For the first time, scientists have measured a long-sought global electric field in the Earth’s atmosphere. This field, called the ambipolar electric field, was predicted to exist decades ago but never detected, until now.
“That’s the big whoop,” says atmospheric scientist Glyn Collinson of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “It’s a whole frickin’ new planetary energy field that’s never been measured before!”
The field is weak, only 0.55 volts — about as strong as a watch battery, Collinson says. But that’s strong enough to control the shape and evolution of the upper atmosphere, features that could have implications for the suitability of our planet for life.
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