dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaConstructional details for A simple atmospheric electrical instrument for educational use
| Authors | A. J. Bennett, R. G. Harrison |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0701280 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0701280 |
Abstract
Electricity in the atmosphere provides an ideal topic for educational outreach in environmental science. To support this objective, a simple instrument to measure real atmospheric electrical parameters has been developed and its performance evaluated. This project compliments educational activities undertaken by the Coupling of Atmospheric Layers (CAL) European research collaboration. The new instrument is inexpensive to construct and simple to operate, readily allowing it to be used in schools as well as at the undergraduate University level. It is suited to students at a variety of different educational levels, as the results can be analysed with different levels of sophistication. Students can make measurements of the fair weather electric field and current density, thereby gaining an understanding of the electrical nature of the atmosphere. This work was stimulated by the centenary of the 1906 paper in which C.T.R. Wilson described a new apparatus to measure the electric field and conduction current density. Measurements using instruments based on the same principles continued regularly in the UK until 1979. The instrument proposed is based on the same physical principles as C.T.R. Wilson's 1906 instrument. The constructional details of the instrument are provided here.
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"abstract": "Electricity in the atmosphere provides an ideal topic for educational\noutreach in environmental science. To support this objective, a simple\ninstrument to measure real atmospheric electrical parameters has been developed\nand its performance evaluated. This project compliments educational activities\nundertaken by the Coupling of Atmospheric Layers (CAL) European research\ncollaboration. The new instrument is inexpensive to construct and simple to\noperate, readily allowing it to be used in schools as well as at the\nundergraduate University level. It is suited to students at a variety of\ndifferent educational levels, as the results can be analysed with different\nlevels of sophistication. Students can make measurements of the fair weather\nelectric field and current density, thereby gaining an understanding of the\nelectrical nature of the atmosphere. This work was stimulated by the centenary\nof the 1906 paper in which C.T.R. Wilson described a new apparatus to measure\nthe electric field and conduction current density. Measurements using\ninstruments based on the same principles continued regularly in the UK until\n1979. The instrument proposed is based on the same physical principles as\nC.T.R. Wilson\u0027s 1906 instrument. The constructional details of the instrument\nare provided here.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0701280",
"authors": [
"A. J. Bennett",
"R. G. Harrison"
],
"categories": [
"physics.ed-ph",
"physics.geo-ph"
],
"title": "Constructional details for A simple atmospheric electrical instrument for educational use",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0701280"
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