Will a Generator Turn a Lamp On in Open Circuit if Connected to Earth?

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Consider the following thought experiment.

One end of a lamp is connected to one terminal of a power generator. The other end of the lamp is connected to the ground via a metal copper as follows. Assume that the generator is placed quite far above the ground.

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Physics textbooks say that our earth is a giant capacitor that is greedy for electrons. It is also said that electric current flows if there is a closed circuit.

Question

In this scenario, will the generator turn the lamp on?

Attempt

I am not sure whether the generator should turn the lamp on or not.

  • If the generator turns on the lamp, there are electrons flowing from the generator to the earth. But how can the generator produce electrons from mechanical energy? It seems it violates the conservation of charges. So it should not turn the lamp on.

  • But borrowing an analogy of our electric outlet, if we touch the live (hot) wire without wearing high impedance shoes, we will get electric shock even there is no closed circuit (as far as I know).

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Best Answer

Here is what happens if the $300V$ wind generator tries to create a current in the wire.

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At first some electrons will move e.g. to the right in the wire above.

However this leaves one end of the wire positively charged and the electrons are attracted back, within a short time the $300V$ would not be able to move any more electrons and the current stops.

So a closed circuit is necessary for a current to flow.

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