Re: Does electrostatic charge keep a cloud up?


"Rodney Blackall" <rblackall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
news:4f0c3f0e46rblackall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <A5-dnZyfo-wc7izbnZ2dnUVZ_tGonZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>, dave <nospam>
wrote:
Sorry if I sound like a buffoon to you meteorologists. I'm simply a
layman that knows nothing about this but wants to learn. I did some
searching and it is said that warm rising air keeps clouds up. Is it
possible the static charge in the clouds could also have an effect?
Something like anti-gravity on a small scale? Thanks.

DaveL
There is a semi-permanent "fair weather field" of several hundred volts
per
metre near ground level that does not seem to have much effect on
anything.

The "fair weather field" means that the surface of the Earth has the exces
of electrons. The photoelectric effect (fair weather = much UV) makes that
the electrons migrate up with the water vapour. The bigger charge the higher
clouds.


A wet fog visibly precipitates its larger droplets.

It means that they had small charge. If the charge is big droplets do not
fall. In extreme condition first must be lightning stroke and next rain
(after lightning stroke the rain is heavier)

Away from the ground, vertical air currents will be overwhelmingly more
important than the static field. If the field is really large, as in a
thunderstorm, then the vertical currents will be very strong and largely
the
cause of the charging.

May be that "vertical air currents" are the electric winds in its nature.
S*






.

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