Prestroke radiation from thunderclouds

Zonge, Ken; Evans, W. H.

doi:10.1029/jz071i006p01519

Cited by 15 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…It is predicted that if field change meters and high-frequency sferics detectors observe electrified clouds that appear to yield no cloud-to-ground or intracloud lightning, but which deliver relatively uncharged rain, the streamer action will be observed. That such observations are possible is indicated in a recent article by Zonge and Evans [1966], in which they show that some ten minutes before lightning is manifest in a cloud streamer activity appears in terms of increased RF noise over a very wide range of frequencies.…”

Section: Efficiency Of Cloud Cell Drainage By Streamersmentioning

confidence: 95%

The mechanisms of stepped and dart leaders in cloud-to-ground lightning strokes

Loeb¹

1966

J. Geophys. Res.

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Recent observations indicate the rather complete neutralization of volume space charges by induced positive corona streamers. New photographic observations of high‐tension power lines in rain and snow storms reveal strong and heavily branched corona streamers from such hydrometeors. A study of uniform field streamer breakdown in midgap in clean gases, just published, has provided additional information essential to the delineation of the processes active in the forging of the channel of the cloud‐to‐ground stroke. On the basis of these findings, consistent sequential qualitative analysis is presented resolving the following moot questions: 1. How is the negative charge stored on raindrops in cubic kilometers of cloud volume drained and channeled to yield a pilot leader channel some meters in diameter? 2. How is this hydrometeor‐supported discharge able to leave the cloud base and forge into clean, initially un‐ionized air to give a stepped leader? 3. What causes stepping? 4. How is the channel several kilometers in length maintained conducting for the tens of milliseconds needed for it to reach ground? 5. How is it that the stepped leader of some meters diameter leads to a return stroke channel with the most intense luminosity millimeters in diameter and the larger luminous conducting envelope no more than 4 cm in diameter? 6. Why is the pilot leader channel zigzagged? 7. What starts the dart leader stroke and how is the channel maintained conducting for the tenths of seconds between successive strokes?

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Section: Efficiency Of Cloud Cell Drainage By Streamersmentioning

confidence: 95%

The mechanisms of stepped and dart leaders in cloud-to-ground lightning strokes

Loeb¹

1966

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…Although the radiation of storm clouds and lightning at frequencies from several hundreds of MHz to several GHz was studied for quite a long time (Brook & Kitagawa, 1964; Harvey & Lewis, 1973; Horner & Bradley, 1964; Kachurin et al., 1974; Kosarev et al., 1970; Zonge & Evans, 1966), there is a lack of reliable measurements yet of its waveforms on the submicrosecond time scale. With narrow‐band reception of microwave radiation from natural lightning (Fedorov et al., 2001; Petersen & Beasley, 2014; Rust et al., 1979) and laboratory long sparks (Montanyà et al., 2015), the temporal resolution is limited by the time constant of the receiver.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanosecond Electromagnetic Pulses Generated by Electric Discharges: Observation With Clouds of Charged Water Droplets and Implications for Lightning

Gushchin

Korobkov

Zudin

et al. 2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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Effects of lightning‐induced generation of high‐frequency and microwave radiation are of great interest for studying fundamental physics of lightning and its applications for monitoring of the thunderstorm activity and protection of equipment against electromagnetic interference. Ultrawideband electromagnetic pulses (UWB EMPs) of spark discharges about 1 m long were detected in a frequency band of up to 10 GHz in laboratory experiments using a cloud of water droplets charged up to the electric potential exceeding 1 MV. Electromagnetic pulses with characteristic front buildup durations from 50 to 100 ps were produced by streamer flashes, at the stage of leader propagation and the main stage of the discharge (i.e., the return stroke). Electric and magnetic fields of pulses were measured, and the radiation polarization was determined. The UWB EMP waveforms and the spectra obtained experimentally are consistent with colliding streamer models.

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“…Several experimenters [Zonge and Evans, 1966;Kohl, 1966b;Sartor, 1967] have detected noise increases associated with the growth of electrification in convective clouds, some of which, but not all, ultimately produced lightning. The noise has been observed over a wide range of frequencies from a few kilohertz to several hundred megahertz.…”

Section: Other Sources In Electrified Clouds Considerablementioning

confidence: 99%

Commission 8: Progress in Radio Noise of Terrestrial Origin

Pierce¹

1969

Radio Science

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Since Commission 8 was only created on a provisional basis at the Munich General Assembly of URSI in 1966, and since also the U.S. National Committee does not maintain an organization for Commission 8 within the U.S.A., it seems appropriate for informative reasons to start this survey by listing the fields of scientific activity covered by the Commission. These are: 1. Atmospherics, their source characteristics and location. 2. Propagational influences on radio noise (with Commission 3). 3. ELF noise from lightning (with Commission 4). 4. Types of lightning flashes generating whistlers. Propagational effects, other than those in the whistler mode, influencing whistler characteristics (with Commission 4). 5. Statistical properties of noise, noise interference with radio communications. 6. Man‐made noise. This review will discuss work falling within the above fields of study carried out under U.S. auspices and described in 1966, 1967, and 1968. The survey will be confined to papers appearing in recognized journals and other sources of ready availability to which my attention has been drawn; reports of limited circulation and private information will not be considered.

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Prestroke radiation from thunderclouds

Cited by 15 publications

References 7 publications

The mechanisms of stepped and dart leaders in cloud-to-ground lightning strokes

The mechanisms of stepped and dart leaders in cloud-to-ground lightning strokes

Nanosecond Electromagnetic Pulses Generated by Electric Discharges: Observation With Clouds of Charged Water Droplets and Implications for Lightning

Commission 8: Progress in Radio Noise of Terrestrial Origin

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