NASA scientists have recently confirmed the existence of a previously hypothesized global energy field around Earth.
NASA scientists have identified a new global energy field around Earth, termed the ambipolar electric field. This field propels charged particles into space from the polar regions. Previously, Earth was known to have two major global energy fields: the gravitational field, created by the planet’s mass, and the electromagnetic field, generated by the movement of molten metals in the core, AzVision.az reports citing the foreign mendia.
The existence of a third field had been theorized for decades, but recent NASA research has confirmed its presence through direct measurements. Since the 1960s, spacecraft flying over Earth's poles have observed a higher-than-expected flow of particles escaping from the atmosphere into space.
This "polar wind" was made up of particles traveling at supersonic speeds but remained cold, which was contrary to predictions. Scientists proposed that this could be due to the ambipolar electric field. According to the theory, this field originates at altitudes of about 250 km (150 miles) above the poles. At this altitude, electrons are easily expelled from hydrogen and oxygen atoms, leaving behind positively charged ions.
Since these ions are much heavier than electrons, gravity would normally cause them to separate, with ions falling and electrons moving outward. However, because ions and electrons are oppositely charged, they attract each other, which extends the "scale height" of the atmosphere over the poles, making it denser at higher altitudes.
The ambipolar electric field, despite its fascinating nature, is extremely weak and detectable only over hundreds of miles, making it challenging for existing instruments to measure. NASA’s Endurance mission aimed to address this challenge and has now provided conclusive results. The mission, launched on May 11, 2022, from the world's northernmost rocket range on the Svalbard archipelago, Norway, was designed to study this elusive field. After a 19-minute flight, Endurance landed in the Greenland Sea.
The spacecraft's instruments recorded electric potential changes from the anticipated starting altitude of 250 km (150 miles) up to its maximum height of 768 km (477 miles), detecting a variation of 0.55 volts. "Half a volt is minimal—about the strength of a watch battery," said Glynn Collinson, the principal investigator of the Endurance mission. "Yet, it's sufficient to account for the polar wind."
While seemingly modest, this electric field creates a force more than 10 times stronger than gravity on hydrogen ions, facilitating their supersonic escape into space. Oxygen ions also receive a significant boost. The experiment also observed a 271 per cent increase in the ionosphere's scale height. With the detection of this electric field, scientists can now explore its impact on the evolution of Earth's atmosphere throughout history.
