Warm, some clouds and Ball Lightening
Good morning Augusta.
We have fog again, its burning off quickly, but you need to watch out for
solar glare from it.
This morning it is partly cloudy. High of 84F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 15
mph.
Tonight it will be overcast with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of
rain, then a chance of rain after midnight. Low of 66F. Winds from the SSW
at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the WNW after midnight. Chance of rain 50%.
The readings from my own instruments are:
The humidity is 82% with a Dew Point of 67.2ºF and a wind chill of 72.9ºF.
The temperature is 72.9ºF.
We have Northeast winds between 1.2 mph and 3.5 mph.
Our Barometric pressure is 29.85 HPA 1010.8 and falling with a weather
graphic indicating clouds.
The UV rating is 1 out of 16, sunset will be at 7:32 PM with Moon Rise at
8:06 p.m. and the moon phase is a full moon.
For the pilots out there, Raw Metar readings are:
METAR KAUG 221053Z AUTO 00000KT 7SM CLR 19/17 A2995 RMK AO2 SLP139 T01940167
Visibility is 7.0 miles/11.3 kilometers with clear conditions again.
We've had no rain here in the past 24 hours.
Does this study explains the mystery of ball lightning?
(Phys.org)—Sightings of ball lightning have been made for centuries around
the world – usually the size of a grapefruit and lasting up to twenty
seconds – but no explanation of how it occurs has been universally accepted
by science.
In a paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
entitled 'The Birth of Ball Lightning' CSIRO and Australia National
University scientists present a new mathematical theory which explains how
and why it occurs.
Previous competing theories have cited microwave radiation from
thunderclouds, oxidising aerosols, nuclear energy, dark matter, antimatter,
and even black holes as possible causes.
Led by CSIRO scientist John Lowke, the new theory focuses on how ball
lightning occurs in houses and aeroplanes – and how it can pass through
glass. His theory also proposes that ball lightning is caused when leftover
ions (electric energy), which are very dense, are swept to the ground
following a lightning strike.
"A crucial proof of any theory of ball lightning would be if the theory
could be used to make ball lightning. This is the first paper which gives a
mathematical solution explaining the birth or initiation of ball
lightening," says Lowke.
Lowke proposes that ball lightning occurs in houses and aeroplanes when a
stream of ions accumulates on the outside of a glass window and the
resulting electric field on the other side excites air molecules to form a
ball discharge. The discharge requires a driving electric field of about a
million volts.
"Other theories have suggested ball lightning is created by slowly burning
particles of silicon formed in a lightning strike, but this is flawed. One
of the ball lightning observations cited in this paper occurred when there
was no thunderstorm and was driven by ions from the aircraft radar operated
at maximum power during a dense fog."
Lowke used eye-witness accounts of ball lightning by two former US Air Force
pilots to verify the theory. Former US Air Force lieutenant Don Smith
recalls: "After flying for about 15 minutes, there developed on the randome
(radar cover) two horns of Saint Elmo's fire. It looked as if the airplane
now had bull's horns...they were glowing with the blue of electricity."
Lowke's paper gives the first mathematical solution explaining the birth or
initiation of ball lightning using standard equations for the motion of
electrons and ions. He argues it is unique because it not only explains the
birth of the ball but also how it can form on glass and appear to pass
through glass resulting in globes of light in people's homes or in aeroplane
cockpits.
…and if you want to read a lot more about this, go to the url below, which
is where I downloaded the foregoing material from.
http://phys.org/news/2012-10-mystery-ball-lightning.html
We have fog again, its burning off quickly, but you need to watch out for
solar glare from it.
This morning it is partly cloudy. High of 84F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 15
mph.
Tonight it will be overcast with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of
rain, then a chance of rain after midnight. Low of 66F. Winds from the SSW
at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the WNW after midnight. Chance of rain 50%.
The readings from my own instruments are:
The humidity is 82% with a Dew Point of 67.2ºF and a wind chill of 72.9ºF.
The temperature is 72.9ºF.
We have Northeast winds between 1.2 mph and 3.5 mph.
Our Barometric pressure is 29.85 HPA 1010.8 and falling with a weather
graphic indicating clouds.
The UV rating is 1 out of 16, sunset will be at 7:32 PM with Moon Rise at
8:06 p.m. and the moon phase is a full moon.
For the pilots out there, Raw Metar readings are:
METAR KAUG 221053Z AUTO 00000KT 7SM CLR 19/17 A2995 RMK AO2 SLP139 T01940167
Visibility is 7.0 miles/11.3 kilometers with clear conditions again.
We've had no rain here in the past 24 hours.
Does this study explains the mystery of ball lightning?
(Phys.org)—Sightings of ball lightning have been made for centuries around
the world – usually the size of a grapefruit and lasting up to twenty
seconds – but no explanation of how it occurs has been universally accepted
by science.
In a paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
entitled 'The Birth of Ball Lightning' CSIRO and Australia National
University scientists present a new mathematical theory which explains how
and why it occurs.
Previous competing theories have cited microwave radiation from
thunderclouds, oxidising aerosols, nuclear energy, dark matter, antimatter,
and even black holes as possible causes.
Led by CSIRO scientist John Lowke, the new theory focuses on how ball
lightning occurs in houses and aeroplanes – and how it can pass through
glass. His theory also proposes that ball lightning is caused when leftover
ions (electric energy), which are very dense, are swept to the ground
following a lightning strike.
"A crucial proof of any theory of ball lightning would be if the theory
could be used to make ball lightning. This is the first paper which gives a
mathematical solution explaining the birth or initiation of ball
lightening," says Lowke.
Lowke proposes that ball lightning occurs in houses and aeroplanes when a
stream of ions accumulates on the outside of a glass window and the
resulting electric field on the other side excites air molecules to form a
ball discharge. The discharge requires a driving electric field of about a
million volts.
"Other theories have suggested ball lightning is created by slowly burning
particles of silicon formed in a lightning strike, but this is flawed. One
of the ball lightning observations cited in this paper occurred when there
was no thunderstorm and was driven by ions from the aircraft radar operated
at maximum power during a dense fog."
Lowke used eye-witness accounts of ball lightning by two former US Air Force
pilots to verify the theory. Former US Air Force lieutenant Don Smith
recalls: "After flying for about 15 minutes, there developed on the randome
(radar cover) two horns of Saint Elmo's fire. It looked as if the airplane
now had bull's horns...they were glowing with the blue of electricity."
Lowke's paper gives the first mathematical solution explaining the birth or
initiation of ball lightning using standard equations for the motion of
electrons and ions. He argues it is unique because it not only explains the
birth of the ball but also how it can form on glass and appear to pass
through glass resulting in globes of light in people's homes or in aeroplane
cockpits.
…and if you want to read a lot more about this, go to the url below, which
is where I downloaded the foregoing material from.
http://phys.org/news/2012-10-mystery-ball-lightning.html
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