"Dark Lightning" Could Expose Airline Passengers To Radiation

mbstone writes "Lightning researcher Joseph Dwyer of the Florida Institute of Technology claims that thunderstorms unleash sprays of X-rays and even intense bursts of gamma rays which could cause airline passengers to receive in an instant the maximum safe lifetime dose of ionizing radiation — the kind that wreaks the most havoc on the human body. Dwyer hopes his sensor aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, will provide more data."

Comments

FUD summary as usual

[N1AK]

However, because there’s only about one dark lightning occurrence for every thousand visible flashes and because pilots take great pains to avoid thunderstorms, Dwyer says, the risk of injury is quite limited. No one knows for sure if anyone has ever been hit by dark lightning.

It's an interesting claim and I look forward to hearing more about it but there is effectively no risk to people flying being suggested. Unfortunately /. has decided to focus on the non-existent risk rather than the rather interesting properties of 'dark lightning' and what study of it could help us to understand.

Re:Flying abobe clouds

[Archtech]

Don't most planes fly above the storms?

Not necessarily. Airliners in which I have flown commonly go no higher than 36,000 feet - occasionally perhaps 40,000 feet. The tops of thunderstorms often reach 55,000 feet and can be even higher. One extreme case reached about 70,000 feet. Moreover, it is necessary to fly well above the tops of the visible clouds, as bad things can happen up to a mile higher. Check out, for instance, http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/tech_ops/read.main/152684/

So pilots almost always opt to fly around storms instead.

Re:Why haven't we seen the effects then?

[telchine]

Should be really easy to study - are aircrew more likely to suffer the ill effects of ionizing radiation, whatever those are.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/557340.stm

Re:Flying abobe clouds

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought flight levels were odd-only starting at and above FL290 — or do the airliners in which you fly not adhere to flight levels?

Not since 2005 in the U.S. - under a program called Reduced Vertical Separation Minima, the 2000-foot separations apply at FL410 and above. Below that, it's based on heading (or actually ground track); 0-179 will be assigned odd FLs; 180-359 get assigned even FLs.

Re:Why haven't we seen the effects then?

[stenvar]

It's been studied. Airline pilots get more melanoma than the rest of us, probably from hanging out on nice beaches too much. They don't get any of the other cancers you'd predict from large bursts of x-rays or gamma rays any more than anybody else.

Re:s/aluminum/aluminium/g

[White Flame]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum#Etymology

The scientist who first named the actual element settled on the name aluminum, which matches the oxide to the elemental name, alumina -> aluminum, as is consistent with other oxides. It is not incorrect, and predates the -ium use.