Font size:
Print
Scientists Unveil Earth’s Elusive Global Electric Field
Context:
An international team of scientists has confirmed the existence of a global electric field on Earth, known as the ambipolar electric field.
More on News:
- The ambipolar electric field, a weak but fundamental electric field on Earth, is as crucial as gravity and magnetic fields.
- The field was measured using NASA’s Endurance suborbital rocket.
- The rocket was launched from Svalbard, Norway, on May 11, 2022, and reached an altitude of 477.23 miles (768.03 kilometres), with data collected over a 322-mile range before landing in the Greenland Sea.
|
The Ambipolar Electric Field
|
Key Highlights:
- The Endurance rocket measured a change in electric potential of 0.55 volts.
- This field strength is sufficient to explain the observed polar wind phenomena.
- The ambipolar field exerts an outward force on hydrogen ions 10.6 times stronger than gravity, allowing them to escape into space at supersonic speeds.
- The ambipolar field increases the “scale height” of the ionosphere by 271%, meaning the ionosphere remains denser at higher altitudes than without this field.
Implications:
- The discovery helps us understand Earth’s atmospheric history and could be applied to study other planets and their atmospheres, such as Venus and Mars.
- Any planet with an atmosphere is expected to have an ambipolar field, which can shape atmospheric dynamics over time.
- The Endurance mission’s findings open new avenues for exploring how such fields influence atmospheric evolution on Earth and other planets.