Is the 'Earth-ionosphere capacitor' a valid component in the atmospheric global electric circuit?
| Autor: | Earle Williams, Christos Haldoupis, Michael J. Rycroft, Colin Price |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Atmospheric Science 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Shields Nanotechnology Charge (physics) Electrostatics 01 natural sciences law.invention Computational physics Atmosphere Capacitor Geophysics Space and Planetary Science law Electric field 0103 physical sciences Ionosphere 010303 astronomy & astrophysics 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Electronic circuit |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. 164:127-131 |
| ISSN: | 1364-6826 |
| Popis: | This paper examines whether the Earth-ionosphere capacitor (EIC) model is correct, by comparing observed atmospheric electrical properties with those expected for a spherical capacitor, as defined in electrostatics. The comparisons suggest that the EIC concept cannot be reconciled with, and hence cannot account for, the observations, particularly the rapid reduction of the atmospheric electric field with height that is measured. This means that the spherical EIC concept is incorrect by being too simplistic; it is thus misleading. The reason for this flawed concept is simple: the model disregards the non-uniform conductivity of the atmosphere which requires the presence of a net positive charge in the lower atmosphere that equals in magnitude the Earth's negative charge. This positive charge shields the action of the Earth's negative charge from polarizing the ionosphere positively. Thus, the lower D region ionosphere remains electrically neutral, which makes the EIC concept inappropriate. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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