Is the ground positively charged or negatively charged?

Question

And what happens with lightning? Please explain.

Answer 1

Ground may have slight positive or negative charge, but that isn't the point really. The point is it has zero potential and is very, very, very large. Thus, it can absorb any amount of charge from whatever source you might name and still have zero potential.

Answer 2

It's neither positive or negative; it's neutral. Interestingly, this does not necessarily mean that there's exactly as many protons in the earth as ther are electrons. Indeed, solar winds tend to dump charges into the earth all the time. It's just that everything in contact with the earth...which is pretty much everything...is at the same potential as the earth. When you speak of positive and negative, you imply that you've defined zero, and what people do is define zero potential as the potential of the earth. The earth might be at a million positive volts compared to Neptune, but since we're not in physical contact with Neptune it doesn't matter.

When lightning strikes, it does so because something develops an electric potential relative to the earth. Usually, this happens due to air friction when air is moving a lot, as happens in storms. Once the potential difference is large enough, there's a discharge. There was a lot of debate in the past regarding whhich way the potential went - were the clouds positive with respect to earth, or negative? A little searching on the web will tell you what the current thinking is.

Answer 3

The ground abounds in electrons and therefore is negatively charged.

In lightning , friction among clouds, cause to have clouds positively charged.

The potential difference may cause a short circuit and a plasma transmission FROM to earth TOWARDS the clouds is effected.

Usually the electrons of the earth will look for the shortest path, thus, the reason for lightning stemming from trees or high buildings.

Believe or not, not a single lightning has struck earth from the clouds in the world's history, it has always been the other way around.

Note :A Plasma is a state of matter with a gas of charged particles.

Answer 4

It is not actually positively charged or negatively charged - it is only relative to the potential electric energy of an outside source. It is the return path of all of the power we consume in our homes and factories.
Lightening is caused by an overabundance of electrons created by disturbances in the atmosphere - the potential is thus extremely negative relative to the ground - and when this potential builds to a degree capable of exceeding the air resistance, BOOM, it discharges into the ground.
Since we are all pretty much on the ground, there is no potential difference. However, if we shuffle across a rug and rip out an abundance of electrons we will be zapped on contact with a door knob at ground potential, for instance.

Answer 5

The ground is not charged; it simply makes contact with the ground (thus the name). If lightning strikes something that is grounded, the charge goes into the ground, and thus into the earth. Beyond that, I'm not sure what you want to know, as lightning can be fairly complex in its behavior.

Answer 6

During electrical storms the earth assumes a higher number of electrons, becoming negatively charged, the cloud layers loosing electrons through rain other electrodynamic forces becoming positively charged.... intermittent electron streams break down the dielectric properties of the space between the cloud layers and earth surface and travel from negative to positive... causing lightning to travel from the earth to the clouds. Cloud groups of varying electrical potential can also cause lightning (electron streams) to jump from cloud group to cloud group as the potential overcomes the dielectric properties of the air between them.

Answer 7

If it is charged at all it is not the gound. The point of the ground is to run the power to the ground rather then though you if there is a short. I am not sure about the lightning.

Answer 8

it's neither positive nor negative.
suppose it is positive then when you charge a body with a positive charge then it will fly a way from earth but in reality this never happen so we find that ground is not charged

Answer 9

Ground is nuetral.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

Answer 10

It's not charged.