Sprites, Jets, and Elves

Historic planetary instability and catastrophe. Evidence for electrical scarring on planets and moons. Electrical events in today's solar system. Electric Earth.

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:52 pm

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:19 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "Ion01"

Did anyone notice the circular reasoning in this article that was linked on the first page?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... under.html
The enormous jets may play an important role in the global electric circuit that surrounds the Earth, helping reduce the huge differences in charges that build up between the surface and the ionosphere, the part of the atmosphere 70 to 80 kilometers (44 to 50 miles) above the ground in which ionization of atmospheric gases affects the propagation of radio waves.

Scientists have known that the global electric circuit is powered by thunderstorms.....
So the storms reduce the difference in charge which it created or "powered"?
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:53 pm

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 12:43 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "Mikael_Joe"

Don't know if this has been posted yet.

High speed video of sprites and elves.
http://ibis.nmt.edu/sprites/HighSpeed.html
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:54 pm

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:09 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "Krackonis"
cbreeze34 wrote: amazing, just amazing.
For some reason, it reminds me of the prototypical "thunderbolt of the gods" (IE, a bi-lobed "pinch"-ish structure)... Probably just coincidence.
(mgmirkin)
probably just coincidence. ha. :)

i suspect that's exactly what we're looking at, albeit on a smaller scale. food for thought: my initial hunch is it appears as if the air has a "layer" of sorts where different amounts of ionization meet. notice below the boundary, the current pinches down into a lichtenberg figure, as lightning does because of the air's high resistance. above that boundary, the air is presumably more conductive, leading to structures similar to the "plasma shapes" we all know and love.

here's hoping this thread makes this week's "top of the charts".
I feel that Stratus clouds exemplify that effect. One charge on one side of the cloud than on on the other...
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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:55 pm

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject: Sprites, Elves, Glow Discharge Tube Analogy / Analogies? Reply with quote
OP "mgmirkin"

Just ran across this article:

(Sprites, Elves, and Glow Discharge Tubes)
http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-54/iss-11/p41.html

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin
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There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:56 pm

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:27 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "junglelord"

Based on what they say are the ELF Schumann resonances a longitudinal energy? I assume they are from what I gathered.
The two researchers discovered that the same giant positive ground flashes that cause sprites also excite Schumann resonances--electromagnetic waves in the natural Earth-ionosphere waveguide. By contrast, the lower atmosphere is transparent and the D region of the ionosphere, where ne is about 100 cm-3, forms a conductive waveguide only in the ELF and very-low-frequency (VLF) ranges (3-25 kHz). The reflecting waveguide effect in the Schumann resonance frequency range (3-40 Hz) is vital for the global detection and analysis of sprite-producing lightning from a single measurement station.13

Lightning, the auroras, glow discharges, and sprites are all luminous plasmas characterized by intermediate concentrations of free electrons. With an electron density of 1018 cm-3 in the hottest channels (30 000 K), lightning has been shown to backscatter microwaves as a conductor at wavelengths as short as a few centimeters.14 The auroras, with a luminosity comparable to the brightest sprites, provide strong radar backscatter in the megahertz region and are still detectable by radar in the UHF region (400 MHz). This behavior is consistent with electron densities in the range of 105-107 cm-3.
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There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:57 pm

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:53 am Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "mgmirkin"

Don't know, off hand. Perhaps someone can chime in with some more info...

~Michael Gmirkin
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There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:59 pm

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "mgmirkin"

Just thought I'd poke around for a few additional links:

(The Hundred-year hunt for the sprite. [Historical context! Great article on the extremely cautious and sometimes "disbelieving" approach that was taken toward sprites since as long ago as at least 1886!])
http://www.fma-research.com/Papers&pres ... /100YR.htm

(The Balloon goes up over lightning!)
http://www.holoscience.com/news/balloon.html

(Sprites, Elves, and Glow Discharge Tubes)
http://www.physicstoday.org/pt/vol-54/iss-11/p41.html
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001PhT....54k..41W

(Atmospheric 'sprites' captured in explosive detail)
http://environment.newscientist.com/cha ... rth/dn8733

(Video reveals sprites are brighter than Venus)
http://environment.newscientist.com/cha ... th/dn12044

(Sprites, elves & intense lightning discharges, [NATO Science series II : Mathematics, physics & chemistry, Vol. 225])
http://www.lavoisier.fr/notice/gb413036.html

(On Sprites and Their Exotic Kin)
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/s ... 0/5620/747

(Sprites, Blue Jets, Elves and "Superbolts")
http://sky-fire.tv/index.cgi/spritesbluejetselves.html

(Red Sprites, Blue Jets and Elves)
http://www.albany.edu/faculty/rgk/atm101/sprite.htm

(About.com: Sprites and Atmospheric Electricity)
http://geology.about.com/od/sprites/Spr ... ricity.htm

(Sprites and Elves - Lightning's strange cousins flicker faster than light itself; [no, not really, though it looked that way at first...])
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/optic ... es97sciam/

(Sprites and Jets)
http://umbra.nascom.nasa.gov/spd/sprites.html

(Unlocking the Mystery Behind Lightning's Puzzling Friend)
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/new ... rites.html

(Very Low Frequency group confirms filamentary structure of atmospheric sprites)
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1 ... ent16.html

(New red sprites model: Like setting off '10,000 sky rockets at the same time')
http://www-star.stanford.edu/%7Evlf/opt ... ordReport/

(Red sprite haloes {?}; not sure if that title's right, as I'm on dial-up and couldn't confirm it, since it kept timing out on the PDF.)
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/optic ... eHalos.pdf

(Red Sprites / Red Sprite Model)
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/Red_Sprite/

(Recent online press articles - related to work on thunderstorm coupling to the mesosphere and ionosphere (red sprites, etc))
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/optical/press/

(VLF Group Publications)
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/publications/

(4.1 Identification of lightning, elves, and sprites)
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/publi ... ode24.html

(Optical Measurements of Sprites and Elves at Stanford)
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/optical/

(Very Low Frequency Group; includes links to all sorts of cutting edge research on sprites, lightning, auroral electrojets, etc.)
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/

(Sprites and ELVEs)
http://ibis.nmt.edu/sprites/sprites.html

(Atmospheric Electricity Research homepage)
http://ae.nsstc.uah.edu/

(Electrical Discharges in the Upper Atmosphere and Its Effects on
Near Space Vehicles )
Electrical PowerPoint Presentation

(Wikipedia: upper atmospheric lightning, currently includes ELVEs, sprites and blue jets; I might add a reference for TIGERs.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper-atmo ... _lightning

(Columbia Crew Saw New Atmospheric Phenomenon; apparently TIGERs [Transient Ionospheric Glow Emission in Red] now join their esteemed cousins: sprites/tendrils/beads, ELVEs, gnomes/blue jets, positive/negative lightning!)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/hum ... tle/dn6897

(A Glimpse of a TIGER)
http://geology.about.com/od/sprites/a/aa012305a.htm

(ELVEs: Ionospheric Heating By the Electromagnetic Pulses from Lightning -
A primer)
http://grad.econ.ubc.ca/cpbl/web/elves/

(Thunderstorms have flickering, high-altitude halos; article is on ELVEs, I believe...)
http://www-star.stanford.edu/%7Evlf/opt ... ordReport/

(Lightning scientists capture an elusive 'blue jet' on video; several great links from this page to similar articles!)
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2 ... t-320.html

('Blue jet' captured on tape)
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2 ... o-320.html

(Thunderstorm's Blue Jet Caught Reaching for Space )
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/p ... 20314.html

(Blue jet stabs high into stormy sky)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/ ... uest_x.htm

(Fractal Models of Blue Jets, Blue Starters Show Similarity, Differences to Red Sprites; mentions blue jets, blue starters, and red sprites, as well that blue starters appear to be failed blue jets that "never quite make it.")
http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/bluejets.html

(Weather Phenomenon and Elements - Blue Jets, Red Sprites and Elves; includes the listing of yet another type of electric phenomenon, the troll [Transient Red Optical Luminous Lineament], but don't know if it's the same as a TIGER.)
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/e ... uejets.htm

(APOD: Blue Jet Lightning)
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap951112.html

(Sprites and Their Siblings; goes into some minor detail about several new proposed electrical processes including: Blue Starters [a smaller cousin of or failed Blue Jet], Sprite Haloes [a cousin of the ELVES, but smaller, and lower; sprites may grow out of these!], TROLLs, Gnomes [note the same as blue jets, as I had previously thought; white streamers above cloud tops], Pixies [small bright "points of light" maybe a hundred meters across, flickering in / out of existence], and Gigantic Blue Jets [possibly a combination of a blue jet + sprite?].)
http://geology.about.com/od/sprites/a/sprites.htm

Hope none of those are repeats... Though, who knows. May have dug up one or two before? Wow, found more than I'd expected, and appended some more. Check out the various stuff from the VLF group! Awesome!

I've not had enough time to actually read each and every article, as I was on a bit of a "hunting trip." Will try to pull them all up again at some point and "become acquainted with the material." Anyone who wishes to foray ahead of me, is welcome to it!

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin
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Last edited by mgmirkin on Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:48 am; edited 6 times in total
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:08 pm

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "mgmirkin"

So, let's see, the list now includes:

  • * negative lightning ("normal" lightning from the bottoms of clouds to the ground)
    * positive lightning (much stronger lightning from the tops of the clouds to the ground)
    * intra-cloud lightning (inside a given cloud, not touching "ground")
    * inter-cloud lightning (between different clouds, but not touching "ground")
    * ball lightning (floating balls of luminous material; possibly short-lived plasmoids{?} created in association with lightning events)
    * pixies (twinkling "points of light" in / above thunder clouds?)
    * gnomes (bright white rays or jets above thunderclouds)
    * blue starters (failed blue jets)
    * blue jets (large blue streamers pointing upward from the tops of thunderclouds)
    * giant blue jets (possibly a combination of a blue jet and a sprite)
    * sprite haloes (smaller, lower version of ELVEs; may be the precursor to sprite formation)
    * sprites (large glow discharges in the upper atmosphere over thunderstorms) with their tendrils (filaments {?}) and beads (plasmoids {?})
    * ELVEs ([E]missions of [L]ight and [V]ery low frequency perturbations due to [E]lectromagnetic pulse [S]ources; large rings / donuts / plates of discharge in the upper upper atmosphere)
    * TIGERs ([T]ransient [I]onospheric [G]low [E]mission in [R]ed)
    * TROLLs ([T]ransient [R]ed [O]ptical [L]uminous [L]ineament; not unlike blue jets, but in "red" portion of the spectrum {?})
Though, it's unclear whether the last two are synonymous or not.

The number of electrical processes now known in the atmosphere seems to keep growing and growing and growing!

Might as well point out the various processes now known to exist in interplanetary space as well, even if they're not yet recognized as such:

  • * Birkeland currents (field aligned-currents; filaments of electric current in plasma [not unlike the filaments in novelty plasma lamps], in space).
    * "Magnetic ropes" connecting the sun to the Earth electrically (synonymous with Birkeland currents, in fact a re-confirmation of the same; note that NASA has made the analogy of Earth being connected to a 30 kV battery in space, pumping 650,000 amps of current into the Arctic and powering the magnetosphere [and/or auroras electrically]!).
    * "Flux tubes" in the fast and slow solar wind (likely also synonymous with Birkeland currents).
    * The Io-Jupiter "flux tube."
    * Proton beams in the solar wind.
    * Electron beams in he solar wind (also known as "strahl").
As we should know by now, from Maxwell's Wonderful Equations, magnetic fields have one and only one source: electric currents! Any time we hear about a "magnetic-field-something-or-other-in-space," we should be asking what "electric-current-something-or-other" is powering the magnetic fields involved...

So, it seems that we're caught up in some heavy duty electrical circuitry on this planet and in the solar system. Probably thus in the galaxy and universe at large as well!

Article forthcoming... Just FYI. Plenty of material now!

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin
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"Common sense is an uncommon virtue" ~Unknown attribution

Last edited by mgmirkin on Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:00 am; edited 3 times in total
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:21 pm

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:37 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "StefanR"
mgmirkin wrote: The number of electrical processes now known in the atmosphere seems to keep growing and growing and growing!
That list could be expanded, of course it's just extra differentiations of the same thing and ball lightning. It's nice to look at the list you made. Maybe with lots of pictures it could be a nice blog entry?? :
Ground to cloud lightning is the usual type of lightning that most people see. Lightning discharges from the ground to the cloud or vice versa. The ground acts as a pool of electrical charge, and when the clouds gain charge, the ground attempts to balance out the charge by gathering the opposite charge beneath the cloud system. When the difference between the charges increase to a high enough point, the break down of air occurs and lightning between the cloud and the ground occurs. Normally the lightning starts from the ground and flows upward toward the clouds, but the opposite may also occur.
Two charges and two directions I guess? :?

Ball Lightning

Ball lightning is a phenomenon where a luminous sphere, only several centimeters in diameter, floats through the air near the ground. It lasts a few seconds, and then dissipates or explodes.

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/007 ... ysics.html
Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are bursts of gamma rays in the earth's atmosphere. TGFs have been recorded to last 0.2 to 3.5 milliseconds, and have energies of up to 20 MeV. They are probably caused by electric fields produced above thunderstorms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrestria ... -ray_flash
Types of lightning

Some lightning strikes take on particular characteristics; scientists and the public have given names to these various types of lightning. Most lightning is streak lightning. This is nothing more than the return stroke, the visible part of the lightning stroke. Because most of these strokes occur inside a cloud, we do not see many of the individual return strokes in a thunderstorm.

The return stroke of a lightning bolt, which is the visible bolt itself, follows a charge channel only about a half-inch (1.3 cm) wide. Most lightning bolts are about a mile (1.6 km) long.[27]

[edit] Positive lightning

Positive lightning, also known colloquially as a "bolt from the blue" makes up less than 5% of all lightning.[28] It occurs when the leader forms at the positively charged cloud tops, with the consequence that a negatively charged streamer issues from the ground. The overall effect is a discharge of positive charges to the ground. Research carried out after the discovery of positive lightning in the 1970s showed that positive lightning bolts are typically six to ten times more powerful than negative bolts, last around ten times longer, and can strike tens of kilometres/miles from the clouds.[citation needed] The voltage difference for positive lightning must be considerably higher, due to the tens of thousands of additional metres/feet the strike must travel. During a positive lightning strike, huge quantities of ELF and VLF radio waves are generated.[29]

As a result of their greater power, positive lightning strikes are considerably more dangerous. At the present time, aircraft are not designed to withstand such strikes, since their existence was unknown at the time standards were set, and the dangers unappreciated until the destruction of a glider in 1999.[30]

Positive lightning is also now believed to have been responsible for the 1963 in-flight explosion and subsequent crash of Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707.[citation needed] Subsequently, aircraft operating in U.S. airspace have been required to have lightning discharge wicks to reduce the chances of a similar occurrence.

Positive lightning has also been shown to trigger the occurrence of upper atmosphere lightning. It tends to occur more frequently in winter storms and at the end of a thunderstorm.[31]

An average bolt of positive lightning carries a current of up to 300 kA (kiloamperes) (about ten times as much current as a bolt of negative lightning), transfers a charge of up to 300 coulombs, has a potential difference up to 1 gigavolt (one billion volts), and lasts for hundreds of milliseconds, with a discharge energy of up to 300 GJ (gigajoules) (a billion joules).[citation needed]

[edit] Anvil-to-ground

One special type of cloud-to-ground lightning is anvil-to-ground lightning. It is a form of positive lightning, since it emanates from the anvil top of a cumulonimbus cloud where the ice crystals are positively charged. The leader stroke issues forth in a nearly horizontal direction until it veers toward the ground. These usually occur kilometers/miles from (often ahead) of the main storm and will sometimes strike without warning on a sunny day. An anvil-to-ground lightning bolt is a sign of an approaching storm, and if one occurs in a largely clear sky, it is known colloquially as a "Bolt from the blue."[32]

[edit] Cloud-to-cloud

Lightning discharges may occur between areas of cloud having different potentials without contacting the ground. These are most common between the anvil and lower reaches of a given thunderstorm. This lightning can sometimes be observed at great distances at night as so-called "heat lightning". In such instances, the observer may see only a flash of light without thunder. The "heat" portion of the term is a folk association between locally-experienced warmth and the distant lightning flashes.

Another terminology used for cloud-cloud or cloud-cloud-ground lightning is "Anvil Crawler", due to the habit of the charge typicallly originating from beneath or within the anvil and scrambling through the upper cloud layers of a thunderstorm, normally generating multiple branch strokes which are dramatic to witness. These are usually seen as a thunderstorm passes over you or begins to decay. The most vivid crawler behavior occurs in well developed thunderstorms that feature extensive rear anvil shearing.

[edit] Dry lightning

Dry lightning is a folk misnomer in common usage in the United States for thunderstorms which produce no precipitation at the surface. This type of lightning is the most common natural cause of wildland fires.

[edit] Rocket lightning

It is a form of cloud discharge, generally horizontal and at cloud base, with a luminous channel appearing to advance through the air with visually resolvable speed, often intermittently.[33]

The movement has been compared to that of a skyrocket, hence its name. It is also one of the rarest of cloud discharges.[34]

[edit] Cloud-to-ground

Cloud-to-ground lightning is a great lightning discharge between a cumulonimbus cloud and the ground initiated by the downward-moving leader stroke. This is the second most common type of lightning, and poses the greatest threat to life and property of all known types.

[edit] Bead lightning

Bead lightning is a type of cloud-to-ground lightning which appears to break up into a string of short, bright sections, which last longer than the usual discharge channel. It is fairly rare. Several theories have been proposed to explain it; one is that the observer sees portions of the lightning channel end on, and that these portions appear especially bright. Another is that, in bead lightning, the width of the lightning channel varies; as the lightning channel cools and fades, the wider sections cool more slowly and remain visible longer, appearing as a string of beads.[35][36]

[edit] Ribbon lightning


Ribbon lightning occurs in thunderstorms with high cross winds and multiple return strokes. The wind will blow each successive return stroke slightly to one side of the previous return stroke, causing a ribbon effect.

[edit] Staccato lightning

Staccato lightning is nothing more than a leader stroke with only one return stroke.

[edit] Ground-to-cloud lightning

Ground-to-cloud lightning is a lightning discharge between the ground and a cumulonimbus cloud from an upward-moving leader stroke.

[edit] Ball lightning

Main article: Ball lightning

Ball lightning is described as a floating, illuminated ball that occurs during thunderstorms. They can be fast moving, slow moving or nearly stationary. Some make hissing or crackling noises or no noise at all. Some have been known to pass through windows and even dissipate with a bang. Ball lightning has been described by eyewitnesses but rarely recorded by meteorologists.[37]

The engineer Nikola Tesla wrote, "I have succeeded in determining the mode of their formation and producing them artificially".[38] There is some speculation that electrical breakdown and arcing of cotton and gutta-percha wire insulation used by Tesla may have been a contributing factor, since some theories of ball lightning require the involvement of carbonaceous materials. Some later experimenters have been able to briefly produce small luminous balls by igniting carbon-containing materials atop sparking Tesla Coils.

Several theories have been advanced to describe ball lightning, with none being universally accepted. Any complete theory of ball lightning must be able to describe the wide range of reported properties, such as those described in Singer's book "The Nature of Ball Lightning" and also more contemporary research. Japanese research shows that several instances have been reported of ball lightning without any connection to stormy weather or lightning.

Ball lightning is typically 20 – 30 cm (8-12 inches) in diameter, but ball lightning several meters in diameter has been reported.[39] Ball lightning has been seen in tornadoes, and has also been seen to split apart into two or more separate balls and recombine, and vertically-linked fireballs have been reported.[citation needed] Ball lightning has carved trenches in the peat swamps in Ireland.[citation needed] Because of its strange behavior, ball lightning has been mistaken for a UFO by many witnesses. One theory that may account for this wider spectrum of observational evidence is the idea of combustion inside the low-velocity region of axisymmetric (spherical) vortex breakdown of a natural vortex (e.g., the 'Hill's spherical vortex').[40]

Ball lightning apparently is created when lightning strikes silicon in soil, and has been created in a lab in this manner.[41]

[edit] Upper-atmospheric

Reports by scientists of strange lightning phenomena above storms date back to at least 1886. However, it is only in recent years that fuller investigations have been made. This has sometimes been called megalightning.[42][43]

[edit] Sprites

Main article: Upper-atmospheric lightning#Sprites

Sprites are now well-documented electrical discharges that occur high above some types of thunderstorms. They appear as luminous reddish-orange or greenish-blue, plasma-like flashes, last longer than normal lower stratospheric discharges (typically around 17 milliseconds), and are triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between the thundercloud and the ground.[29] Sprites often occur in clusters of two or more, and typically span the distance from 50 miles (80 km) to 90 miles (145 km) above the earth, with what appear to be tendrils hanging below, and branches reaching above. A 2007 paper reports that the apparent tendrils and branches of sprites are actually formed by bright streamer heads of less than 140 m diameter moving up or down at 1 to 10 percent of the speed of light.[44] The abstract is publicly accessible.[45][46][43]

Sprites may be horizontally displaced by up to 30 miles (48 km) from the location of the underlying lightning strike, with a time delay following the lightning that is typically a few milliseconds, but on rare occasions may be up to 100 milliseconds. Sprites are sometimes, but not always, preceded by a sprite halo, a broad, pancake-like region of transient optical emission centered at an altitude of about 47 miles (76 km) above lightning.[42] Sprite halos are produced by weak ionization from transient electric fields of the same type that causes sprites, but which are insufficiently intense to exceed the threshold needed for sprites. Sprites were first photographed on July 6, 1989 by scientists from the University of Minnesota and named after the mischievous sprite (air spirit) Ariel in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Recent research carried out at the University of Houston in 2002 indicates that some normal (negative) lightning discharges produce a sprite halo, the precursor of a sprite, and that every lightning bolt between cloud and ground attempts to produce a sprite or a sprite halo.[citation needed] Research in 2004 by scientists from Tohoku University found that very low frequency emissions occur at the same time as the sprite, indicating that a discharge within the cloud may generate the sprites.[45]

[edit] Blue jets

Blue jets differ from sprites in that they project from the top of the cumulonimbus above a thunderstorm, typically in a narrow cone, to the lowest levels of the ionosphere 25 miles (40 km) to 30 miles (48 km) above the earth.[citation needed] They are also brighter than sprites and, as implied by their name, are blue in color. They were first recorded on October 21, 1989, on a video taken from the space shuttle as it passed over Australia, and subsequently extensively documented in 1994 during aircraft research flights by the University of Alaska.[47][48][43]

On September 14, 2001, scientists at the Arecibo Observatory photographed a huge jet double the height of those previously observed, reaching around 50 miles (80 km) into the atmosphere. The jet was located above a thunderstorm over the ocean, and lasted under a second. Lightning was initially observed traveling up at around 50,000 m/s in a similar way to a typical blue jet, but then divided in two and sped at 250,000 m/s to the ionosphere, where they spread out in a bright burst of light.[49] On July 22, 2002, five gigantic jets between 60 and 70 km (35 to 45 miles) in length were observed over the South China Sea from Taiwan, reported in Nature.[47] The jets lasted under a second, with shapes likened by the researchers to giant trees and carrots.[citation needed]

In 2001, the Arecibo scientists modeled the blue-jet phenomenon to better understand how it works. It is like an electron avalanche that can flood up toward the ionosphere or slide earthward, depending on the electric field direction. Intense hail may trigger the avalanche. The field accelerates the electrons and slams them into air molecules. The molecules break down into ions and free electrons and emit light. The newly generated electrons also accelerate.[48]

[edit] Elves

Elves often appear as a dim, flattened, expanding glow around 250 miles (402 km) in diameter that lasts for, typically, just one millisecond.[50] They occur in the ionosphere 60 miles (97 km) above the ground over thunderstorms. Their color was a puzzle for some time, but is now believed to be a red hue. Elves were first recorded on another shuttle mission, this time recorded off French Guiana on October 7, 1990. Elves is a frivolous acronym for Emissions of Light and Very Low Frequency Perturbations From Electromagnetic Pulse Sources. This refers to the process by which the light is generated; the excitation of nitrogen molecules due to electron collisions (the electrons possibly having been energized by the electromagnetic pulse caused by a discharge from the Ionosphere).[43]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning
I'm curious how plasma-colloids can play a role in the upper athmosphere, in a active or passive way? :?
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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:27 pm

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:55 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "mgmirkin"
StefanR wrote:
mgmirkin wrote: The number of electrical processes now known in the atmosphere seems to keep growing and growing and growing!
That list could be expanded, of course it's just extra differentiations of the same thing and ball lightning. It's nice to look at the list you made. Maybe with lots of pictures it could be a nice blog entry??
Quite, actually, most of it can be adequately summed up in one or two images:
BlueJetsRedSpritesELVEs.jpg
BlueJetsRedSpritesELVEs.jpg (10.98 KiB) Viewed 24965 times
TypesOfLightning.png
(click to view larger image)

But, a blog entry will be forthcoming... Eventually. Very Happy How'd you guess? Though I'll be putting out another entry first: "When is it Appropriate to Use the Word Plasma?" (in response to a conversation elsewhere in which someone challenged me that certain things were "too cold" to be called plasma). He, of course, was referring to "hot" or "fully ionized" plasma. I on the other hand was referring to the "full range" of plasma ionization / temperature, including:


* "Hot" / "fully ionized" plasma (all of the electrons stripped off of all of the atomic nuclei [ions] all or most of the time). Examples: The solar core and corona, lightning, fusion plasma.
* "Warm" / "partially ionized" plasma (a large proportion of the atoms [ions] have at least one or more electrons stripped, and/or there is a relatively high percentage of free electrons most of the time).
* "Cold" / "weakly-ionized" plasma (a relatively low percentage [even as little as 1%] of atoms have been stripped of electrons, nonetheless the "strong interaction" of the charged species dominates the "minimal interactions" of the neutrals in determining group behavior). Examples: the plasma in plasma TVs / displays (the plasmas used / created in them anyway), fluorescent / neon lights and other glow discharge tubes, the auroras


Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin
_________________
"The purpose of science is to investigate the unexplained, not to explain the uninvestigated." ~Dr. Stephen Rorke
"Common sense is an uncommon virtue" ~Unknown attribution
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:29 pm

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:51 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "StefanR"
But, a blog entry will be forthcoming... Eventually. How'd you guess?
:) Some activities give signs of productivity ;)

But what I meant and also miss in the bottom picture is the ground to-cloud designation. It does seem to be in the upper picture, but in that picture is no
text description of the particulars so I'm not sure about that. Just wandering.
Looking forward to your entry, always nice to have good overview/database.
_________________
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Plato, Phaedo
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:32 pm

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:45 am Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "StefanR"
junglelord wrote: Based on what they say are the ELF Schumann resonances a longitudinal energy? I assume they are from what I gathered.
The two researchers discovered that the same giant positive ground flashes that cause sprites also excite Schumann resonances--electromagnetic waves in the natural Earth-ionosphere waveguide. By contrast, the lower atmosphere is transparent and the D region of the ionosphere, where ne is about 100 cm-3, forms a conductive waveguide only in the ELF and very-low-frequency (VLF) ranges (3-25 kHz). The reflecting waveguide effect in the Schumann resonance frequency range (3-40 Hz) is vital for the global detection and analysis of sprite-producing lightning from a single measurement station.13

Lightning, the auroras, glow discharges, and sprites are all luminous plasmas characterized by intermediate concentrations of free electrons. With an electron density of 1018 cm-3 in the hottest channels (30 000 K), lightning has been shown to backscatter microwaves as a conductor at wavelengths as short as a few centimeters.14 The auroras, with a luminosity comparable to the brightest sprites, provide strong radar backscatter in the megahertz region and are still detectable by radar in the UHF region (400 MHz). This behavior is consistent with electron densities in the range of 105-107 cm-3.
As you can see in the Cymatics thread how the frequencies are the same for seismic waves. And as the lower athmosphere is 'transparant', I will leave the conduction of resonance to the imagination.
If the ELF Schuman resonances are longitudonal ?: I think it has both waveparts(transverse/longitudonal) at the same time, the conductance of the medium determines the proportonality of the balance of expression. Just as what the elephants show. (more tensegrity?) :D

I think the ionosphere could be imagined as a geological layer. The impulse of a sprite might circle the globe and bounce back on itself.
Like a seismic wave and like the soliton wave in the einsteinbose-condensate in the Soliton thread.

Tesla used the ionosphere to tap into for power. By going into resonance with these wavelenghts he completed the circuit in his Magnifying Transmitter, which of course had a solid and radiating in the ground grounding. Of course the resonance/conductance between the earth and the ionosphere /athmosphere (ofcourse one is part of the other but both can independently cause a size contraction/dilation of the whole by way of their material properties) is a natural phenomenon, so if human interfering is done without proper knowledge... :? .

At least... now I'm doubting.
Or did Tesla go onto resonance with the earth by making the earth and the sphere on top of the antenna, as the two resonating spheres. and by that being able to indirectly influence the ionosphere?
I remember something of the experiment of the resonator/earthquake machine which he had to smash in pieces with a sledgehammer. So he was already playing with the idea.
It's also why Tesla imagined in the beginning a geological-strategic/harmonic network of a few big transmitters. These could set-up a interference pattern like a grid/matrix, as is possible only with longitudonal waves.

Or is it both.?? :? ??
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Plato, Phaedo
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:37 pm

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:27 am Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "mgmirkin"
StefanR wrote:
But, a blog entry will be forthcoming... Eventually. How'd you guess?
Smile Some activities give signs of productivity ;)
Am I really THAT transparent? :P
StefanR wrote: But what I meant and also miss in the bottom picture is the ground to-cloud designation. It does seem to be in the upper picture, but in that picture is no
text description of the particulars so I'm not sure about that. Just wandering.
Looking forward to your entry, always nice to have good overview/database.
Agreed. The lower picture is newer, thus it has slightly more in it (tendrils, beads, calls blue jets "gnomes," designates positive / negative lightning). Could probably track down a traditional diagram of various "lightning" types (intra-cloud, cloud-to-cloud, cloud to ground, ground to cloud, positive lightning, ball lightning, etc.)...

Use something like that with the newer image (2nd above), and a few others, and I should be able to put together a rather interesting blog.

Perhaps something not unlike this:

(Types of Lightning)
http://www.web-feats.com/chasing/books.htm
http://www.web-feats.com/chasing/images ... tning2.jpg
lightning2.jpg
© The Cloudspotter's Guide.

Anyone know of a better image with a wider range of lightning types displayed all in one image? Kind of a lightning "super-image?"

(Types of Lightning)
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/2003F ... types.html
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/2003F ... iagram.jpg

(Four Different Types of Lightning)
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_inf ... types.html

I might also point to the NASA lightning primer, page 3, where they speak of the global electric circuit:

http://thunder.msfc.nasa.gov/primer/primer3.html

and their cr@ppy hand sketched "diagram" of lightning:

http://thunder.msfc.nasa.gov/primer/primer2.html

and/or the Canadian Forestry Service where they speak of much the same things and the "electrosphere"...

http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/index/lightning-faq
http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/index/lightning-faq/2

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin
_________________
"The purpose of science is to investigate the unexplained, not to explain the uninvestigated." ~Dr. Stephen Rorke
"Common sense is an uncommon virtue" ~Unknown attribution

Last edited by mgmirkin on Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:45 pm

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:32 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "StefanR"

Tried to find some images but had no luck so far.
I did stumble into some links that seem to be related:


Next is a great site for going deeper into the question Junglelord stated about the ionosphere, VLF, coupling of athmospheric layers,
great research being done in favor of Thunderbolts Smile
the Holographic Array for Ionospheric Lightning (HAIL)
The HAIL project investigates:
(i) the physical nature of quiescent and transient changes in mesospheric/lower ionospheric (60 to 100 km altitude) conductivity produced by underlying electrified tropospheric thunderstorms and associated lightning activity (<15 km altitude)
(ii) effects of lightning discharges on the radiation belts. These questions address key topics in space physics research recommended for the next decade in the National Research Council 1995 report �A Science Strategy for Space Physics", namely, the middle and upper atmospheres and their coupling to regions above and below, specifically dealing with the electrodynamic coupling between the troposphere, mesosphere, and the lower ionosphere, driven by lightning and thunderstorm systems.

The primary tool to be used is the Holographic Array for Ionospheric Lightning (HAIL) (Figure 1), consisting of fully digital very low frequency (VLF) receivers deployed at nine high schools. HAIL provides sufficient spatial coverage of the active mid-western thunderstorm regions while facilitating holographic imaging [Chen et al., 1996] of the spatial extent of ionospheric disturbances.

Direct electrodynamic coupling between lightning discharges and the mesosphere/lower ionosphere is evidenced by spectacular luminous optical emissions known as red sprites [Franz et al., 1990; Vaughan et al., 1992; Sentman and Wescott, 1993; Lyons, 1994; Sentman et al., 1995; Rairden and Mende, 1995; Boeck et al., 1995; Lyons, 1996; Winckler et al., 1996], blue jets [Wescott et al., 1995], and elves [Boeck et al., 1992; Fukunishi et al., 1996; Inan et al., 1997], VLF signatures of rapid conductivity changes (referred to as early/fast VLF events) [Inan et al., 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996a,b; Dowden et al., 1994], and radar detection of transient ionization patches above a thunderstorm [Roussel-Dupre and Blanc, 1997].

Identified coupling mechanisms include the heating of the ambient electrons by lightning electromagnetic pulses (EMP) [Inan et al., 1991, 1996b; Taranenko et al., 1993a,b; Milikh et al., 1995; Rowland et al., 1995, 1996; Glukhov and Inan, 1996; Fernsler and Rowland, 1996; Valdivia et al., 1997], by large quasi-electrostatic (QE) thundercloud fields [Pasko et al., 1995, 1996a,b, 1997a,b, 1998a; Boccippio et al., 1995; Winckler et al., 1996; Fernsler and Rowland, 1996], and by runaway electron processes [Bell et al., 1995; Winckler et al., 1996; Roussel-Dupre and Gurevich, 1996; Taranenko and Roussel- Dupre, 1996; Lehtinen et al., 1996; 1997]. However, the physical mechanism by which early/fast VLF signal perturbations are produced is under debate [Inan et al., 1996c; Dowden et al., 1996; Rodger, 1999]. Available evidence indicates that they may be due to quiescent heating of the lower ionosphere by thundercloud electric fields [Inan et al., 1996a; Johnson et al., 1999a]. Such heating, persisting throughout the many hours duration of a typical thunderstorm, may lead to infrared (4.3 �m) glow at 80�120 km altitudes [Picard et al., 1997], and may affect the nighttime ionospheric density via temperature dependent changes recombination and attachment rates [Rodriguez and Inan, 1994], its global significance needs to be evaluated in view of the fact that ~2000 thunderstorms may be active at any given time [Volland, 1984].
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/hail/hail.htm

Next is a site of MIT giving some nice reference to some questions that were also stated on this site and might refer to further papers. I'll give an example below:

MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
What Lightning Type is Causing Red Sprites in the Mesosphere?
Coordinated simultaneous measurements of sprites in the mesosphere from the Yucca Ridge Field Station in Colorado and MIT’s Schumann resonance observatory in Rhode Island have demonstrated a connection between lightning and sprites. The lightning flashes are extraordinary events—energetic flashes to ground with positive polarity that single-handedly ring the Schumann resonances in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. The initial observations documented in Boccippio et al (1995) launched a decade-long research program into transient excitation of Schumann resonances and a host of TLEs (Transient Luminous Events) over thunderstorms.

Speculations as to why sprites are almost invariably associated with ground flashes with positive polarity are addressed in Williams (2005).

References

* Boccippio, D.J., E. Williams, S.J. Heckman, W.A. Lyons, I. Baker and R. Boldi, Sprites, ELF transients and positive ground strokes, Science, 269, 1088-1091, 1995.
* Williams, E.R., Problems in lightning physics—The role of polarity asymmetry, Plasma Sources, Science and Technology, (in review), 2005.


How Do Changes in Solar X-Radiation Modify the Resonant Frequencies of the Earth-Ionosphere Cavity?
Observations have shown small but easily detectable variations of the resonant frequencies of electromagnetic waves in the Earth-ionosphere cavity over the 11-year solar cycle (Satori et al, 2005). These same changes have been documented at multiple Schumann resonance observatories (Antarctica, Hungary, USA), providing strong support for a global response. Theoretical calculations of the ionizing effect of solar X-radiation from the Sun, known to vary by two orders of magnitude over the solar cycle, show systematic increase in the speeds of the waves around the world as the conductivity of the upper wall of this natural waveguide increases. These increases in wave speed for fixed cavity geometry translate to measureable increases in frequency. Similar frequency variations on shorter time scales (days) have also been documented with bursts of X-radiation from the Sun.
Reference

* Satori, G., E. Williams, V. Mushtak and M. Fullekrug, Response of the cavity resonator to the 11-year solar cycle, G. Satori, E. Williams, V. Mushtak and M. Fullekrug, J. Atmos. Sol. Terr. Phys., 67, 553-562, 2005.
http://cee.mit.edu/index.pl?iid=22059


The next one gives a hint to several explanations of charge separation and the two schools of lightning nowadays, also note the piece out of the Scientific American:
THEORIES OF LIGHTNING FORMATION
It has been suggested that the decay of radioisotopes or the collisions of cosmic ray particles with air molecules could generate enough energetic electrons to satisfy this condition. The next diagram shows how this could occur.
http://enviromom.us/lightning/lightning%20formation.htm


On the next site is some nice global information and pictures also including vorteces. Smile :
PRECIPITATION, STORMS AND OTHER WEATHER PHENOMENA; CLIMATE
The principal features of weather systems that affect both land and sea and the humans, animals, and vegetation thereon are winds and precipitation. The latter comes in a variety of forms as discussed below. Most weather of consequence to people occurs in storms. These may be local in origin but more commonly are carried to locations in wide areas along pathways followed by active air masses consisting of Highs and Lows. This chart shows a meteorological classification of weather systems at various scales; the two categories of most interest to us are the Mesoscale and the Synoptic Scale (sometimes called Macroscale).
scales.jpg
(click to view larger image)
http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/S ... 14_1d.html

Some loose ends:
Lightning in astronomy - Preface
E. W. Crew
http://www.brox1.demon.co.uk/lightning/
_________________
"And surely struggle against him we must in every possible way who would annihilate knowledge and reason and mind, and yet ventures to speak confidently about anything."
Plato, Phaedo
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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Re: Recovered: New info on Sprites

Unread post by bboyer » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:54 pm

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:49 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
OP "StefanR"

By the way, you might want to consider adding this:
Čerenkov radiation (also spelled Cerenkov or Cherenkov) is electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle (such as a proton) passes through an insulator at a speed greater than the speed of light in that medium. The characteristic "blue glow" of nuclear reactors is due to Čerenkov radiation. It is named after Russian scientist Pavel Alekseyevich Čerenkov, the 1958 Nobel Prize winner who was the first to rigorously characterise it.[1
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics ... ation.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/R ... enkov.html
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~stacee/
chere.gif
The principle of the Cherenkov effect.
http://delphi-proj-rich.web.cern.ch/del ... rich1.html
detection.jpg
(click to view larger image)
VHE gamma ray astronomy (which is what we are concerned with here) hinges on the detection of light (called Cherenkov Radiation) from particle cascades which die out in the upper atmosphere. VHE gamma rays cover the energy range 100 GeV - 10 TeV.
http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dph0www4/ground.php
6828575-0-large.jpg
(click to view larger image)
Photonic crystals: a medium exhibiting anomalous cherenkov radiation
A system for exhibiting Cherenkov radiation is provided. The system includes a beam of charged particles. A photonic crystal structure receives said beam of charged particles. The charged particles moves in said photonic crystal structure so that Cherenkov radiation is produced at all velocities without requiring resonances in the effective material constants of said photonic crystal structure.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6828575.html
cone.gif
(click for larger image)
To detect the high-energy particles which result from neutrino interactions, Super-Kamiokande exploits a phenomenon known as Cherenkov radiation.cone.gif (21620 bytes)

Charged particles (and only charged particles) traversing the water with a velocity greater than 75% of the speed of light radiate light in a conical pattern around the direction of the track, as at left. Bluish Cherenkov light is transmitted through the highly-pure water of the tank, and eventually falls on the inner wall of the detector, which is covered with photo-multiplier tubes (PMT's). These PMT's are each sensitive to illumination by a single photon of light - a light level approximately the same as the light visible on Earth from a candle at the distance of the moon!

Each PMT measures the total amount of light reaching it, as well as the time of arrival. These measurements are used to reconstruct energy and starting position, respectively, of any particles passing through the water. Equally important, the array of over 11,000 PMTs samples the projection of the distinctive ring pattern, which can be used to determine the direction of a particle. Finally, the details of the ring pattern - most notably whether it has the sharp edges characteristic of a muon, or the fuzzy, blurred edges characteristic of an electron, can be used to reliably distinguish muon-neutrino and electron-neutrino interactions. http://www.ps.uci.edu/~superk/superk_detector.html
_________________
"And surely struggle against him we must in every possible way who would annihilate knowledge and reason and mind, and yet ventures to speak confidently about anything."
Plato, Phaedo
There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else. [---][/---] Maitri Upanishad

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