Lightning Emits X-Rays · Slashdot Mirror

Posted by michael on Friday January 31, 2003 @08:39AM from the full-exposure dept.

Makarand writes "Scientists have now confirmed that lightning does emit X-rays according to this BBC News article. That lightning might emit high energy radiation was first suggested in 1925, however, confirmation had proven difficult because of the sporadic nature of lightning and the electromagnetic "noise" it generates. A team at the University of Florida built a special tower allowing them to study lightning in detail by firing rockets trailed by grounded wire into storm clouds to trigger strikes. They detected X-Ray bursts that typically lasted less than 100 microseconds. The breakdown of air by strong electrical fields when the lightning creates a path from clouds to ground may generate these X-rays."

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Re:Aha! by Viadd · 2003-01-31 13:02 · Score: 2, Informative

They had two photomultiplier tubes (PMTs): one was coupled to a scintillator (crystal that makes light when X-rays hit it), one wasn't. There was a hefty signal in the PMT that was coupled to the scintillator, the other showed a flatline.