Cloud to ground Lightning in the global atmospheric electrical circuit. This is an example of plasma present at Earth's surface. Typically, lightning discharges 30,000 amperes, at up to 100 million volts, and emits light, radio waves, x-rays and even gamma rays ^[1]. Plasma temperatures in lightning can approach 28,000 kelvins and electron densities may exceed 10²⁴/m³.

Atmospheric electricity is the regular diurnal variations of the Earth's atmospheric electromagnetic network (or, more broadly, any planet's electrical system in its layer of gases). The Earth’s surface, the ionosphere, and the atmosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit. Atmospheric electricity is a multidisciplinary topic. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x3072, 3589 KB) This is a rotated version of Lightning over Oradea Romania. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x3072, 3589 KB) This is a rotated version of Lightning over Oradea Romania. ... Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, usually, but not always, during rain storms, and frequently during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. ... A plasma lamp, illustrating some of the more complex phenomena of a plasma, including filamentation. ... Current can be measured by a galvanometer, via the deflection of a magnetic needle in the magnetic field created by the current. ... Josephson junction array chip developed by NIST as a standard volt. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... This article is about electromagnetic radiation. ... The Kelvin scale is a thermodynamic (absolute) temperature scale where absolute zero—the lowest possible temperature where nothing could be colder and no heat energy remains in a substance—is defined as zero kelvin (0 K). ... The electron is a fundamental subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. ... Diurnal may mean: in biology, a diurnal animal is an animal that is active in the daytime. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Air redirects here. ... Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field; a field encompassing all of space which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ... An electrical network is an interconnection of electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, and switches. ... For the astrological concept, see Planets in astrology. ... Atmosphere is the general name for a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass. ... Color-coded regions of the world based on the seven commonly-recognised continents Dymaxion map by Buckminster Fuller shows land masses with minimal distortion as nearly one continuous continent A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. ... Relationship of the atmosphere and ionosphere The ionosphere is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation. ... Interdisciplinary work is that which integrates concepts across different disciplines. ...

History

In 1708, Dr. William Wall was one of the first to observe that spark discharges resembled miniature lightning, after watching such an event from a charged piece of amber. In the middle of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin's experiments showed that the electric phenomena of the atmosphere were not fundamentally different from those produced in the laboratory. In July of 1750, Franklin hypothesized that electricity could be taken from clouds via a tall metal aerial. With ground-insulated aerials, an experimenter could bring a grounded lead with an insulated wax handle close to the aerial, and observe a spark discharge from the aerial to the grounding wire. In May of 1752, Thomas Francois d'Alibard affirmed that Franklin's theory was correct. William Wall (January 6, 1647 - November 13, 1728) was a British priest in the Church of England who wrote extensively on the doctrine of infant baptism. ... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Electrical phenomena are commonplace and unusual events that can be observed which illuminate the principles of the physics of electricity and are explained by them. ... View of Jupiters active atmosphere, including the Great Red Spot. ... Michael Faraday, 19th century physicist and chemist, in his lab. ... In 1750 Franklin published a proposal for an experiment to determine if lightning was electricity. ...

Around June of 1752, Franklin reportedly performed his famous kite experiment. L. G. Lemonnier (1752) reproduced Franklin experiment with an aerial, but substituted the ground wire with some dust particles (testing attraction). He went on to document the fair weather condition, the clear-day electrification of the atmosphere, and the diurnal variation of the atmosphere's electricity. G. Beccaria (1775) confirmed Lemonnier's diurnal variation data and determined that the atmosphere's charge polarity was positive in fair weather. H. B. Saussure (1779) recorded data relating to a conductor's induced charge in the atmosphere. Saussure's instrument (which contained two small spheres suspended in parallel with two thin wires) was a precursor to the electrometer. Saussure found that the fair weather condition had an annual variation. Saussure found that there was a variation with height, as well. In 1785, C. A. Coulomb discovered the conductivity of air. His discovery was contrary to the prevailing thought at the time that the atmospheric gases were insulators (which they are to some extent, or at least not very good conductors when not ionized). His research was unfortunately completely ignored. P. Erman (1804) theorized that the Earth was negatively charged. J. C. A. Peltier (1842) tested and confirmed Erman's idea. Lord Kelvin (1860s) proposed that atmospheric positive charges explained the fair weather condition and, later, recognized the existence of atmospheric electric fields. Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier (sometimes written as Lemonnier) (June 27, 1717 – September 7, 1799) was a French botanist. ... Diurnal may mean: in biology, a diurnal animal is an animal that is active in the daytime. ... Giovanni Battista Beccaria (October 3, 1716 - May 27, 1781), Italian physicist, was born at Mondovi, and entered the religious order of the Pious Schools in 1732. ... Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (February 17, 1740 - January 22, 1799) was a Swiss physicist and Alpine traveller. ... An electrometer is an electrical instrument for measuring electric charge or electrical potential difference. ... Portrait of Coulomb Charles Augustin Coulomb (June 14, 1736 – August 23, 1806) was a French physicist. ... ... Paul Erman (February 29, 1764-October 11, 1851), German physicist, was born in Berlin. ... Jean Charles Athanase Peltier was a French physicist who was born in Ham (France) in 1785 and died in Paris in 1845. ... William Thomson, Archbishop of York, has the same name as this man. ...

Over the course of the next century, using the ideas of Alessandro Volta and Francis Ronald, several researchers contributed to the growing body of knowledge about atmospheric electrical phenomena. With the invention of the portable electrometer and Lord Kelvin's 19th century water-dropping condenser, a greater level of precision was introduced into observational results. Towards the end of the 19th century came the discovery by W. Linss (1887) that even the most perfectly insulated conductors lose their charge, as Coulomb before him had found, and that this loss depended on atmospheric conditions. H. H. Hoffert (1888) identified individual lightning downward strokes using early camera and would report this in "Intermittent Lightning-Flashes". J. Elster and H. F. Geitel, who also worked on thermionic emission, proposed a theory to explain thunderstorm's electrical structure (1885) and, later, discovered atmospheric radioactivity (1899). By then it had become clear that freely charged positive and negative ions were always present in the atmosphere, and that radiant emanations could be collected. F. Pockels (1897) estimated lightning current intensity by analyzing lightning flashes in basalt and studying the left-over magnetic fields (basalt, being a ferromagnetic mineral, becomes magnetically polarised when exposed to a large external field such as those generated in a lightning strike). Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (February 18, 1745 - March 5, 1827) was an Italian physicist known especially for the development of the electric battery in 1800. ... The Kelvin water dropper is a type of electrostatic generator, which uses falling water drops to generate voltage differences by utilizing the electrostatic induction occurring between interconnected, oppositely charged systems. ... Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, usually, but not always, during rain storms, and frequently during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. ... Thermionic emission (archaically known as the Edison effect) is the flow of electrons from a metal or metal oxide surface, caused by thermal vibrational energy overcoming the electrostatic forces holding electrons to the surface. ... Friedrich Carl Alwin Pockels (1865 - 1913) was a German physicist. ... Basalt Columnar basalt at Sheepeater Cliff in Yellowstone Basalt (IPA: ) is a common gray to black volcanic rock. ... Ferromagnetism is a phenomenon by which a material can exhibit a spontaneous magnetization, and is one of the strongest forms of magnetism. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ...

Using a Peltier electrometer, Luigi Palmieri researched atmospheric electricity. Nikola Tesla and Hermann Plauson investigated the production of energy and power via atmospheric electricity. Tesla also proposed to use the atmospheric electrical circuit to transmit energy wirelessly over large distances (see his Wardenclyffe Tower and Magnifying Transmitter). The Polish Polar Station, Hornsund, has researched the magnitude of the earth's electric field and recording its vertical component. Discoveries about the electrification of the atmosphere via sensitive electrical instruments and ideas on how the Earth’s negative charge is maintained were developed mainly in the 20th century. Whilst a certain amount of observational work has been done in the branches of atmospheric electricity, the science has not developed to a considerable extent. It is thought that any apparatus which might be used to extract useful energy from atmospheric electricity would be prohibitively costly to build and maintain, which is probably why the field has not attracted much interest. An electrometer is an electrical instrument for measuring electric charge or electrical potential difference. ... Luigi Palmieri (April 22, 1807 - September 9, 1896) was an Italian physicist and meteorologist. ... Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)[1] was a world-renowned Serbian inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. ... Hermann Plauson was a German electrical engineer and inventor. ... In physics, power (symbol: P) is the rate at which work is performed. ... Wardenclyffe Tower located in Shoreham, Long Island, New York. ... A publicity photo of Tesla sitting in the Colorado Springs experimental station with his Magnifying Transmitter. The arcs are about 22 feet (7 m) long. ... Polish Polar Station, Hornsund (Polska Stacja Polarna, Hornsund) at Polar Bear Bay in Hornsund fjord, on West Spitsbergen island, Spitsbergen archipelago operated since 1957. ... An order of magnitude is the class of scale or magnitude of any amount, where each class contains values of a fixed ratio to the class preceding it. ... It has been suggested that optical field be merged into this article or section. ...

Description

Atmospheric electricity abounds in the environment; some traces of it are found less than four feet from the surface of the earth, but on attaining greater height it becomes more apparent. A landform comprises a geomorphological unit. ... Height is a measurement of the distance from the bottom to the top of something which is upright. ...

Outer space and near space

Electric currents created in sunward ionosphere.

In outer space, the magnetopause flows along the boundary between the region around an astronomical object (called the "magnetosphere") and surrounding plasma, in which electric phenomena are dominated or organized by this magnetic field. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the magnetized planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Mercury is magnetized, but too weakly to trap plasma. Mars has patchy surface magnetization. The magnetosphere is the location where the outward magnetic pressure of the Earth's magnetic field is counterbalanced by the solar wind, a plasma. Most of solar particles are deflected to either side of the magnetopause, much like water is deflected before the bow of a ship. However, some particles become trapped within the Earth's magnetic field and form radiation belts. The Van Allen radiation belt is a torus of energetic charged particles (i.e. a plasma) around Earth, trapped by Earth's magnetic field. Schematic diagram of the electric-current pattern in the ionosphere driven by diurnal heating from the Sun. ... Schematic diagram of the electric-current pattern in the ionosphere driven by diurnal heating from the Sun. ... Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA) Outer space, also simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... A magnetopause flows along the boundary between a magnetic field, (see: magnetosphere) and surrounding plasma. ... A magnetosphere is the region around an astronomical object in which phenomena are dominated or organized by its magnetic field. ... Van Allen radiation belts The Van Allen Radiation Belt is a torus of energetic charged particles (plasma) around Earth, trapped by Earths magnetic field. ...

At elevations above the clouds, atmospheric electricity forms a continuous and distinct element (called the electrosphere) in which the Earth is surrounded. The electrosphere layer (tens of kilometers above the surface of the earth to the ionosphere) has a high electrical conductivity and is essentially at a constant electric potential. The ionosphere is the inner edge of the magnetosphere and is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation. Photoionisation is a physical process in which a photon is incident on an atom, ion or molecule, resulting in the ejection of one or more electrons. The ionosphere forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere. Relationship of the atmosphere and ionosphere The ionosphere is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation. ... Photoionisation is a physical process in which a photon strikes an atom, ion or molecule, resulting in the ejection of an electron. ...

Atmospheric layers

Relationship of the atmosphere and ionosphere

The conductivity of the atmosphere increases exponentially with altitude. The amplitudes of the electric and magnetic components depend on season, latitude, and height above the sea level. The greater the altitude the more atmospheric electricity abounds. The exosphere is the uppermost layer of the atmosphere and is estimated to be 500 km to 1000 km above the Earth's surface, and its upper boundary at about 10,000 km. The thermosphere (upper atmosphere) is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and directly below the exosphere. Within this layer, ultraviolet radiation causes ionization. The mesosphere (middle atmosphere) is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. The mesosphere is located about 50-80/85km above Earth's surface. The stratosphere (middle atmosphere) is a layer of Earth's atmosphere that is stratified in temperature and is situated between about 10 km and 50 km altitude above the surface at moderate latitudes, while at the poles it starts at about 8 km altitude. The stratosphere sits directly above the troposphere and directly below the mesosphere. The troposphere (lower atmosphere) is the densest layer of the atmosphere. The planetary boundary layer (PBL), also known as the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), is the lowest part of the atmosphere and its behavior is directly influenced by its contact with the planetary surface. It is also known as the "exchange layer". There is a potential gradient at ground level and this corresponds to the negative charge in and near the Earth's surface. This negative potential gradient falls rapidly as altitude increases from the ground. Most of this potential gradient is in the first few kilometers. Conversely, the positive potential gradient rises rapidly as altitude increases from the ground. earths atmosphere and ionosphere - self gnerated graphic This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... earths atmosphere and ionosphere - self gnerated graphic This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Electrical conductivity is a measure of how well a material accommodates the transport of electric charge. ... Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ... A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, , gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. ... Height is a measurement of the distance from the bottom to the top of something which is upright. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... [fAgot png|thumb|200px|right|Atmosphere diagram showing the exosphere and other layers. ... The thermosphere is the layer of the earths atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and directly below the exosphere. ... Earths atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ... The mesosphere (from the Greek words mesos = middle and sphaira = ball) is the layer of the Earths atmosphere that is directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. ... Atmosphere diagram showing stratosphere. ... Atmosphere diagram showing the mesosphere and other layers. ... The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is also known as the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). ... In electrostatics, the potential gradient is the difference of electric potential, per unit distance (vertical unless otherwise specified) between two points. ...

Earth-Ionosphere cavity

Potential difference between the ionosphere and the Earth is maintained by thunderstorms' pumping action of lightning discharges. In the Earth-ionosphere cavity, the electric field and conduction current in the lower atmosphere are primarily controlled by ions. Ions have the characteristic parameters such as mobility, lifetime, and generation rate that vary with altitude. Potential difference is a quantity in physics related to the amount of energy that would be required to move an object from one place to another against various types of force. ... Relationship of the atmosphere and ionosphere The ionosphere is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation. ... A shelf cloud associated with a heavy or severe thunderstorm over Enschede, The Netherlands. ... Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, usually, but not always, during rain storms, and frequently during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. ... The Schumann Resonance is a set of spectrum peaks in the ELF portion of the Earths electromagnetic field spectrum. ... It has been suggested that optical field be merged into this article or section. ... In electricity, current refers to electric current, which is the flow of electric charge. ... Multivalent redirects here. ... Mobility is the ability and willingness to move or change; this can depend on motor skills; mobility aids may be needed such as a walking stick, walker, mobile standing frame, power operated vehicle/scooter, wheelchair or white cane for visual impairment. ... Lifetime can refer to: Life expectancy, the length of time a person is alive One of the American media ventures owned by Lifetime Entertainment Services Lifetime (TV network), a cable television network Lifetime Movie Network, a cable movie network Lifetime (band), an American melodic hardcore punk band from New Jersey... Generation (From the Greek γιγνμαι), also known as procreation, is the act of producing offspring. ... Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ...

The Schumann resonance is a set of spectrum peaks in the ELF portion of the Earth's electromagnetic field spectrum. Schumann resonance is due to the space between the surface of the Earth and the conductive ionosphere acting as a waveguide. The limited dimensions of the earth cause this waveguide to act as a resonant cavity for electromagnetic waves. The cavity is naturally excited by energy from lightning strikes. The Schumann Resonance is a set of spectrum peaks in the ELF portion of the Earths electromagnetic field spectrum. ...

Patents

In the United States Patent Office classification, the main classification is 310/308 Electrical Generator or Motor / Charge accumulating. Other applicable classes regarding atmospheric electricity include: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent and trademark protection to inventors and businesses for their inventions and corporate and product identification. ...

• 307/149 Electrical Transmission or interconnection systems / Miscellaneous Systems
• 320/166 Electricity: Battery of Capacitor Charging or Discharging / Capacitor Charging or Discharging
• 361/212 Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices / Discharging or Preventing accumulation of Electric Charge(e.g., Static Electricity)
• 174/6 Electricity: Conductors and Insulators / Earth Grounds
• 174/2 Electricity: Conductors and Insulators / Lightning Protection

Source: United States Patent Office classification system - Classification Definitions, June 30, 2000.

Patents related to atmospheric electricity

American

• Vion, U.S. Patent 28793 , "Improved method of using atmospheric electricity", June 1860.
• Ward, U.S. Patent 126356 , "Improvement in collecting electricity for telegraphing", using towers to collect atmospheric electricity, April 1872.
• Loomis, U.S. Patent 129971 , "Improvement in telegraphing" "without the aid of wires or artificial batteries", Jul. 1872.
• Palencsar, U.S. Patent 674427 , "Apparatus for collecting atmospheric electricity" using a balloon, May 1901.
• Pennock, U.S. Patent 911260 , "Apparatus for collecting atmospheric electricity", using one or more balloons, Feb. 1909.
• Pennock, U.S. Patent 1014719 , "Apparatus for collecting electrical energy", Jan. 1912.
• Plauson, U.S. Patent 1540998 , "Conversion of atmospheric electric energy". Jun. 1925.
• Britten, U.S. Patent 1826727 , "Radio apparatus" "to economize and conserve the current, and to regulate and clarify the tone", Oct. 31, 1931.
• Crump, U.S. Patent 2813242 , "Powering electrical devices with energy attracted from the atmosphere" using transistor circuits, Nov. 12, 1957.
• Ruhnke, U.S. Patent 3273066 , "Apparatus for detecting changes in the atmospheric electric field", Sep. 1966.
• Smith, U.S. Patent 3205381 , "Ionospheric battery", March, 1962.
• Kasemir, U.S. Patent 3458805 , "Electric field meter having a pair of rotating electrodes", Jul. 1969.
• Winn, et al., U.S. Patent 4025913 , " Electrical field sensing and transmitting apparatus", May. 1977.
• Colombo, et al., U.S. Patent 4097010 , " Satellite connected by means of a long (100 km) tether to a powered spacecraft", Jun. 1978.
• Carpenter, Jr., U.S. Patent 4180698 , " System and equipment for atmospherics conditioning", Dec. 1979.
• Shoulders, U.S. Patent 5018180 , " Energy conversion using high charge density", May 1991 .
• Shoulders, U.S. Patent 5123039 , " Energy conversion using high charge density", Jun. 1992.
• Mims, U.S. Patent 5367245 , " Assembly for the induction of lightning into a superconducting magnetic energy storage system", Nov. 1994.

Other Hermann Plauson was a German electrical engineer and inventor. ...

• Traun's Forschungs laboratorium, GB157263

See also

• Geophysics, Atmospheric sciences, and atmospheric physics
• Earth's magnetic field
• Sprites and lightning
• Whistler (radio)
• Telluric currents
• Charles Chree Medal
• Electrodynamic tethers
• relaxation time
• electrode effect
• Solar radiation

‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Atmospheric sciences is an umbrella term for the study of the atmosphere, its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems. ... Atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. ... The magnetosphere shields the surface of the Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind. ... Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, usually, but not always, during rain storms, and frequently during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. ... A Whistler is a very low frequency radio wave generated by lightning. ... A telluric current is an electric current in the Earth (both land and sea). ... Electrodynamic tethers are long conducting wires (such as the one deployed from the tether satellite) which can operate on the well known electromagnetic priciples as a generator (via converting its velocity to electric energy) or engine (ultilizing electric energy for velocity). ... Relaxation time is a general physics concept for the characteristic time in which a system relaxes under certain changes in external conditions. ... Solar irradiance spectrum at top of atmosphere. ...

References and further readings

General references

• Transcript of hand-written article signed by Dr. Mahlon Loomis, January 7, 1872. (from Radio News, November, 1922, pages 974-978 (Loomis lecture extract))
• "Atmospheric electricity", dge.inpe.br.
• Chree, Charles, "Atmospheric electricity", Britannica Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica, 1926.

Citations

1. ^ See Flashes in the Sky: Earth's Gamma-Ray Bursts Triggered by Lightning

Journals

• Anderson, F. J., and G. D. Freier, "Interactions of the thunderstorm with a conducting atmosphere". J. Geophys. Res., 74, 5390-5396, 1969.
• Brook, M., "Thunderstorm electrification", Problems of Atmospheric and Space Electricity. S. C. Coroniti (Ed.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 280-283, 1965.
• Farrell, W. M., T. L. Aggson, E. B. Rodgers, and W. B. Hanson, "Observations of ionospheric electric fields above atmospheric weather systems", J. Geophys. Res., 99, 19475-19484, 1994.
• Fernsler, R. F., and H. L. Rowland, "Models of lightning-produced sprites and elves". J. Geophys. Res., 101, 29653-29662, 1996.
• Fraser-Smith, A. C., "ULF magnetic fields generated by electrical storms and their significance to geomagnetic pulsation generation". Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 467-470, 1993.
• Krider, E. P., and R. J. Blakeslee, "The electric currents produced by thunderclouds". J. Electrostatics, 16, 369-378, 1985.
• Lazebnyy, B. V., A. P. Nikolayenko, V. A. Rafal'skiy, and A. V. Shvets, "Detection of transverse resonances of the Earth-ionosphere cavity in the average spectrum of VLF atmospherics". Geomagn. Aeron., 28, 281-282, 1988.
• Ogawa, T., "Fair-weather electricity". J. Geophys. Res., 90, 5951-5960, 1985.
• Sentman, D. D., "Schnmann resonance spectra in a two-scale-height Earth-ionosphere cavity". J. Geophys. Res., 101, 9479-9487, 1996.
• Wåhlin, L., "Elements of fair weather electricity". J. Geophys. Res., 99, 10767-10772, 1994.

Other readings

• Richard E. Orville (ed.), "Atmospheric and Space Electricity". ("Editor's Choice" virtual journal) -- "American Geophysical Union". (AGU) Washington, DC 20009-1277 USA
• Schonland, B. F. J., "Atmospheric Electricity". Methuen and Co., Ltd., London, 1932.
• Macgorman, Donald R., W. David Rust, D. R. Macgorman, and W. D. Rust, "The Electrical Nature of Storms". Oxford University Press, March 1998. ISBN 0-19-507337-1
• Cowling, Thomas Gilbert, "On Alfven's theory of magnetic storms and of the aurora", Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity, 47, 209-214, 1942.
• H. H. Hoffert, "Intermittent Lightning-Flashes". Proc. Phys. Soc. London 10 No 1 (June 1888) 176-180.

January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Academic publishing describes the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. ... The American Geophysical Union (or AGU) is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting (as of 2006) of over 49,000 members from over 140 countries. ...

External articles

• Orville, Dick, "Atmospheric Electricity-related terms". (American Meteorological Society, Glossary of Meteorology, Second Edition, 2000.)
• "International Commission on Atmospheric Electricity". Commission of the International Association Of Meteorology And Atmospheric Physics.
• "Lightning and Atmospheric Electricity". Global Hydrology and Climate Center, NASA.
• Kieft, Sandy, "The Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research". New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology.
• "Chauncy J. Britten’s Atmospheric Electrical Generator", Rex Research.
• "Power from the Air". Science and invention (Formerly electrical experimenter), Feb. 1922, no. 10. Vol IX, Whole No. 106. New York. (nuenergy.org)
• "Power from the Air". Science and invention (Formerly electrical experimenter), March 1922. (nuenergy.org).
• "RF Energy via Ionosphere". RF Energy Concepts Sec. 101 Rev. Nov., 2003
• Peter Winkler, "Early observations of and knowledge on air electricity and magnetism at Hohenpeißenberg during the Palatina". German Weather Service, Meteorological Observatory. (PDF)
• "Atmospheric Electricity". Meridian International Research.