6: The Earth's Atmospheric Envelope 93
Since there is water vapour in the atmosphere near these various altitudes in the form of cumulus and cirrus clouds (troposphere), nacreous clouds (stratosphere) and noctilucent clouds (mesosphere) as shown on fig. 6.3, we have a situation where a thin stratum of pure water may exist at each of these levels, which has a high resistance to the transfer of an electric charge. In view of the presence of these various +4°C strata and water's high dielectric value of 81, it could be postulated that their combined effect would act to create a natural bio-condenser, a condenser being a device with which an electric charge can be accumulated and stored. Before elaborating further on this hypothesis, however, it is necessary here briefly to explain the principles of an electrical condenser. In its most elementary form, a condenser consists of two electrically charged plates, one with a positive charge equal to the other's negative charge. If the positive charged is raised on one side of the dielectric then the negative charge automati-
cally rises to the same level on the other. In fig. 6.4 these two charged plates are separated by the intervening dielectric (the largest element), which in this case we shall deem to be pure water. The charges themselves are distributed uniformly over the surfaces of the two plates. In order to increase the charge density on one side of the dielectric, the surface area of the respective plate is reduced. If this plate is reduced to a quarter the size of the other, then its charge density is four times that of the larger plate (fig. 6.5). The force with which the two opposite charges try to equalise or attract each other is known as the potential. The smaller the separation between the charges, the smaller the distance between them, the greater the potential, which increases by the inverse square of the separation. Therefore, if the separation is 10mm, for example, then the potential is 12. If the separation is reduced to 1/2 i.e. 5mm, then the
potential is 2 2 (=4) and so on, as shown in fig. 6.6. The smaller the separation, therefore, the greater the corresponding potential, which could be unleashed once the permittivity of the dielectric has been overcome.
If the charge surface on one side and the separation are decreased simultaneously, then both charge density and potential increase exponentially relative to the initial magnitude of the charges and sizes of the charge-plates (fig. 6.7). If we now recompose these plates in the form of concentric cylinders as shown in fig. 6.8, then as the surface area of the inner cylindrical plate is necessarily smaller, the charge and potential increase automatically from the outside inwards. The greater the number of nested plates, therefore, the more intense the potentiation. Referring once more to fig. 6.3, we can see that from the outside inwards, like an onion, each succeeding layer has a smaller surface area owing to their concentricity. In other words, these layers form a condenser with concentric spherical plates (fig. 6.9). It could therefore be construed that, on encountering each successive, concentric, spherical +4°C dielectric stratum, the potential of the energy coming from the Sun is gradually magnified. As the Sun's energy passes from the outside towards the inside, it becomes increasingly concentrated as it approaches the Earth's surface, due to these enveloping layers of +4°C water, which as noted earlier does not freeze at temperatures of -40°C. Viewed from a more cosmic perspective these strata are extremely close together, producing a very high potential. Relative to the average diameter of the Earth - 12,660.912km - the height of the highest of these +4°C strata represents only 0.0138%. In other words, if the Earth were depicted as a sphere with a diameter of 1 metre, then these four or