Question

Atmospheric electricity was discovered by
A) Isaac Newton
B) Michael Faraday
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Thomas Edison

Answer 1

Hint: Atmospheric electricity is the study of electrical charges present in the earth's atmosphere. This is an interdisciplinary topic with a long history, involving concepts of electrostatics, atmospheric physics, meteorology, Earth science, and many more.

Complete solution:
Benjamin Franklin discovered `Atmospheric electricity` is a study of electrical charges present in the earth's atmosphere. The movement of charges between the earth’s surface and the ionosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrical circuits.

During his many experiments showed that the electrical phenomenon of the atmosphere was not fundamentally different from those which produced electricity and lighting in the laboratory.

There he observed many similarities between them. Atmospheric electricity involves concepts from electrostatics, atmospheric physics, meteorology, Earth science, and many more.

Hence, the option C is the correct answer.

Additional information:
•Atmospheric electricity is nothing but Earth’s atmospheric electromagnetic network.
•The earth’s surface, ionosphere, and atmosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit.
•Also the discovery of electricity was rather a chain of inventions that led to these modern days use of electric power and lightning is the purest and most basic form of electricity which we highly used in the whole universe.
•Atmospheric electricity means electricity in the atmosphere. It causes evaporation from the earth surface, chemical changes which take place upon the earth surface, expansion, condensation, and variation of temperature of the atmosphere, and it has moisture in the atmosphere.

Note:
Coulomb discovered the electrical conductivity of air in 1785. His discovery was contrary to the prevailing thought at that time, due to atmospheric gases being insulators means we can say they are to some extent or at least not very good conductors when not ionized.