Earth's electrical charge value

John Who ???

I think you started a thread when you meant to reply to a thread..

Please register Ecarlo, you sound knowledgeable.

Hi,

the charge of the surface of our earth is generated in thunderstorms and may be other "rubbing" actions: particles with wind.

In thunderstorms there is a very fast uprise of humid air giving large amounts of clouds and hitting and splitting of water droplets and ice crystals.

At hitting and splitting the resulting particles and droplets will be charged.

The positive charge is accumulated in the up part of the clouds the negative charge in the down part.

So if a lightning strikes earth it is mostly coming from the lower clouds and is transfer of negative charge to earth. Because this is coming "only" from around 3km high clouds the voltage and current is "low" compared to the rare events when lightnings are coming from high clouds (12km).

The upper parts of the clouds touch the stratosphere and sometimes the winds that blow there stretch these very high upper part of a thunderstorm lengthwise as much as the lightnings that originate there will not strike into the lower clouds but on earth.

This will give rise to more than 100KA in metallic structures so it will melt down these easily.

A major part of the positive charge is not shorted to ground by lightnings but blown with the winds around the earth and slowly coming down as a stray current, attached to particles and molecules.

If you have a high impedance electrometer you will see an electric field of 400V/m if putting two simple electrodes some distance (vertically) apart.

So total charge should be calculable from earth surface, height to stratosphere and field strength and should result in a capacitance of around 200F.

(See: Physics of the atmosphere)

RHABE

Wouldn't it be more practical to talk about the % Fe in the Earth's crust, which is 5 % by weight?

Hi Cardio07.

I agree with you, the most common element on earth is Oxygen= 50%. The next by weight percent is Silicon= 26%. Next is Aluminium at 7%, then there is Iron at 4%

Spencer.