File:Discovering Earth’s Third Global Energy Field (SVS14628 - 1B).jpg

English: Conceptual AnimationThis animation starts with a close-up view of the ionosphere, represented as a blue arc over a slowly-rotating Earth (not to scale). The view then zooms in, showing nitrogen (N2) that comprises most of the atmosphere. Panning upward, the view then shows atomic oxygen, a lighter element that populates the upper portions of the ionosphere.When photons from the Sun collide with these gases, electrons can be knocked loose. As the atoms and molecules lose electrons, they become positively charged, making them ions. This process is known as ionization.After the oxygen atom becomes ionized, the view changes to show a collection of these ionized gases, known as plasma. When there are equal numbers of electrons and ions, the plasma, as a whole, is neither positively nor negatively charged, but neutral. However, the magnetic pull between the individual particles tethers them together by an electric field, like glue. This field is known as the ambipolar electric field.Credit: NASA/Conceptual Image Lab