A simple atmospheric electrical instrument for educational use

摘要

Electricity in the atmosphere provides an ideal topic for educationaloutreach in environmental science. To support this objective, a simpleinstrument to measure real atmospheric electrical parameters has beendeveloped and its performance evaluated. This project complimentseducational activities undertaken by the Coupling of Atmospheric Layers(CAL) European research collaboration. The new instrument is inexpensive toconstruct and simple to operate, readily allowing it to be used in schoolsas well as at the undergraduate University level. It is suited to studentsat a variety of different educational levels, as the results can be analysedwith different levels of sophistication. Students can make measurements ofthe fair weather electric field and current density, thereby gaining anunderstanding of the electrical nature of the atmosphere. This work wasstimulated by the centenary of the 1906 paper in which C. T. R. Wilsondescribed a new apparatus to measure the electric field and conductioncurrent density. Measurements using instruments based on the same principlescontinued regularly in the UK until 1979. The instrument proposed is basedon the same physical principles as C. T. R. Wilson's 1906 instrument.