The earth\'s surface and the upper atmosphere can be thought of as the spherical

Question

The earth's surface and the upper atmosphere can be thought of as the spherical plates of a huge capacitor. However, it is a leaky capacitor, as a global current of 1500 amps is observed. If the charge on the upper plate totals 6*10^5 Coulombs, how long would it take to discharge the capacitor?

Recall the definition of the current is L= delta Q/delta L
where L is in amps(Coulombs per second", Q is charge, and t is time. In fact, the positive charges on the upper "plate" is maintained over times. What do you suppose replenishes this charge?

Explanation / Answer

From the given formula current L = deltaQ /delta t
The time taken to discharge the capacitor is
t = 6*10^5/1500

     = 400 s

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