occurring plates e g 104 106 or 106 108 or the like by the voltage power supply 114 the resulting current can be measured this current can be proportional to the number of free electrons 204 shown in fig2 present in the atmosphere confined between the two co occurring plates 104 106 any two co occurring plates e g 104 106 or 106 108 or the like can be separated from each other by a separation distance u201c d u201d 116 in one implementation the separation distance 116 can be a constant predetermined value for any two co occurring plates e g 104 106 or 106 108 or the like in another implementation distances between different co occurring plates e g 104 106 or 106 108 or the like can vary according to a pre defined algorithm each plate 104 106 108 110 or 112 can be held at a constant dc voltage with respect to the plate if any above it and the plate if any below it the parallel plate collector 102 can be deployed below an aircraft to collect atmospheric ions in other implementations the parallel plate collector 102 can be deployed on any entity moving in the atmosphere such as a helicopter a parachute an air jet and the like in some implementations the parallel plate connector can be deployed on a stationary device when deployed below an aircraft a mobile high voltage power supply 114 and a data acquisition.