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What is the electric field strength of earth? And prove it?

What is the electric field strength of earth? And prove it?

Grade:12

1 Answers

Rinkoo Gupta
askIITians Faculty 81 Points
9 years ago

The electric field is a measure of the force that is exerted per coulomb of charge. Its measure is defined as kq/r2where k is the electrostatic constant constant, q is the amount of charge, and r is the distance between charges. The presence of an electric field is identified using a test charge.

The earth's atmosphere has an electric field that is directed radially inward. Most of my sources show that knowing the electric field of the earth can lead to the calculation of the charge on the earth's surface. Though some of the figures obtained are for the earth's atmosphere, it is true that the magnitude of the electric field outside a uniformly charged sphere is the same as if all the charge were concentrated at the center.

I obtained values for the magnitude of the electric field at the Earth's surface. These were in the range of 66N/C to 150N/C. These values are close enough to assume that each source received their data from a different primary source and each may be accurate in their own right. I am convinced that the figure is closer to 150N/C than to 66N/C because of the sources themselves.

Though the electric field is reported as being constant by some of my sources,The Handbook of Physics and Chemistryproves that the electric field intensity varies measurements taken at different altitudes above sea level. Its intensity decreases as you move farther away from the earth's surface.

Thanks & Regards

Rinkoo Gupta

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