Earth & Water - The Earth Circuit
And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
The Earth's surface is a continuous source of free electrons, maintained by the global electric circuit, including solar wind, ionospheric winds, fair weather currents, and thunderstorms. This system supports the Earth's negative electric potential and influences electrical system design. Thunderstorms and fair weather currents are key in balancing electrical charge between the Earth's surface and atmosphere, which is integral to the global atmospheric electrical circuit - the Earth Circuit - which helps to power us..
Thunderstorms are pretty sweet dynamical events marked by lightning, an electrical discharge within the global atmospheric electrical circuit. They form through vertical air movements that create strong updrafts and downdrafts in clouds, leading to charge separation and the buildup of electrical potential within the cloud and between the cloud and the Earth's surface.
Lightning occurs when the electrical potential difference surpasses a critical threshold, breaking down air molecules and forming an ionized channel for rapid current flow. Cloud-to-ground lightning discharges negative charge from the cloud to the Earth's surface, helping maintain the global electrical circuit's balance. At any time, 1,000 to 2,000 active thunderstorms worldwide transfer positive charge to the upper atmosphere and negative charge to the Earth's surface, sustaining a constant current that keeps the surface rich in free electrons.
Unlike the intense and localized nature of thunderstorms, fair weather currents are subtle, continuous electric currents that flow between the Earth's surface and the lower atmosphere under normal conditions. These currents, driven by the global distribution of thunderstorms, create a weak electric field of 100 to 300 volts per meter. This field causes a potential difference that doesn't result in a shock because air, a poor conductor, prevents significant current flow.
Fair weather currents involve a net upward flow of positive charge and a downward flow of negative charge, maintaining the Earth's negative surface charge and balancing the global atmospheric electrical circuit. While thunderstorms generate electrical charge, fair weather currents redistribute it, forming a continuous loop that sustains the global circuit.
In a thunderstorm cloud, positive charge accumulates at the top, negative charge in the middle, and a smaller positive charge near the bottom. This creates a strong electric field, inducing a positive charge on the Earth's surface below. Although the Earth's surface is generally negative, the area beneath a storm develops a stronger positive charge due to the negatively charged cloud overhead, leading to the potential for lightning as the system seeks to neutralize this charge imbalance.
Not all thunderstorms follow the typical charge pattern; variations depend on factors like storm intensity, development stage, and local conditions. While understanding has improved, the exact mechanisms of charge separation are still not fully understood. Some strong storms may have an inverted charge structure, leading to rarer but more powerful "positive lightning" strikes, which are longer in duration than typical "negative lightning" strikes.
The basic principle is that the ground beneath a thunderstorm usually has a stronger positive charge due to the storm cloud overhead. If you're standing on the ground, you're grounded, technically, but this increases the risk of attracting a lightning strike from the negatively charged cloud, however unlikely that may be. It's safer to seek shelter indoors during a thunderstorm to reduce this risk. Best to ground when the thunderstorm passes.
Cosmic rays, high-energy particles from outer space, contribute to Earth's negative surface charge by ionizing atmospheric molecules when they enter the atmosphere. This ionization generates electric currents that play a role in the global atmospheric electrical circuit.
Radioactive decay also produces negatively charged electrons. Elements like uranium and thorium in the Earth's crust undergo decay, emitting ionizing radiation, including alpha, beta, and gamma particles. Beta particles, which are negatively charged electrons, contribute to the Earth's surface charge.
Ionospheric winds, driven by solar heating and cooling in the Earth's upper atmosphere, influence the global electrical circuit by moving charged particles, generating electric fields and currents, and affecting the ionosphere's conductivity. Variations in these winds can alter the distribution of electrical charge and the potential difference in the global circuit.
The global atmospheric electrical circuit, sustained by thunderstorms, cosmic rays, ionospheric winds, and radioactive decay, continuously replenishes the Earth's negative surface charge. This, God's creation, is what allows to ground <3
The net negative charge is due to free electrons, not bound electrons. Free electrons, which move independently in response to electric fields, are key in conducting electric currents in the atmosphere, Earth's surface, and grounding. They play a crucial role in charge movement during lightning and fair weather currents. In contrast, bound electrons are attached to atoms and do not participate in the global atmospheric electrical circuit.
This information is from Chapter 2 of Earth & Water, check it out to learn more.
