How do thunderstorms recharge the Earth's electric potential?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the mechanisms by which thunderstorms may recharge the Earth's electric potential, exploring the roles of plants, insects, and atmospheric phenomena. It includes considerations of electric fields generated by various organisms and the dynamics of charge distribution during thunderstorms.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that plants emit weak electric fields and that bees acquire a positive charge while flying, potentially facilitating communication through electric forces.
  • Others argue that the electrodynamics of charge accumulation depend on geometry, suggesting that other fuzzy flying insects may also acquire charge, though their role in communication is uncertain.
  • A participant questions the assertion that only flying insects are charged, pointing out that non-flying insects and plants also exhibit charge and electric fields, raising questions about the mechanisms involved.
  • Another participant acknowledges that while flying insects acquire charge, the electrical fields generated by grounded plants are likely very weak.
  • One participant emphasizes that plants are not static and can interact with their environment, which may influence their charge and electric fields.
  • A later reply details how thunderstorms deliver a net negative charge to the Earth, with positive charge being carried upward, and notes the significant current associated with thunderstorms that contributes to this process.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views regarding the charging of plants and insects, with some asserting that only flying insects acquire charge while others challenge this notion. The discussion on how thunderstorms affect the Earth's electric potential includes both agreement on the role of thunderstorms and differing interpretations of the mechanisms involved.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the specific contributions of various organisms to electric fields and charge dynamics, as well as the interactions between different types of insects and plants. The discussion also highlights the complexity of charge accumulation and its dependence on environmental factors.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying atmospheric physics, plant biology, entomology, and the interactions between living organisms and electric fields.

mark!
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“Plants are usually charged negatively and emit weak electric fields. On their side, bees acquire a positive charge as they fly through the air. No spark is produced as a charged bee approaches a charged flower, but a small electric force builds up that can potentially convey information. The flower's potential changes and remains so for several minutes".
(Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143900.htm)

My question is: does this account for all plants/trees? And what about other insects than bees? Are there more examples of this electrical attraction between (sea) plants and pollinators?
 
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The electrodynamics of a system are sensitive to its geometry, and hairy/fuzzy objects tend to be conducive to charge accumulation as they interact with other things (in this case, the bee fuzz is acquiring charge from collisions with air molecules).

So there are probably some other flying fuzzy insects that will have the tendency to acquire charge, but whether it plays a role in interspecies communication is a different story.
 
I don't doubt flying insects moving through the atmosphere acquire net charge. In the similar manner helicopters do too. These charges (and associated electrical potentials) can be quite large. Grounded plants electrical fields, if they generate some, must be very weak.
 
mark! said:
So, only flying insects are charged, en non flying insects arent? How is it possible then that plants have charge and emit a weak electric field? Even a spider's web does this ( LInk: http://www.asknature.org/strategy/18562c4025b3ea6c0e8cddacdc29f24f#.VNCo1GTF9F8 ). They aren't moving like a flying insect.

Plants don't just sit there in still air having nothing happen to them. They move in the wind, get brushed by creatures, etc. The Earth's surface can become charged too. Just look at a lightning strike.
 
The Earth is recharged by thunderstorms. Thunderstorms deliver a net negative charge to the earth.

Positive charge is carried upward through the air beneath and above a thunderstorm, the source being corona discharge off grass, trees and other objects with sharp points on the ground beneath the thunderstorm.

The total current flowing beneath all thunderstorms in progress throughout the world at anyone time is thought to be about 2000 amps, and is in such a direction as to charge the Earth negatively.

An approximately equal and opposite current flows in regions of fine weather.

The result is that the net negative charge on the Earth and the equal and opposite net positive charge in the atmosphere remain approximately constant.

Source: Martin A. Uman, All About Lightning, pp153-158
 

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