Atmospheric Electricity

Atmospheric electricity is a term which describes the Earth's electromagnetic network, produced by variations that occur in our planet's atmospheric electrical circuit.  The field of atmospheric electricity is concerned with the study of thunderstorms, the electrification of the air in a combined or uncombined state, and the polar Aurora effects.  The air and clouds which surround the earth are full of electricity, generally of an opposite kind to that of the earth.  It is this differential between atmospheric and earth based electrical states that results in these phenomena. 

Most people experience atmospheric electricity through the thunderstorms that are continually happening around the globe.  Some areas of the earth experience many more of these storms than others, with areas near the equator being more affected.  Despite simplified school textbook theories, exactly how lightning occur is still a matter of argument among scientists.  Ice levels in clouds, atmospheric pressure and wind levels, solar winds and solar particle accumulation are all being studied in relation to the formation of lightning.  Basically however, a separation of the positive and negative charges within a cloud leads to lightning occurring.

The aurora that occur at the polar regions is another marked effect of atmospheric electricity, providing one of the greatest natural spectacles known to man.  The solar wind transfers energy into the magnetosphere, which then moves to a point where it is viewable from the polar regions of the planet.  The Aurora Borealis is the most well known example of this phenomena, occurring near the north pole every year.  Another interesting example of how atmospheric electricity works is the Schumann resonance.  This is the resonant space made by a combination of the ionosphere and the earth, producing a natural and measurable cavity that is used by all electromagnetic waves.