with the total mass of the earth, it is a conductor. if you had anything else to connect to it to measure. small local spots may not conduct very good, but overall it is a conductor.

 

Tell me which element from the periodic table, or which combination of elements "empty space" is and I will further clarify my statement as to why everything is a conductor.

If it is not made of matter which has electrons, protons etc... then it is not covered by my overly broad statement.

But we both know you already knew that.

 

Oh I wasn't disagreeing with you at all, only that either I don't understand the definitions of "conductor" and "insulator", or there is a semantics issue with electrons being transported across space. It was BR549's earlier comment about stuff coming at Earth from the sun that made me ponder this.

 

Oh I wasn't disagreeing with you at all, only that either I don't understand the definitions of "conductor" and "insulator", or there is a semantics issue with electrons being transported across space. It was BR549's earlier comment about stuff coming at Earth from the sun that made me ponder this.

Well, yeah... solar wind is mainly composed of charged particles in the form of plasma (electrons, protons, and naked helium nuclei, also known as alpha particles).
But you've now made me wonder... does that mean that there is an electric current flowing to the earth from the sun? Or is the total sum of all those charged particles virtually zero?

 

One of my earliest questions was, "What voltage is the Earth?" Compared to what? The moon? Another planet? Deep space?

Different subject. Consider the Aurora Borealis. That is electrons arriving.

Then consider that we make a vacuum in vacuum tubes because electrons flow much better in a vacuum than in our atmosphere.

It is known that our planet has free electrons laying around, all over the place. If they met a free proton, wouldn't the fall in love and make baby hydrogens? I assume that means the Earth has a net negative charge.

 

One of my earliest questions was, "What voltage is the Earth?" Compared to what? The moon? Another planet? Deep space?

Different subject. Consider the Aurora Borealis. That is electrons arriving.

Then consider that we make a vacuum in vacuum tubes because electrons flow much better in a vacuum than in our atmosphere.

It is known that our planet has free electrons laying around, all over the place. If they met a free proton, wouldn't the fall in love and make baby hydrogens? I assume that means the Earth has a net negative charge.

That's more or less what I wanted to explore in this thread that I posted last year.

 

I guess merely transporting charge across a distance doesn't make you a conductor. Space does not "conduct", but it also doesn't inhibit the transport of charge. Like scuffing your feet on the carpet and zapping the cat on the nose.

 

To me conduction is much more than charge movement. All matter is made of charge, so any movement of matter is conduction in that sense.

Conduction to me is a ordered sequential flow of charge. How willing that happens determines conductor from insulator.

But you are right, a high enough voltage can move charge out of any insulator.

I believe there is conduction at both Earth’s M poles constantly.

I don’t think this is caused by an electrical potential. I believe it is caused by a magnetic potential.

They have just recently started to plot the Many EM fields around the earth.

It’s hard to tell what they’ll find.

If there was a net charge on earth, wouldn’t charged objects fall at different rates?

 

If there was a net charge on earth, wouldn’t charged objects fall at different rates?

Or not fall at all! You may have just invented the hover-car.

 

OIt is known that our planet has free electrons laying around, all over the place. If they met a free proton, wouldn't the fall in love and make baby hydrogens?

In fact, a solitary proton is a hydrogen ion, or hydron.

Edit: Oh, and a helium nucleus is an alpha particle...in case you were wondering.