2012
Thunderstroms as electron accelerators and the discharge zoo above the clouds
Publication
Publication
Presented at the
Europhysics Conference on the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionised Gases, Viana do Castelo, Portugal
With the discovery of Transient Luminous Events above thunderclouds in 1990 and of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes from thunderstorms in 1994, lightning physics has got a new impetus. Sprite discharges shooting downwards from the ionosphere are the first lightning phenomenon that can be quantitatively explained by the underlying discharge physics. Here precise observations, lab experiments and theory have jointly succeeded in explaining the observations. Furthermore, thunderstorms also emit gamma-ray flashes, electron bursts, and even substantial positron bursts that can be measured from satellites. I will review these observations, and I will sketch elements of physical understanding of this energetic radiation: electron run-away and local field enhancement.
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| P.G.C. Almeida , L.L. Alves , V. Guerra | |
| Europhysics Conference on the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionised Gases | |
| Organisation | Multiscale Dynamics |
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Ebert, U. (2012). Thunderstroms as electron accelerators and the discharge zoo above the clouds. In P. G. C. Almeida, L. L. Alves, & V. Guerra (Eds.), Proceedings of European Conference on the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionised Gases 2012. |
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