chuck wrote:

Cecil Moore wrote:

chuck wrote:

Based on that, it would seem the fairweather field can support corona
formation by itself.


Even though the fairweather current is 13 magnitudes below
the corona current?


My understanding is that a strong electric field ionizes the air and
leads to formation of a corona. I imagine with a sufficiently strong
field, the corona current could be in the pA range. At least I can't
imagine why not.

Here's an exercise that might add some realism. Calculate the amount
of charge a 14 awg 40 meter dipole antenna at 35 feet would have to
accumulate in order to generate a strong enough field to cause a
corona discharge. (Arcing at the feedpoint doesn't count.)

73, ac6xg