Scientists have recently verified the presence of an electric field surrounding the Earth, called the ambipolar field, after over sixty years of research and speculation. This breakthrough, featured in the journal Nature, provides new insights into the evolution of Earth and other planets sharing similar atmospheres.
Researchers have verified that there is an electric field on Earth.
Scientists observed in the 1960s that particles were leaving the Earth rapidly through the poles, forming polar winds. The explanation provided was the presence of a weak electric field surrounding the Earth, although this field could not be identified using the technology of that era.
The discovery of the ambipolar field, an electric field, was recently confirmed by researcher Glyn Collinson and his team at NASA using a sensitive tool launched on a suborbital rocket in 2018.
Why is this finding significant?
The identification of the ambipolar field is not just about clarifying polar winds; it also has a significant role in supporting the ionosphere, a key layer of Earth’s atmosphere, essential for radio communication and shielding against solar radiation.
The electric field is over 10 times more powerful than gravity in speeding up hydrogen ions, which likely played a key role in ionosphere expansion and planet evolution.
