Charge Transfer between Raindrops

Abstract

Electric discharges between free-falling drops have been observed and studied quantitatively in the laboratory. These data and information from terrestrial thunderstorms suggest that augmentation of the UHF temperature of thunderstorms by discharges could amount to 117 degrees K. If similar discharges occurred in the atmosphere or on the surface (or in both regions) of Venus, 1.4 x 10(6) discharges per second per square meter would be required to produce the microwave temperature observed (approximately 650 degrees K). It is not probable that such radiation supplies the whole microwave temperature observed; some fraction must be true thermal radiation as described by Plummer and Strong (9), in which case the probable number of required discharges is reduced accordingly.

Droplet Conductivity Strongly Influences Bump and Crater Formation on Electrodes during Charge Transfer

“…Previous reports of light emission between two charged droplet approaching each other in air suggest that a similar mechanism for charge transfer involving dielectric breakdown is also applicable for charge transfer between two droplets. 49,50 Importantly, previous work has revealed that the amount of charge transferred between two droplets is largely independent of droplet conductivity. 9 This is consistent with the results presented here which suggest that the amount of charge the droplet acquires is not dependent on the intensity of the dielectric breakdown event.…”

Atmospheric electricity

“…Sartor (1963), Sartor and Atkinson (1967), and Atkinson and Paluch (1966) where Ap is measured in coulomb-metres and N is the frequency of discharge per m2. T h e formula is valid up to frequencies of 1/27, where 27 is the duration of the spark (E 5 x c m, and in such a case T* is likely to lie in the range 0.02-8 OK, being dependent on the value of N. T h e estimation by Sartor and Atkinson that under favourable conditions T* could be as s).…”