Slashdot Mirror
Large Storms On Earth Are Particle Accelerators
MondoMor writes "Apparently, the atmosphere above Earth's strongest storms acts like a particle accelerator, according to a UC Santa Cruz paper. TGFs (Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes) may occur as seldom as 50 times a day, 'but the rate could be up to 100 times higher if, as some models indicate, TGFs are emitted as narrowly focused beams that would only be detected when the satellite is directly in their path.' I'm glad the gamma-ray bursts are directed into space."
Last time I was in a TGIF restaurant, I was exposed to all sorts of dangerous things...
Waiters
Loud Americans with cigars
and of course copious amounts of spilled beer.
Couldn't stand the weather
This dates back to 'The Wizard of Oz' when Dorothy and Toto were accelerated over the rainbow by a large storm.
It could be worse, it could be Monday.
but without having to build a massive building and dealing with constructions costs, red tape, and NIMBY issues.
I don't want these gamma ray flashes in my backyard.
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
Yeah, it sure is a good thing that the atmosphere dosen't go all the way to the ground, we would all perish... Oh, wait.
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
that frood always talked about partical accelerators... just don't f'in cross the streams!
No way, if they shot down to earth, then we could ALL be the Hulk.
thats why we need a space escalator.
Describe the physics that describe the creation of those magnetic fields?
Yes: Bloody difficult.
At this point I get the evil thought of "if only they could be aimed at a terrestrial target..."
hmmmmm....
Ground a tesla coil to my old boss' office chair
OR
Fry him with radioactive lightning....
Option 2 just sounds like more fun.
Shame it can't be done... =]
Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
The the Earth is not only a giant computer, but a particle accelarator as well? Pretty versatile planet really.
As am I, but I fear that these bursts of gamma rays are the real reason nobody's made first contact with us yet. It's kind of like when you go around town looking for a restaurant, you generally avoid the restaurants that bullets fly out of when you're pulling into the parking lot, opting instead for a restaurant where you can get at least to the hostess or maybe even your table before anyone shoots at you.
It's the same thing at work, here. Aliens do not want to share their warp drive technology with a planet that blasts them with gamma rays every time they fly by.
It's too bad empirical evidence points to his insightful, interesting, underrated, informative, and potentially funny comment being modded down despite fitting every positive moderator point the site offers. ;)
Pfft. Lazy ass, I use the stairs.
Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
Five points from Slytherin, for making a pointless joke about Muggles.
Good, inexpensive web hosting
.
.
Especially the accursed Reed Richards.
1. expand TLA as needed.
2. craft dumb joke about the US
3. profit
... and purple horseshoes.
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
I had David Smith last quarter for Mechanics! Good prof... The man has a thing for chickens, though... It's unhealthy... He came to class the day before finals in a chicken suit. He also drew himself in a loincloth in one of the problems on the final. To be fair, he was Tarzan. Hmm, maybe I'll go to his office hours and talk with him about this research...
Uh, yeah...
I leave near there. It's situated on a hill where you don't really have any reference points for what's uphill/downhill. The shack itself was carefully designed in the '20s to fool your sense of perspective. It's just like a hundred other roadside attractions in out-of-the-way places. Just some optical illusions.
BTW, I remember a few years ago when some girls I knew were visiting from out of town, and asked me if I knew where the Mystery Spot was... (of course, I told them that I most certainly did--at least, according to my ex-girlfriend anyways...)
You catch enchiladas by picking them up behind the head and holding them underwater until they don't kick anymore -VeGas