Submitted by dvorahtheexplorer t3_zhic83 in askscience
PatrickKieliszek t1_izo5c6g wrote
Reply to comment by valdocs_user in What is the average voltage between Earth and outer space? by dvorahtheexplorer
The solar wind is full of both positively charged hydrogen and free electrons.
The Earth's magnetic field captures more electrons than protons because the protons are more massive.
Eventually the net negative charge of the earth is enough to balance out the effect of the magnetic field and the rate of capture becomes even.
This causes the earth as a whole to have a slight negative charge.
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