© Lloyd

==SOLAR SPECTRUM
__part of the problem is that the photosphere is (in my model) positively charged but it has electrons flowing through it on their way to the corona and beyond.
__Hence it may be a positive layer clinging to a negative electrode but both positive ions and free electrons will be present in the mix. ...
__as I recall the photons that are emitted by an electron zipping past a nucleon without recombining, as would be the case in the electron flow from a cathode through a positive plasma layer, are different from the photons emitted by electron uptake.
__CC: I'm thinking that the BB [blackbody] radiation is coming from at least 4000 km below the edge.
__So at a depth of 4000 km there is a density ledge above which we have these extremely low density cathode tufts.
__As you have said such low density plasma should only produce spectral lines and appears in fact to be the source of the absorption lines.
__Hence the BB radiation has to be coming from below the low density cathode tufts.
__It seems possible that at the density drop-off 4000 km below the outer edge (what others would call the "surface") the BB radiation can pass through the thin plasma above.
__MM: I agree that the constant current is the major source of BB radiation and non BB radiation for that matter.
==SOLAR HEAT
__CC: I've been asking questions about how we determine the temperature of the photosphere and corona.
__It's my understanding that it's based on the degree of ionization.
__But what if the plasma is in a strong electric field and is already ionized? Then we're over-estimating the temperature.
__We might also see a lot more bremsstrahlung radiation as the electrons zip past the nuclei due to the electric field.
__The cathode spot is the hottest portion and only occupies a small part of the electrode.
__As concerns the streamers we should be careful to remember that the energy in them is extremely weak compared to the photosphere.
__They can only be seen if the Sun is totally eclipsed.
__So while they might reveal an extraordinary amount of information about the relationship of the Sun to the heliosphere [like showing that the Sun acts as a cathode] they are not significant power sources.
__So when the mainstream says that magnetic reconnection in the corona is beaming heat down to the photosphere that just isn't correct because there isn't much energy there.
__MM: [We] would never be able to see the surface if the neon were not ionized.
__Furthermore there must also be a logical explanation as to why there is such an abundance of Neon in the higher energy states and so little Neon in a non-ionized state.
__A 'prediction' of a cathode solar model would include an ionized atmosphere.
__If the sun is a cathode it *must* possess an ionized atmosphere.
__It's a question then of "what energy state" it achieve[s] due to the constant flow of current.
__The ionization state is directly related to photoionization and the fact I'm claiming to be able to 'see' to a depth of 4800KM under the photosphere.
__That would not be possible if the atmosphere was in a lower energy state.
__MM: All the heat released in the 4800KM atmosphere has to exit that surface along with all the excess heat released in the glow mode discharge process.
__The cathode sets up a particle flow that moves excess heat away from the crust and out of the surface of the photosphere.
__It's the combined heat from the resistance of the glow mode discharge and the heat release in coronal loops that results in such a high surface temperature of the surface of the photosphere IMO.
__CC: there is a steady stream of electrons from the cathode through the positive double-layer on top.
__This flow of current creates ohmic heating which is the source of the black-body radiation.