<p>This question s titled according to of one of the Nikola Tesla's patents. There he stated that lightning generates electric waves in Earth.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"In the course of certain investigations which I carried on for the
  purpose of studying the effects of lightning discharges upon the
  electrical condition of the earth I observed that sensitive receiving
  instruments arranged so as to be capable of responding to electrical
  disturbances created by the discharges at times failed to respond when
  they should have done so, and upon inquiring into the causes of this
  unexpected behavior I discovered it to be due to the character of the
  electrical waves which were produced in the earth by the lightning
  discharges and which had nodal regions fo<em>llowing at definite distances
  the shifting source of the disturbances. From data obtained in a large
  number of observations of the maxima and minima of these waves I found
  their length to vary approximately from twenty-live to seventy
  kilometers, and these results and certain theoretical,deductions led
  me to the conclusion that waves of this kind may be propagated in all
  directions over the globe</em> and that they may be of still more widely
  differing lengths,the extreme limits being imposed by the physical
  dimensions and properties of the earth. <em>Recognizing in the existence
  of these waves an unmistakable evidence that the disturbances created
  had been conducted from their origin to the most remote portions of
  the globe and had been thence reflected,</em> I conceived the idea of
  producing such waves in the earth by artificial means with the object
  of utilizing them for many useful purposes for which they are or might
  be found applicable. -- <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikola_Tesla_patents#Patents_#51%E2%80%93#100" rel="noreferrer">U.S. Patent 787,412</a>"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Does Earth shows such properties? How does the Earth responds to lightning discharges? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-01T01:56:59.927Z
This is a really cool question! I remember (a long time ago) reading about electromagnetic waves inside conductive soil that travelled near but below the surface, and remember seeing a circuit for such a receiver in a book about ham radio circuits. So I've just asked [Looking for a book that contained a circuit for receiving (literally) underground amateur radio transmissions.](https://ham.stackexchange.com/q/16179/8643)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-01T17:01:28.817Z
Look up "telluric currents". It is a consideration when designing pipeline cathodic protection .
blacksmith37
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-02T00:26:49.670Z
From [Wikipedia "Telluric current"](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluric_current): "In industrial prospecting activity that uses the telluric current method, electrodes are properly located on the ground to sense the voltage difference between locations caused by the oscillatory telluric currents. It is recognized that a low frequency window (LFW) exists when telluric currents pass through the earth's substrata. In the frequencies of the LFW, the earth acts as a conductor."
Mike Waters
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-02T02:01:31.380Z
**update:** there's now an [excellent answer](https://ham.stackexchange.com/a/16182/8643)!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-02T09:04:59.090Z
This will interest you, a magazine from that time:  https://archive.org/details/SI192806/mode/2up
bandybabboon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-02T09:34:56.820Z
@uhoh, I have read the answer. The frequency range of ELF communications (3-30kH) and Tesla's apparatus are almost the same. Tesla recommends a frequency of 20KH. "Second. It is necessary to employ oscillations in which the rate of radiation of energy into space in the form of Hertzian or electromagnetic waves is very small. To give an idea, I would say that the frequency should be smaller than twenty thousand per second, though shorter waves might be practicable. The lowest frequency would appear to be six per second, in which case there will be but..." -  U.S. Patent 787,412
Marino
<earth-observation><lightning><thunderstorm>
Earth's Electricity
Marino
# Earth's Electricity

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-02-29)

This question s titled according to of one of the Nikola Tesla's patents. There he stated that lightning generates electric waves in Earth.

> "In the course of certain investigations which I carried on for the
> purpose of studying the effects of lightning discharges upon the
> electrical condition of the earth I observed that sensitive receiving
> instruments arranged so as to be capable of responding to electrical
> disturbances created by the discharges at times failed to respond when
> they should have done so, and upon inquiring into the causes of this
> unexpected behavior I discovered it to be due to the character of the
> electrical waves which were produced in the earth by the lightning
> discharges and which had nodal regions fo*llowing at definite distances
> the shifting source of the disturbances. From data obtained in a large
> number of observations of the maxima and minima of these waves I found
> their length to vary approximately from twenty-live to seventy
> kilometers, and these results and certain theoretical,deductions led
> me to the conclusion that waves of this kind may be propagated in all
> directions over the globe* and that they may be of still more widely
> differing lengths,the extreme limits being imposed by the physical
> dimensions and properties of the earth. *Recognizing in the existence
> of these waves an unmistakable evidence that the disturbances created
> had been conducted from their origin to the most remote portions of
> the globe and had been thence reflected,* I conceived the idea of
> producing such waves in the earth by artificial means with the object
> of utilizing them for many useful purposes for which they are or might
> be found applicable. -- [U.S. Patent 787,412](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikola_Tesla_patents#Patents_#51%E2%80%93#100)"

Does Earth shows such properties? How does the Earth responds to lightning discharges?

**Tags:** earth-observation, lightning, thunderstorm

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is a really cool question! I remember (a long time ago) reading about electromagnetic waves inside conductive soil that travelled near but below the surface, and remember seeing a circuit for such a receiver in a book about ham radio circuits. So I've just asked [Looking for a book that contained a circuit for receiving (literally) underground amateur radio transmissions.](https://ham.stackexchange.com/q/16179/8643)  
> **username_2**: Look up "telluric currents". It is a consideration when designing pipeline cathodic protection .  
> **username_3**: From [Wikipedia "Telluric current"](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluric_current): "In industrial prospecting activity that uses the telluric current method, electrodes are properly located on the ground to sense the voltage difference between locations caused by the oscillatory telluric currents. It is recognized that a low frequency window (LFW) exists when telluric currents pass through the earth's substrata. In the frequencies of the LFW, the earth acts as a conductor."  
> **username_1**: **update:** there's now an [excellent answer](https://ham.stackexchange.com/a/16182/8643)!  
> **username_4**: This will interest you, a magazine from that time:  https://archive.org/details/SI192806/mode/2up  
> **username_0**: @username_1, I have read the answer. The frequency range of ELF communications (3-30kH) and Tesla's apparatus are almost the same. Tesla recommends a frequency of 20KH. "Second. It is necessary to employ oscillations in which the rate of radiation of energy into space in the form of Hertzian or electromagnetic waves is very small. To give an idea, I would say that the frequency should be smaller than twenty thousand per second, though shorter waves might be practicable. The lowest frequency would appear to be six per second, in which case there will be but..." -  U.S. Patent 787,412  

---

## 0 answers

