A New Comet

[Sparky]

September 30, 2012 by Stephen Smith:

Comet 2012 S1, an object approximately three kilometers in diameter, is presently inside the orbit of Jupiter.------a coma (charge sheath) forms around them.------Hale-Bopp did not obey the standard theory of cometary activity. In the deep places of the Solar System, past Jupiter’s orbit, the comet displayed an ion tail, several jets of bright material spewing into space and a glowing coma. -----What will determine its fate is the electrical potential that will develop between the comet and the Sun. How much charge it will accumulate, and how rapidly that charge disperses are going to be the deciding factors.

I still do not understand how a relative small rock can not equalize charge quickly.

What was Hale Bopp doing with all of it's discharge phenomenon. It seems that it too should have been equalized with it's environment.

Comets, to me, seem to be "plugged in". Could the tail or coma be a connection to a circuit that maintains the comets charge.

Charge sheath? The same as a double layer or A Debye sheath?

[PersianPaladin]

As the comet moves very quickly into a different electric field region (i.e. thanks to the eccentric orbit), it has to adjust its voltage and thus discharges. The rapid pace is also important, and the electric field becomes stronger and stronger as you get closer to the sun. Plasma does not operate in the same way as neutral gas - so you will see powerful electric fields occurring along specific double-layer regions inside the bow-shock, coma and outer part of the comet nucleus. The comet becomes like a capacitor, and it stores electrical energy and high voltages.

You have to consider the fact that there is always a discharge between the heavenly bodies and the positively charged sun - most likely in the dark-mode of magnetospheres, magnetotails and interactions with the solar wind. Comets are simply the result of particular eccentric orbits and rapid encroachment into a stronger electric field region - and thus the dark-mode discharge glows and then arcs. Capacitive, resistive and inductive features should also be considered.

I don't have time to give you a more detailed explanation at this time. But I do suggest you look at Alfven's "circuit theory" of comets.

[Sparky]

Thank you....Yes, i have a general understanding of electric comet theory, but was just questioning if there were something that needed modification.
I guess the short answer to my perplexity is that the charge sheath protects the comet from a quick discharge until a "trigger point">. I am just having a hard time imagining that. I got it in my head that they seem to be taking on charge as well as discharging.

A CME toward a comet could be a discharge, but it seems that it could also be seen as the comet's environment creating a circuit path..And maybe a resonance of charge/discharge is set up by the elliptical orbit.
ireallydonno.

I'm used to microfarad caps. that discharge quickly and multi-farad caps. that can take quite a while to discharge through a resistance.

Thanks