What will happen if the ionosphere loses its ions?

If this were to occur, then the Sun's energy would more than likely travel straight through the atmosphere. It would not be stopped before it reaches Earth. This energy includes radio waves, ultraviolet radiation, and X-rays. Depending on which of these are released, then the ions in the ionosphere would either reflect energy, or it would absorb energy.

If this were to happen, it would be very dangerous, because more people would get diseases like cancer. This is because the x-rays would no longer be absorbed. Along with that, we wouldn't have modern communication because we would no longer have radio waves.

If these particles' density is low enough, this electrically charged gas performs differently than it would if it were neutral, and now this gas is known as plasma. The atmospheric gas concentration becomes low enough to support a plasma's specifications at about 90 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The electrons in plasma achieve more energy, and they are low in mass.

They move along the Earth's magnetic field lines, and their heightened energy is enough to escape Earth's gravity. The electrons and ions move outside of the ionosphere together. The result is that lighter ions of hydrogen, helium, and oxygen can escape from the ionosphere.

Earth possesses a strong magnetic field, so these outward moving particles stay confined near the planet unless other processes further pull them away and into interstellar space. The ionosphere is an extremely dynamic part of the atmosphere, and it expands and diminishes dependent on the energy it attracts from the sun.

If the ionosphere loses its ions, this means that some of the Sun’s energy such as ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, and radio waves would travel straight through the atmosphere and would not be stopped before reaching earth. Depending on the type of energy being released from the sun, the ions in the ionosphere either absorb or reflect the energy.

So, if a lot of the sun’s x-rays reached the earth because there were no more ions in the ionosphere to absorb the x-rays, a lot more people might get cancer. Also, radio waves are reflected back to the earth and without them, communication would have to take place via satellites.