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Terrestrial Gamma Ray Bursts Very Common

Posted by samzenpus on from the planet-hulk dept.

Rambo Tribble writes It was long thought that gamma ray bursts were the exclusive province of deep space sources. More recently it was found that storms could produce such emissions, but such occurrences were thought rare. Now, data from NASA's Fermi satellite suggest such events happen over a thousand times a day. Per Prof. Joseph Dwyer, from the University of New Hampshire, "These are big, monster bursts of gamma rays, and one would think these must be monster storms producing them. But that's not the case. Even boring-looking, garden-variety, little storms can produce these."

9 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Re:game tester at home by Noah+Haders · · Score: 3, Funny

    i test games all day too, but i don't get paid for it. also the games have already been released. i just finished testing far cry 4.

  2. More important: how is this happening? by erice · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unfortunately, TFA doesn't suggest the question. Gamma bursts were not expected on Earth because they are created by nuclear interactions. Common for stars and other cosmic objects but not expected in thunderstorms. The source could be electrical, which means they are technically x-rays but at a higher energy then thought possible. Alternatively, there is significant nuclear fusion going on in those storms.

    1. Re:More important: how is this happening? by Khyber · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Uhhh, have you paid attention to the news lately? Lightning bolts are now known to create anti-matter. To produce a gamma ray is pretty much EXPECTED.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    2. Re:More important: how is this happening? by jasno · · Score: 4, Informative

      Wow, you're right!

      http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pa...

      --

      http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/
    3. Re:More important: how is this happening? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 4, Informative

      Gamma rays are produced by many processes, not only nuclear fusion.

      In this case they are very likely produced by simple ionization of gases and extreme acceleration of electrons. So, yes it is electric.

      The distinction between X-Rays and gamma rays is not the way how they are produced but the energy level.

      It is the same type of interaction like high atmosphere gamma rays that are produced by very high energetic solar wind particles.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    4. Re:More important: how is this happening? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      If the wavelength is below 10 picometers (photon energy above 100 keV), it's a gamma ray, regardless of how it's been created.

      This varies from flat out wrong to just horrible simplification depending on what field's literature you're looking at. The distinction is arbitrary in the sense that different fields will draw the line where convenient, which includes depending on how it is detected or in many places still distinguishing gamma rays from x-rays by the creation process, even if there is overlap in energy ranges. Astronomy and plasma physics tend to draw arbitrary lines (and not necessarily right at 10 pm... more often some where between 10 and 500 keV), because they involve a lot of non-nuclear processes generating photons. Nuclear physics will use it to distinguish high energy inner electron transitions from nuclear events, even though there are electron transitions over a keV and nuclear transitions below a keV. It is similar to how a beta particle, Auger electron, delta particle, etc. are all electrons, but names distinguishing the process that created them.

  3. Re:The Earth is connected by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 5, Informative

    to the rest of the solar system in ways we are just beginning to see.
    The electric sun theory explains most of it. Now we are filling in the
    "we're not sure why" parts and it is amazingly simple. Physics rule.
    Radioactive decay releases energy that has to go somewhere.
    Since you can not destroy energy, just transfer it, Storms are conduits to the ground or a catalyst.
    The gamma rays go out to be balanced with the force needed to equal the force absorbed electrically
    or magnetically (Ion based) by the Earth. Ions and gamma rays Oh my!
    A sort of St Elmo's fire? Only with a radioactivity spectrum.
    No telling what we might see next with our new eyes.

    It's like you paid attention to 20% of your physics classes, then figured you understood 100% of it and don't know when to quit.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  4. Re:The Earth is connected by TheTurtlesMoves · · Score: 3, Informative

    the electric sun theory explains exactly nothing. The electric universe theory explains even less. Your explanation makes less sense than the star trek technospeak.

    --
    The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
  5. Re:health risks? by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I wonder if this could mean people living in an area with lots of storms have a significantly higher risk of cancer.

    Higher risk, maybe, but imperceptibly small based on physical evidence. Even these "higher doses" are relatively small, well under the point where real world statistical evidence shows any increase in cancer rates. Fact is, other environmental causes dwarf radiation even at much higher doses when it comes to cancer risk. Now, if you get a hundred times these doses on a regular basis, you may expect to see some observable increases in certain cancers.

    Higher altitude exposure to UV is a real risk. Plenty of evidence for that.