100 A, one liter of water is enough to operate the installation for 14 hours. To turn this amount of water into steam will require a very small percentage of the generated energy.
Of course, attaching an electron to each water molecule is hardly a feasible task, but here we have defined a limit that can be constantly approached by improving the design of the device and technology.
In addition, calculations show that it is energetically more beneficial to blow moist air rather than steam through the nozzle, regulating its humidity within the required limits.
Second version of the emitter
At the top of the mast there is a metal vessel with water. The vessel is connected to the metal of the mast by a reliable contact. A glass capillary tube is installed in the middle of the vessel. The water level in the tube is higher than in the vessel. This creates an electrostatic tip effect - the maximum concentration of charges and the maximum electric field strength are created at the top of the capillary tube.
Under the influence of an electric field, the water in the capillary tube will rise and be sprayed into small droplets, taking with it a negative charge. At a certain small current strength, the water in the capillary tube will boil, and the steam will carry away the charges. And this should increase the emitter current.
Several capillary tubes can be installed in such a vessel. How much water is needed - see calculations above.
The third embodiment of the emitter. Spark emitter.
When a spark gap breaks down, a cloud of conduction electrons jumps out of the metal along with the spark.
Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a spark emitter. From the high-voltage pulse generator, negative pulses are sent to the mast, positive pulses are sent to the electrode, which forms a spark gap with the top of the mast. It turns out something similar to a car spark plug, but the design is much simpler.
The high-voltage pulse generator is fundamentally not much different from a conventional Chinese-made household gas lighter powered by a single AA battery.
The main advantage of such a device is the ability to regulate the emitter current using the discharge frequency, the size of the spark gap, you can make several spark gaps, etc.
The pulse generator can be installed in any convenient place, not necessarily at the top of the mast.
But there is one drawback - spark discharges create radio interference. Therefore, the top of the mast with spark gaps must be shielded with a cylindrical mesh, which must be insulated from the mast.
The fourth version of the emitter
Another possibility is to create an emitter based on the principle of direct emission of electrons from the emitter material. This requires a material with a very low electron work function. Such materials have existed for a long time, for example, barium oxide paste-0.99 eV. Perhaps there is something better now.
Ideally, this should be a room-temperature superconductor (RTSC), which does not yet exist in nature. But according to various reports, it should appear soon. All hope lies in nanotechnology.
It is enough to place a piece of CTSP on the top of the mast - and the emitter is ready. Passing through a superconductor, an electron does not encounter resistance and very quickly acquires the energy necessary to exit the metal (about 5 eV).
And one more important note. According to the laws of electrostatics, the intensity of the Earth's electric field is highest at elevations - at the tops of hills, hills, mountains, etc. In lowlands, depressions and recesses it is minimal. Therefore, it is better to build such devices in the highest places and away from tall buildings, or install them on the roofs of the tallest buildings.
Another good idea is to lift the conductor using a balloon. The emitter, of course, must be installed on the top of the balloon. In this case, it is possible to obtain a sufficiently large potential for the spontaneous emission of electrons from the metal, giving it the form of otrium, and, therefore, no complex emitters are required in this case.
There is another good opportunity to get an emitter. Electrostatic painting of metal is used in industry. Sprayed paint, flying out of the spray gun, carries an electric charge, due to which it settles on the metal being painted, to which a charge of the opposite sign is applied. The technology has been proven.
Such a device, which charges sprayed paint, is precisely a real electrical emitter. charges. All that remains is to adapt it to the installation described above and replace the paint with water if there is a need for water.
It is quite possible that the moisture always contained in the air will be sufficient for the emitter to operate.
It is possible that there are other similar devices in industry that can easily be converted into an emitter.
conclusions
As a result of our actions, we connected the energy consumer to a global electrical energy generator. We connected to the negative pole - the Earth - using a regular metal conductor (grounding), and to the positive pole - the ionosphere - using a very specific conductor - convective current. Convective currents are electrical currents caused by the ordered transport of charged particles. They are common in nature. These are ordinary convective ascending jets that carry negative charges into the clouds, and these are tornadoes (tornadoes). which drag a cloud mass highly charged with positive charges towards the ground, these are also the rising air currents in the intertropical convergence zone, which carry a huge amount of negative charges into the upper layers of the troposphere. And such currents reach very high values.
If we create a sufficiently efficient emitter that can release, say, 100 coulombs of charges per second (100 amperes) from the top of a mast (or several masts), then the power of the power plant we have built will be equal to 1,000,000 watts or 1 megawatt. Quite decent power!
Such an installation is indispensable in remote settlements, at weather stations and other places remote from civilization.
From the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:
The energy source is extremely simple and easy to use.
The output is the most convenient type of energy - electricity.
The source is environmentally friendly: no emissions, no noise, etc.
The installation is extremely easy to manufacture and operate.
The exceptional low cost of the energy produced and many other advantages.
The Earth's electric field is subject to fluctuations: in winter it is stronger than in summer, it reaches a maximum daily at 19 hours GMT, and also depends on weather conditions. But these fluctuations do not exceed 20% of its average value.
In some rare cases, under certain weather conditions, the strength of this field can increase several times.
During a thunderstorm, the electric field changes over a wide range and can change direction to the opposite, but this happens in a small area directly under the thunderstorm cell.
Kurilov Yuri Mikhailovich
The natural state of bodies on the surface of the Earth - both atoms and molecules, and large pieces of matter - is electrical neutrality. However, if you charge an electroscope, after a while it will lose all its charge, no matter how careful the insulation is. This means that there are a lot of charged particles in the air around us - ions and dust particles. The electroscope ball “sucks” ions of the opposite sign into itself from the atmosphere and becomes neutral.
High above us stretches a thick layer of highly ionized gas - the ionosphere. It begins several tens of kilometers from the surface of the Earth and reaches four hundred kilometers in height. You won't find it with an electroscope. The discovery of the ionosphere required the invention of radio. The layer of highly ionized gas conducts electricity well and, like a metal surface, reflects radio waves with a wavelength exceeding 30 meters. If there were no ionospheric “mirror” around the Earth, short-wave radio communication would only be possible within line of sight.
Three suppliers
So, there are ions around us and above us. But they are short-lived. A chance meeting of unlike ions - and they cease to exist. This means that there must be some continuously operating processes that supply ions.
There are three such suppliers. Near the Earth's surface is the radiation of radioactive elements contained in small quantities in the earth's crust. At high altitudes - ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. And finally, the entire thickness of the atmosphere from top to bottom is penetrated by streams of very fast charged particles - cosmic rays. A small part of them comes from the Sun, and the rest - from the depths of outer space of our Galaxy.
Sometimes particularly powerful streams of charged particles burst out from the surface of the Sun. At an altitude of several hundred kilometers above the Earth, their electromagnetic fields excite atoms and cause them to emit light. Then we see the northern lights. They take place mainly at high latitudes, and residents of temperate zones almost never have the opportunity to enjoy the amazingly beautiful play of light pillars shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.
Lightning
But everyone is familiar with a thunderstorm. The monstrous accumulation of electricity of one sign in a cloud causes a spark, the length of which sometimes exceeds tens of kilometers. Whimsically changing its path depending on the conductivity of the air and the objects it strikes, lightning often produces striking effects. The most amazing of them are given in the book “Atmosphere” by the French astronomer Flammarion.
“No theatrical play, no tricks can compete,” writes Flammarion, “with lightning in the surprise and strangeness of its effects. It seems like some kind of special substance, something between the unconscious forces of nature and the conscious soul of man; it is some kind of it is a spirit, subtle and whimsical, cunning and stupid at the same time, clairvoyant or blind, possessing a will or forced, moving from one extreme to another, terrible and incomprehensible. You can’t come to terms with it, you can’t catch it. It acts and that’s all. Actions his, without a doubt, just like ours, only seem to be whims, but in fact are subject to some unchanging laws. But until now we could not grasp these laws. Here he kills and burns a person on the spot, not only sparing, but without even touching his clothes, which remain untouched. There he strips the man naked, without causing him the slightest harm, not a single scratch. In another place he steals coins without damaging either his wallet or his pocket. Then he tears off the gilding from the chandelier and transfers it to the plaster walls; then he takes off the traveler’s shoes and throws his shoes ten meters to the side, then, finally, in one village he drills a stack of plates in the center and, moreover, alternately, through two pieces... What kind of order can be established here.”
The following lists about a hundred different cases. For example: “One very hairy man, caught in a thunderstorm near E., had his hair shaved off in strips along his entire body by lightning, rolled into balls and thrust deep into the thickness of his calf muscles.” Or again: “In the summer of 1865, a doctor from the outskirts of Vienna, Doctor Drendinger, was returning home from the railway. As he got off the carriage, he grabbed his wallet; it turned out that it had been stolen.
This purse was tortoiseshell, and on one of its lids there was an inlaid steel monogram of a doctor: two intertwined D.
Some time later, the doctor was called to a foreigner who had been “killed” by lightning and found unconscious under a tree. The first thing the doctor noticed on the patient’s thigh was his own monogram, as if he had just been photographed. You can judge his surprise! The patient was revived and transferred to the hospital. There the doctor said that the patient’s tortoiseshell wallet must be somewhere in the patient’s pockets, which turned out to be quite fair. The subject was the same thief who stole the wallet, and the electricity branded him, melting the metal monogram."
It is curious that in the statistics cited by Flammarion, the number of killed women is almost three times less than that of men. This, of course, is not explained by the gallantry of lightning, but simply by the fact that in those days (early 20th century) in France, men were more likely to do field work.
Recently, American newspapers reported a case worthy of Flammarion. Lightning struck the refrigerator and fried the chicken in it, which was then safely cooled, since the refrigerator remained in working order.
One can, of course, doubt the reliability of all the cases cited, but one cannot but agree that lightning is really capable of performing miracles. It is not always possible to explain them. The discharge lasts only about a hundred thousandth of a second, and there is no preparation for observing it in such exceptional cases. It is impossible to repeat the event again later: you will not create exactly the same lightning, not to mention other conditions.
But in principle, everything is not as mysterious as it seemed to Flammarion. In the end it all comes down to such common effects of current as heat, electromagnetic fields and chemical reactions. Only the current is enormous: tens, or even hundreds of thousands of amperes.
The main thing is not to understand the countless oddities. We need to understand how electrical charge accumulates in a thundercloud. What causes the electrification of water droplets, and why are charges of the opposite sign spatially separated inside the cloud? Not everything is completely clear here yet.
First of all, there is no single mechanism for charging droplets.
Several such mechanisms are reliably known, and it is difficult to assess which of them plays the main role. Here are two of them. In the electric field of the Earth (we have already mentioned that the globe is negatively charged), a drop of water is polarized. A positive charge accumulates on its lower part, and a negative charge accumulates on its upper part. When a large drop falls, it predominantly captures negative air ions and acquires an electrical charge. Positive ions are carried upward by the rising air flow.
Another mechanism is the charging of droplets when they are crushed by oncoming air flows. Small splashes are charged negatively and are carried upward, while large splashes, charged positively, fall down.
Both of these mechanisms provide both the charging of the droplets and the spatial separation of charges of the opposite sign inside the cloud. Typically, a negative charge accumulates at the bottom of a thundercloud (except for a small, positively charged area), and a positive charge accumulates at the top.
The situation is much worse with the explanation of ball lightning, which sometimes appears after a strong discharge of linear lightning. Usually this is a luminous ball with a diameter of 10 - 20 centimeters. Often it resembles “a medium-sized kitten, curled up in a ball and rolling without the help of its legs.” Ball lightning can explode upon touching objects, causing significant destruction.
Ball lightning is perhaps the only macroscopic phenomenon on Earth that still does not have any reliable explanation. A spherical discharge cannot be obtained in the laboratory. That's the whole point.
St. Elmo's Fire
Before or during a thunderstorm, tassel-like cones of light often flash on the points and sharp corners of highly raised objects. This slow and peaceful discharge has been called St. Elmo's fire since ancient times.
You can also read from Titus Livy that when Lysander’s fleet left the port to attack the Athenians, lights lit up on the masts of the admiral’s galley. The ancients considered the appearance of the lights of Elmo a good omen.
Climbers especially often witness this phenomenon. Sometimes not only metal objects, but also the ends of the hair on the head are decorated with small luminous plumes. If you raise your hand, you can feel the characteristic burning sensation as an electric current flowing from your fingers. Often ice axes begin to hum like a large bumblebee.
St. Elmo's Fire is nothing more than a form of corona discharge, easily produced in the laboratory. A charged cloud induces electric charges of the opposite sign on the surface of the Earth beneath it. A particularly large charge accumulates on the tips. When the electric field strength reaches a critical value of 30,000 V/cm, the discharge begins. The electrons formed near the tip due to the usual ionization of air are accelerated by the field and, colliding with atoms and molecules, destroy them. The number of electrons and ions increases like an avalanche, and the air begins to glow.
Electric charge of the Earth
A thundercloud does not retain its charge for long. A few lightning strikes and the cloud is discharged. The charge of the globe, if you do not pay attention to minor fluctuations, remains unchanged. At the Earth's surface, the electric field is not so small: 130 V/m. At first glance this is quite strange. Due to atmospheric ions, the air conducts electricity, and calculations show that in about half an hour the globe should be completely discharged. Therefore, the main difficulty is not in finding out the origin of the charge, but in understanding why it does not disappear.
There are two reasons for the restoration of the Earth's charge. First, lightning strikes. More than 40 thousand thunderstorms occur on Earth per day and about 1,800 lightning strikes the Earth every second. The lower part of the cloud carries a negative charge and, therefore, a lightning strike is the transfer of some portion of negative electricity to the globe.
At the same time, during a thunderstorm, currents arise from numerous pointed objects (St. Elmo's fire), which remove a positive charge from the earth's surface.
It is difficult to strike a balance here, but in general, apparently, ends meet. The loss of negative charge in areas of the earth's surface over which there is a clear sky is compensated by the influx of negative charges in places where thunderstorms are raging.
Well, where did the Earth’s charge come from, and why is it negative? This is where we have to speculate. According to Frenkel, at first a small charge arose from random causes. It then began to grow due to the "thunderstorm mechanism" discussed until a dynamic equilibrium was established that exists to this day.
The charge could initially be positive. Then the water drops of the thundercloud would be polarized differently, and the lightning would impart a positive charge to the Earth. In general, everything would be the same as it is now, but only the roles of positive and negative charges would change.
The Earth's magnetic field attracted people's attention much earlier than the electric field. It is detected extremely simply, but its role in the life of our planet is far from being limited to helping its inhabitants find the right path with the help of a compass in the vast ocean, taiga or desert.
If the electric field practically does not extend beyond the lower layers of the atmosphere, then the magnetic field extends to 20 - 25 earth radii. Only at an altitude of 100,000 kilometers does it cease to play a noticeable role, approaching the magnitude of the field of interplanetary space.
The magnetic field forms the third "armor belt" surrounding the Earth along with the atmosphere and ionosphere. The Eye does not allow streams of cosmic particles to approach the Earth, unless their energy is too high. Only in the region of the magnetic poles can these particles freely invade the atmosphere.
At high altitudes, the magnetic field is small, but covers vast areas of space. Acting on a charged particle for a long time, it significantly changes its trajectory. Instead of a straight line, a spiral winds around the field lines. Along the lines of force, the magnetic field drives particles towards the poles. Sometimes, however, if the speed of the particle is high, it does not have time to make even one turn, and then we can only talk about the curvature of the trajectory.
In accordance with Ampere's law, a particle flying along a field line is not affected by a magnetic field. That is why particles can freely fly to the poles, from where the lines of force fan out. It is not surprising that corpuscular flows from the Sun cause the upper layers of the air ocean to glow mainly at the poles.
By the way, these streams of particles themselves create significant magnetic fields and cause “magnetic storms”, during which the compass needle begins to dart helplessly.
The Earth's radiation belts, discovered relatively recently with the help of space rockets, are nothing more than charged particles of not too high energies, captured by a magnetic trap set by our planet. It is the magnetic field that holds swarms of charged particles at high altitudes, like halos surrounding the Earth. Electrons dominate in the outer belt, and protons dominate in the inner belt, where the field strength is greater. For astronaut flights at high altitudes, these belts pose a real danger.
Globe - spherical dynamo
The origin of terrestrial magnetism is an even more confusing question than the origin of the electric field. It cannot be explained by the accumulation of magnetized rocks. Frenkel's interesting idea, put forward relatively recently, apparently allows us to understand something here. The earth's core is a generator of electric current, operating on the principle of self-excitation, like a conventional dynamo.
It will probably not be difficult for you to remember what this principle is. In dynamos, current arises when conductors move in a magnetic field, which is itself created by the same current. If at first there is no current, then at a certain rotation speed it appears and begins to increase. After all, there is always a small residual field. It creates a current that slightly increases the magnetic field. Due to this, the current increases, and then the magnetic field, etc., up to a certain limiting value.
In order to be able to liken the globe to a generator, we must first assume that the Earth’s core is liquid and capable of conducting electric current. There is nothing incredible in these assumptions. But where can the movements of the conducting masses of the nucleus come from? With a dynamo we simply spin the armature, but here there are no external influences.
However, a way out can be found. Due to the radioactive decay of unstable elements, the temperature in the center of the core should be slightly higher than at its periphery. Because of this, convection occurs: hotter masses from the center of the core rush upward, and colder ones descend downward. But the Earth rotates and the speed of masses on the surface of the core is greater than in its depths. Therefore, rising fluid elements slow down the rotation of the outer layers of the core, while descending elements, on the contrary, accelerate the inner layers. As a result, the inner part of the core rotates faster than the outer one and plays the role of a generator rotor, while the outer part plays the role of a stator.
In such a system, as calculations show, self-excitation and the appearance of eddy electric currents of significant magnitude are possible.
These currents, according to Frenkel's hypothesis, create a magnetic field around the Earth!
The energy to maintain the current is drawn from the radioactive heating of the substance, which creates convection currents in the core.
It is difficult to say whether this is the case in reality. In any case, it is more correct to call the Earth a “big dynamo” than a “big magnet,” as is done in many books.
The magnetic field surrounds not only the Earth, but can also exist around other planets and stars. It puts “its stamp” on the light waves emitted by the atoms of the Sun and stars, thereby giving physicists the opportunity to discover themselves.
The Moon, as measurements by our and American scientists have shown, does not have a magnetic field. Venus does not have it either. Mars may have a magnetic field, but it is very weak, at least 1000 times weaker than Earth's. This was established with the help of our space orbital stations Mars 2 and Mars 3.
Space electrodynamics
Having started talking about the magnetic fields of planets and stars, we quietly entered a new area, the area of cosmic electrodynamics. There is still little reliable here; much less than different hypotheses. But much that was still an interesting guess yesterday is today becoming almost a reliable fact. The main thing is that it turned out that electromagnetic forces play no small role in space, as was previously assumed.
The raging surface and atmosphere of the Sun... Giant tongues of hot matter soar upward. Whirlwinds and tornadoes the size of our planet. Storms, continuous storms, but fiery, sparkling. Storms not only of matter, but also of the magnetic field.
Sometimes black spots emerge from the depths of the Sun in pairs. The magnetic field in these areas increases thousands of times.
Enormous forces sometimes eject whole bunches of charged particles from the Sun. Overcoming gravitational attraction, they crash into the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of several thousand kilometers per second.
It is difficult for a physicist to discern some kind of pattern, some kind of order. It is difficult to understand the nature of forces in a spinning mass of matter. This happens far, very far away, and is not at all like what we can see on our planet.
Difficult, but not impossible. At the temperatures that exist on the Sun, there can be neither neutral atoms nor neutral molecules. They simply cannot survive, just as a steam locomotive crashing into an oncoming train at full speed cannot survive.
And such a fully ionized gas, or fully ionized plasma, as physicists say, perfectly conducts electric current. This makes it possible for electromagnetic forces to unfold and demonstrate their power in a new field.
In a magnetic field inside a moving high-temperature plasma, electric currents of considerable magnitude are excited. Due to their good conductivity, they do not tend to fade. Therefore, in a medium, along with the usual elastic forces, the forces of magnetic interaction of currents acquire no less importance. And if the motion of a simple medium is described by the laws of hydrodynamics, then magnetic hydrodynamics reigns here.
We are, of course, still very far from understanding everything that happens on the Sun. But there is confidence that the main phenomena, ranging from the ejection of entire masses of matter to the appearance of sunspots, are due to magnetic interactions.
And not only that! Interstellar gas is highly ionized by radiation. Its density is low (1 particle per cubic centimeter), but this is compensated by the enormous size of the clouds. Electric currents and, accordingly, magnetic fields in them cannot be ignored.
Moving clouds fill the entire Galaxy, and therefore the entire Galaxy is filled with a magnetic field. And not only the Galaxy itself, but also neighboring regions of space.
The magnetic fields here are not strong, and we cannot perceive them directly. But we know that they exist! Where from?
Radio emission of the Galaxy and cosmic rays
If we could see radio waves, then not one, but three Suns (more precisely, “radio suns”) would sparkle in the sky. One of them is in the constellation Cassiopeia, the other is in Cygnus and, finally, this is our ordinary Sun *. But in addition, we would notice many less bright “radio suns” and weak scattered “radio light” coming to us from all corners of the Galaxy and even from seemingly empty places adjacent to it.
* (The Sun is an ordinary star and only its proximity to us allows it to compete in “radio brightness” with the first two sources, immeasurably more powerful than the Sun.)
Some radio waves arise from collisions of charged particles of hot gas. This is thermal (bremsstrahlung) radiation. It cannot tell us anything about the magnetic fields of the Galaxy. But there is another, non-thermal part, the cradle of which is the magnetic field. It wraps fast cosmic electrons, and, spinning in a spiral, these electrons emit electromagnetic waves, just as a frantically rotating whetstone scatters sparks around itself if you touch its surface with the blade of a knife. It can be argued that where radio waves are born, there are necessarily magnetic fields!
But where do fast electrons come from in space? Radio emission is generated by them, and where there are particularly powerful sources of radio waves, we must look for space accelerators. This means that those distant powerful “radio suns” that were discussed are mainly such cosmic accelerators.
We are accustomed to the calm depths of a clear night sky. Nothing seems as unshakable and eternal as the “harmonious choir” of the heavenly bodies. In general, this is how it is. But sometimes disasters happen; disasters of purely cosmic proportions. A star that has lived its normal life for billions of years suddenly begins to swell monstrously for unknown reasons. (If this happened to our Sun *, then very soon the orbits of all the planets would be inside it.) The brightness of the star (it is called a supernova) increases hundreds of millions of times, and it can be seen in the sky in broad daylight. Gradually, the brightness decreases, and in place of the star there remains a nebulous cloud, sometimes difficult to discern through a telescope.
* (Such an explosion does not really threaten the sun. Its mass is too small.)
We hope that everyone more or less understands what voltage is in an electrical network. Here the word tension has exactly the same meaning.
In the Galaxy with its billions of stars, such an outbreak is observed once every 100 - 200 years. Since the invention of the telescope, not a single supernova has appeared.
So, “radio suns” are mostly remnants of supernovae. Only in the direction of the constellation Cygnus we probably observe traces of an even more powerful catastrophe; the explosion of an entire galaxy similar to ours.
One can imagine that charged particles (electrons, protons and atomic nuclei) receive their initial acceleration from the giant shock wave accompanying the supernova explosion. Subsequently, electromagnetic forces begin to act. Increasing magnetic fields induce an electric field. This field may not be that large, but due to its cosmic dimensions it accelerates individual particles to energies not yet available to human-made accelerators.
Some cosmic rays are supplied by the less powerful inductive electric fields of the Sun and other stars.
There is probably another mechanism for accelerating cosmic particles. When a moving magnetized cloud of interstellar gas meets a fast particle, a process similar to the collision of two balls occurs. Only the role of ordinary elastic forces is played by the interaction of the particle with the induction electric field generated by the magnetic field moving along with the gas. With such a collision, the energy of the particle should increase, just as it happens when a light ball collides with a very heavy one. After a large number of collisions, a particle can gain significant energy.
The random magnetic fields of the Galaxy not only accelerate, but also scatter cosmic particles. As a result, they already arrive on Earth evenly from all sides, and not just from those places where they are accelerated. Super-powerful particles fly towards us, probably from neighboring galaxies.
We cannot claim that everything in the world happens the way and only the way we just told you. This is only the most natural picture of electromagnetic phenomena in the Universe from a modern point of view. It is written, as you can see, in very large strokes. And this happened not only due to the fact that the picture is very large. The details of the phenomena remain unclear to the artist-scientists themselves. And the “paint” on the painting has not yet “dried”: the painting was created quite recently, several years ago, and only its integrity gives us hope that it is fundamentally correct.
While the majestic phenomena befitting it were playing out in space, in one of the Moscow apartments the “small friendly team” (as the authors called themselves) was torn apart by contradictions. By the time work on the book was already in full swing, it became clear to the authors that their positions, to put it mildly, did not completely coincide.
The essence of the dispute, as is clear from what follows, makes it possible to assign to one of the co-authors the name Krotky (abbreviated TO), and behind the other - Shrew (abbreviated WITH).
TO. You know how much I respect you! But what are you doing?
Instead of a casual story about the essence of forces, you, having turned into an archivist, scrupulously, with unnecessary details, register all the manifestations of electromagnetic forces that you know. Moreover, you look for descriptions in books of manifestations of forces that, excuse me, you don’t know at all.
Is this what our reader dreamed of when purchasing the book? What do you think, does he need another textbook?
WITH. Forgive me, but since the book is not approved by the Ministry, it is not yet a textbook. And besides, didn't we promise to talk about the forces in nature? It means about the forces that surround each of us. It is impossible, there is no way to bypass friction, elasticity, chemical forces, etc. After all, we are not writing for young philosophers who want to know only the basics and are not interested in what happens around us, above us and below us every day.
TO. I believe you have great intentions. But if you follow your path, you will have, for example, to talk not only about friction in liquids in general, but also about the friction of a ball, cylinder, cube, etc. Then everything will be sorted out.
Of course, I'm exaggerating a little, but you undoubtedly have a desire to sort things out.
WITH. What do you propose, to act according to the old joke, in which the learned son amazed his parents and everyone around him with the extreme scientific laconicism of his answers? He answered all questions: what, how and why, briefly - this is electricity.
And should we write: elasticity is electricity; friction is also electricity; chemical forces are electrical forces, etc.
TO. And look what you got. Here is the structure of gases together with liquids (which is known to everyone), and the features of forces in crystals (which few people know, but are of no interest to almost anyone)...
If you still want to write about them, write. But write in such a way that the reader does not fall asleep or throw the book somewhere far away.
WITH. Yes, you must understand that this is difficult, very difficult.
It is more interesting and easier to write, for example, about the theory of relativity than about chemical forces. Besides, a whole book needs to be written about each type of electromagnetic force. While wanting to be brief, it's hard not to be boring.
TO. It is not only more interesting to write about the theory of relativity, it is also more interesting to read about it.
WITH. Well, let this part of the book be an encyclopedia, but an encyclopedia, nevertheless (I flatter myself) more suitable for not too exhausting reading.
TO. I see you persist. But in your story, among other things, there is not even elementary consistency. After cosmic rays, you immediately want to move on to electric fish.
WITH. So what? Pisces, so fish. Those who are not interested in them may not read them.
And in general, why don’t we write in the preface that each reader can choose from the sections of the chapter “Electromagnetic Forces in Action” only those that interest him. At worst, don't read this chapter at all.
TO. Hmm...since you're so stubborn, this seems to be really the only option.
WITH. Don't be too upset. There is also an editor. He will say: throw it all away - we will throw it away.
Electric fish
So, electric fish. These are unique creatures that differ from their fellows in that they carry living galvanic elements. The electric current they produce serves as a means of defense or attack.
It is interesting that among fossil fish there were much more electric fish than among living fish. Apparently, the explicit use of electromagnetic forces turned out to be not as effective as improving the forces that manifest themselves implicitly: primarily muscle ones.
The most striking representative of the breed that interests us is the electric stingray. This fish, which lives in warm seas, weighs about 100 kilograms and reaches about two meters in length. His electrical organs, located on the sides of his head, weigh more than a pound. An untired stingray is capable of producing a current of 8 amperes at a voltage of 300 volts. This poses a serious danger to humans.
It is difficult to expect great sensitivity to current from electric fish. Indeed, the stingray easily endures stress that is fatal to other fish.
The electrical organs of the stingray are surprisingly similar in structure to a battery of galvanic cells. They consist of numerous plates assembled in columns (series connection of elements), which are located next to each other in many rows (parallel connection).
One side of the plate is smooth and carries a negative charge. The other, with protruding papillae, is positively charged. As expected, the entire device is enclosed in electrically insulating fabric.
We will not try to delve into the mechanism of the generation of electromotive force in the organs of the stingray, just as we did not at one time understand the principle of operation of a conventional galvanic cell (we will follow K’s advice). There is still a lot of unknowns here. Only one thing can be said with certainty: the operation of electrical organs is based on chemical forces, as in a galvanic cell.
We will also not expand our circle of acquaintances among electric fish.
It is impossible not to mention another remarkable inhabitant of the Nile - mormyrus or water elephant. This fish is equipped with an amazing locator. At the base of its tail there is an alternating electric current generator that sends pulses with a frequency of several hundred vibrations per second. Surrounding objects distort the electromagnetic field around the mormyrus, which is immediately detected by the receiving device on its back. The sensitivity of the locator is unusually high. Mormyrus cannot be caught in a net. In the aquarium, he begins to rush around as soon as you run a comb through his hair several times.
How the locator works has not yet been clarified. It is hoped that a detailed study of this issue will help establish underwater electromagnetic communication, which has not yet been possible due to the high attenuation of electromagnetic waves in water.
The nature of the nerve impulse
In the end, the stingray and fish like it, with all their electrical equipment, are nothing more than a whim of nature. Nature has assigned an incomparably more significant role to free electricity in living organisms. This electricity serves communication lines that transmit “telegrams” to the brain from the senses about everything happening in the outside world, and the brain’s response orders to any muscles and all internal organs.
Nerves permeate the entire body of more or less perfect living beings, and thanks to them the body acts as a single whole, sometimes acting with amazing purpose. Once the nerve leading to a muscle is cut, it becomes paralyzed, just as a motor cylinder stops working if the wire transmitting current pulses to the spark plug is broken.
This is not just a superficial analogy. Since the time of Galvani, it has been established that the signal transmitted to nerve fibers (nerve impulse) is a short-term electrical impulse. True, the situation is far from being as simple as one might think. The nerve is not a passive channel of high conductivity, like an ordinary metal wire. Rather, it resembles what is called a relay line in technology, when the incoming signal is transmitted only to neighboring sections of the line, where it is amplified and only then slides further, there it is amplified again, etc. Thanks to this, the signal can be transmitted without attenuation over significant distances, despite natural attenuation.
What is a nerve? From R. Gerard you can read: “If the spider, which we see from the ground hanging on a web thread at the height of a six-story building, was reduced in size by about another factor of twenty (including the thread on which it hangs), it would closely resemble a nerve cell, or neuron. The body of a nerve cell does not differ from other cells either in its size or in any other features... However, a neuron, unlike ordinary, incurious cells, has not only a cell body - it sends out thin thread-like processes Most of the processes extend over short distances... However, one thin process with a diameter of less than 0.01 millimeters, as if possessed by wanderlust, extends from the neuron to enormous distances, measured in centimeters and even meters.
All neurons of the central nervous system are collected together in the brain and spinal cord, where they form gray matter... And only long processes - axons - connect them to the rest of the body. Bundles of these axons, or axial processes, extending from nerve cells close to each other, form nerves." A special substance, myelin, wraps a thin layer around most axons, just like insulating tape wraps around an electrical wire.
The axon itself can be simplistically imagined as a long cylindrical tube with a surface membrane that separates two aqueous solutions of different chemical compositions and different concentrations. The membrane is like a wall with a large number of half-open doors, through which ions of solutions can only squeeze through with great difficulty. The most amazing and incomprehensible thing is that the electric field “closes these doors”, and with its weakening they open wider.
In the dormant state, there is an excess of potassium ions inside the axon; outside - sodium ions. Negative ions are concentrated mainly on the inner surface of the membrane and therefore it is negatively charged, while the outer surface is positively charged.
When the nerve is irritated, partial depolarization of the membrane occurs (a decrease in the charges on its surfaces), which leads to a decrease in the electric field inside it. As a result, the “doors” open slightly for sodium ions and they begin to penetrate into the fiber. Eventually, the interior of the axon becomes positively charged at this site.
This is how a nerve impulse arises. Strictly speaking, this is a voltage pulse * caused by the flow of current through the membrane.
* (We hope that everyone more or less understands what voltage is in an electrical network. Here the word tension has exactly the same meaning.)
At this moment, the “doors open” for potassium ions. Passing to the surface of the axon, they gradually restore the voltage (about 0.05 volts) that the unexcited nerve had.
At the same time, some of the ions from the neighboring area “break through the neighbors’ doors.” Because of this, the field here also begins to weaken, and the whole process is repeated in a new section of the axon. As a result, a nerve impulse moves along a person’s nerve to the brain, without fading, at a speed of about 120 meters per second.
Sodium and potassium ions, displaced from their homes during the passage of the pulse, gradually return directly through the wall due to chemical processes, the mechanism of which has not yet been clarified.
It is a matter of admiring surprise that all the behavior of higher animals, all the creative efforts of the human brain are ultimately based on these extremely weak currents and the finest, microscopic chemical reactions.
Biocurrents of the brain
Here we touch on the holy of holies of living nature - the human brain. Electrical processes occur continuously in the brain. If metal plates are placed on the forehead and back of the head, connected through an amplifier to a recording device, then continuous electrical oscillations of the cerebral cortex can be recorded *. Their rhythm, shape and intensity significantly depend on the person’s condition.
* (Oscillations are observed not only in the human brain, but also in the brains of animals.)
In the brain of a person sitting quietly with his eyes closed, not thinking about anything, about 10 vibrations per second occur. When a person opens his eyes, the brain waves disappear and reappear when the eyes are closed. When a person falls asleep, the rhythm of vibrations slows down. By the nature of the vibrations, you can very accurately determine the moment of the beginning and end of the dream.
In diseases of the brain, the nature of electrical oscillations changes especially sharply. Thus, pathological fluctuations in epilepsy can serve as a sure sign of the disease.
All this proves that the brain cells are in a state of constant activity, and large numbers of them, as Gerard puts it, “vibrate together like the violins of a huge orchestra.” Nerve impulses entering the brain do not follow well-trodden paths, but change the entire picture of the distribution of vibrations in the cerebral cortex.
The pattern of electrical activity in the brain changes with age throughout life and learning.
It must be assumed that electrical vibrations do not simply accompany the work of the brain, like noise - the movement of a car, but are the most essential moment of its entire life activity. In an electronic computer, capable of performing individual functions of the brain even better than the brain itself, it is electromagnetic processes that determine all the work.
It must be emphasized that each sensation, each thought does not at all correspond to its own, specific vibration. We are not yet able to determine what a person is thinking about by the shape of electrical vibrations.
We do not yet know what functions these processes perform in the brain. But they clearly show that the material basis of thinking is electromagnetic processes in the most highly organized matter that nature has created on our planet.
Our Earth and other planets have both magnetic fields and electric ones. It was known about 150 years ago that the Earth has an electric field. The electric charge of the planets in the solar system is created by the Sun due to the effects of electrostatic induction and ionization of the planetary matter. The magnetic field is formed due to the axial rotation of charged planets. The average magnetic field of the Earth and planets depends on the average surface density of negative electric charge, the angular velocity of axial rotation and the radius of the planet. Therefore, the Earth (and other planets), by analogy with the passage of light through a lens, should be considered as an electric lens, and not a source of an electric field.
This means that the Earth is connected to the Sun using an electric force, the Sun itself is connected to the center of the Galaxy using a magnetic force, and the center of the Galaxy is connected to the central condensation of galaxies through an electric force.
Electrically, our planet is like a spherical capacitor charged to approximately 300,000 volts. The inner sphere - the surface of the Earth - is negatively charged, the outer sphere - the ionosphere - is positively charged. The Earth's atmosphere serves as an insulator.
Ionic and convective capacitor leakage currents, which reach many thousands of amperes, constantly flow through the atmosphere. But, despite this, the potential difference between the plates of the capacitor does not decrease.
This means that in nature there is a generator (G) that constantly replenishes the leakage of charges from the capacitor plates. Such a generator is the Earth's magnetic field, which rotates along with our planet in the flow of solar wind.
As in any charged capacitor, an electric field exists in an earthly capacitor. The strength of this field is distributed very unevenly in height: it is maximum at the surface of the Earth and is approximately 150 V/m. With height it decreases approximately according to the exponential law and at an altitude of 10 km it is about 3% of the value at the Earth's surface.
Thus, almost the entire electric field is concentrated in the lower layer of the atmosphere, near the surface of the Earth. The Earth's electric field strength vector E is generally directed downward. The Earth's electric field, like any electric field, acts on charges with a certain force F, which pushes positive charges down toward the ground, and negative charges up into the clouds.
All this can be seen in natural phenomena. Hurricanes, tropical storms and many cyclones are constantly raging on Earth. For example, the rise of air during a hurricane occurs mainly due to the difference in air density at the periphery of the hurricane and in its center - the heating tower, but not only. Part of the lift (about one third) is provided by the Earth's electric field, according to Coulomb's law.
The ocean during a storm is a huge field, strewn with points and ribs, on which negative charges and the intensity of the Earth's electric field are concentrated. Evaporating water molecules under such conditions easily capture negative charges and take them with them. And the Earth’s electric field, in full accordance with Coulomb’s law, moves these charges upward, adding lift to the air.
Thus, the Earth's global electrical generator spends part of its power to intensify atmospheric vortices on the planet - hurricanes, storms, cyclones, etc. In addition, such power consumption does not in any way affect the magnitude of the Earth's electric field.
The Earth's electric field is subject to fluctuations: in winter it is stronger than in summer, it reaches a maximum daily at 19 hours GMT, and also depends on weather conditions. But these fluctuations do not exceed 30% of its average value. In some rare cases, under certain weather conditions, the strength of this field can increase several times.
During a thunderstorm, the electric field changes over a wide range and can change direction to the opposite, but this happens over a small area, directly under the thunderstorm cell and for a short time.