74 points | by Tomte 3 days ago ago
11 comments
That 7 second video of a small rocket shot into a cloud to induce a lightning strike (about half way down the article) is incredible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BJIiX9_c_M
Any ideas why the lightning strike appears mostly green (and momentarily purple and orange)?
Copper emits a green/blue light in the flame test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwsexjcROH4
I'm imagining it's something related to the copper wire.
I always wanted to replicate this with a helium balloon and a long, wet string coated with copper filings.
You'd probably need a very large balloon to overcome the weight of the string
Maybe just salt water and skip the filings?
Soooo you are telling me that we still haven't fully understood something as fundamental as lightning and it's still an active area of research...
So, nothing new?
The cosmic ray hypothesis has been dominant for a few years now.
This magazine…
Tl;dr lightings may be caused by electrons/positrons from outer space hitting a cloud and initiating an "avalanche" of electrons.
Cosmic rays are mostly protons, not electrons or positrons. You're mixing up to separate theories in the article.
just in case you missed it, all matter carrys a charge, and all space(and matter) has energy radiating through it, making the universe an energy gradient.
sometimes you can see it happening.
That 7 second video of a small rocket shot into a cloud to induce a lightning strike (about half way down the article) is incredible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BJIiX9_c_M
Any ideas why the lightning strike appears mostly green (and momentarily purple and orange)?
Copper emits a green/blue light in the flame test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwsexjcROH4
I'm imagining it's something related to the copper wire.
I always wanted to replicate this with a helium balloon and a long, wet string coated with copper filings.
You'd probably need a very large balloon to overcome the weight of the string
Maybe just salt water and skip the filings?
Soooo you are telling me that we still haven't fully understood something as fundamental as lightning and it's still an active area of research...
So, nothing new?
The cosmic ray hypothesis has been dominant for a few years now.
This magazine…
Tl;dr lightings may be caused by electrons/positrons from outer space hitting a cloud and initiating an "avalanche" of electrons.
Cosmic rays are mostly protons, not electrons or positrons. You're mixing up to separate theories in the article.
just in case you missed it, all matter carrys a charge, and all space(and matter) has energy radiating through it, making the universe an energy gradient.
sometimes you can see it happening.