Nonexistence of Continuous Intense Ionization in the Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

Abstract

Evidence that radio waves are returned from the troposphere and lower stratosphere has been interpreted by Watson Watt and coworkers as pointing “to continuous ionization in sharply bounded thin strata, over long periods of 5 × 1012 ions Ice or more in regions around 6 to 10 km … at all times of day, in summer and in winter.” Direct observations of the electrical state of the troposphere and lower stratosphere prove that the electrical conductivity of these regions is something like nine orders of magnitude less than that suggested by Watson Watt and coworkers. Continuous recording of electrical conductivity during the flight of the Explorer II up to an altitude of nearly 22 kilometers shows a maximum ionic density of only 5300 ions/cm3 (at 14.8 kilometers). Balloon observations throughout the troposphere show no trace of ionic densities far in excess of 4000 ions/cm3. This evidence is further supported by many years of continuous recording of the electrical state of the troposphere at the Huancayo Magnetic Observatory, 3.3 kilometers above sea level. Moreover, the power required to maintain the electrification postulated by Watson Watt and coworkers is startling when compared with that available from the sun and thunderstorms. The strength of radio echoes from the troposphere would seem to have been greatly overestimated. Copyright 1939, by The Institute of Radio Engineers, Inc.