On 04/01/2017 12:11 PM, John Larkin wrote:
On Sat, 1 Apr 2017 11:22:41 -0400, Phil Hobbs
wrote:

On 04/01/2017 11:12 AM, Tom Biasi wrote:
On 4/1/2017 10:32 AM, wrote:
Scientists have determined that ground is no longer at ground
potential.
snip a bunch of junk
Reprinted from: The Electro Scientific Journal

This is what happens from abuse of drugs. The earth now has an 8
volt potential in reference to what?

I think one of Feynman's lectures asks about what the electrostatic
potential of the Earth is.

The answer is that it's close to zero, since the Earth is immersed
in a conducting medium (the solar wind).

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Is the solar wind neutral? Spacecraft typically charge a bit
negative. Seems to me that the sun could be a giant thermionic
cathode.

The electric field near the ground is big, around 150 volts/meter,
positive going up.

http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/II_09.html

Yup--thunderstorms pump charge in that direction, but once you get to
the top of the atmosphere the net enclosed charge is near zero.

The solar wind has to be neutral on average, because otherwise the
voltage on the Sun would increase indefinitely.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

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Dr Philip C D Hobbs
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