[BC] Your friend, the Ionosphere

[Cowboy]

On Tuesday 23 October 2007 05:08 pm, RichardBJohnson at comcast.net wrote:
>  Funny --but,. Why don't you give him the answers he seeks?

 Probably because of the condescending way in which the "question"
 was phrased.

>  The suns rays contain a lot of high frequency wavelengths,
>  light waves even beyond ultraviolet. The sun also floods the
>  earth with high velocity atomic particles called the solar wind.
>  
>  When the upper atmosphere captures some of this energy,
>  it becomes activated, "Ionized," which means that its constituents
>  are disassociated into charged particles. These charged particles
>  will eventually recombine as a continuous process. However,
>  they reflect, and sometimes duct radio waves. There are
>  several layers of charged particles, called "D->F" layers, plus
>  a grand outer layer called the Kennelly-Heaviside Layer.

 Absolutely correct !!
 The reflection and ducting of radio waves is a side effect by-product
 of the atmosphere performing a much more important function, in
 blocking the deadly radiation.

 And, we haven't even gotten to the magnetosphere yet !
 Yes, Virginia, you CAN skip AM broadcast over the poles when it
 will go nowhere else !

-- 
Cowboy