Measurements of the Atmospheric Electricity with Captive Balloon

Abstract

Measurements of the electrical current in the mooring wire of the captive balloon and of the electrical conductivity in the lower atmosphere were carried out from January to October, 1953 at Honjo, Saitama-Prefecture. We observed these two elements in the fair weather nights.
The meteorological phenomena in calm days have been considered to have smaller influence on the atmospheric electricity. But from our results, it is considered that the potential gradients at the ground surface are remarkably affected by the meteorological phenomena-nocturnal inversions-in calm nights.