Re: C of Earth...

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

>From NRL Plasma Formulary, 
Plasma Properties:
http://wwwppd.nrl.navy.mil/nrlformulary/typical_plasma_parameters.pdf
Figure of above: http://wwwppd.nrl.navy.mil/nrlformulary/p41nrl.pdf
Ionospheric Properties
http://wwwppd.nrl.navy.mil/nrlformulary/ionospheric_parameters.pdf

The above shows that the ion density in the ionosphere is around
1E4-1E6/cubic cm, compared to 1E7-1E10 for glow discharge.  The ionization
voltage of the ionosphere is also much less than that in the glow
discharge. High pressure arcs are in the 1E15-1E17 range.

based on this, I'd guess the "conductivity", such as it is, of the
ionosphere is around 1E10 worse than a high pressure arc, which is an OK
conductor, but not great.

however, looking at the AGU chart you linked, it looks like the
conductivity of the ionosphere is comparable to that of the earth (sigmaE
shown, looks like 1E-3 (ohm meter)^-1) Typical ground conducitivities are
something like 5 millisiemens, from what I recall.

Anyway, using that 1E-3 number, a stripe that is, say 100 km long (i.e. 1E5
m), 10 km wide (1E4 m), and 1 km thick (1000 m), would have a resistance of
1E3 ohm meter * 1E5m/(1E4m * 1E3m) = about 10 ohms. 

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>
> 
> Hi Jim and All,
> 
> Seeing How Tesla was sort of desperate to get the energy transmission thing
> to work, I have been thinking of ways to help out ;-))
> 
> I found a chart at:
> 
> http://jupiter.agu-dot-org/epubs/jgr_space/ja9905/1999JA900056/f04.html
> 
> Which implies that the conductivity of the ionosphere is fairly good for a
> very high voltage low current system.  However it does not give the units
> well unless it is saying 100 ohm/m^3 as a volume resistivity???  This is a
> pretty important number to know to within a few orders of magnitude.  If
> the resistance is too high, we are just going to make pretty lights in
the sky.
> 
> I can just see the thing making on ionized path between the two stations as
> in the picture at:
>