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Cosmic Rays Could Reveal Secrets of Lightning On Earth
sciencehabit writes: Despite Benjamin Franklin's best efforts with a kite and a key, the phenomenon of lightning remains a scientific enigma. Now, researchers have developed a new tool that could help them solve some of lightning's mysteries. By using cosmic rays, space-traveling particles that constantly rain down on our atmosphere, scientists report they can peek inside thunderstorms and measure their electric fields, helping them pinpoint the conditions that cause storms' electrical outbursts. The advance could help researchers predict more precisely when and where lightning is most likely to strike and get people out of harm's way in time.
I thought cosmic rays trigger lightning.
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Cosmic Rays Could Reveal Secrets of Lightning On Earth
Or maybe they won't
"You will be hit by lightening in 4ms. Take evasive action."
Shortsighted. The long term goal is of course a weather modification net that can moderate severe weather, distribute rain to make up for global warming and ease drought conditions, etc. In order to do that you have to fully understand weather. You don't just need to know enough to go in out of the rain. You need to understand causes in order to be able to produce / reduce / redirect, etc. weather.
That's shortsighted. If you get rid of weather, or say... the entire planet... you don't have any of those problems.
"We know absolutely fuck all about lightening, what the fuck is it? Nobody has the slightest clue. BUT NOW WE ARE GOING TO CRACK IT THANKS TO THIS ONE DISCOVERY"
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Seriously, have we degenerated as a culture to the point where we need scientists telling people to stay inside during a thunderstorm?
Apparently so. And again, and again and again.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Provided that Lightning never strikes (the same place) twice, just keep statistics and you'll know at least when it won't strike again.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
"And we're going to save lives because of this!!!1!!"
lol yes my bad I forgot that bit.
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Have you noticed that the pattern of lightning is quite similar to the pattern of cracks in a stone or fault lines inside Terra? Lightning isn't a sparky thing that shoots across a gap. It's actually more like an earthquake along a fault line. The phenomenon we call lightning is what occurs when regions of magnetelectrospacetime have drifted and contorted apart far enough that they can no longer maintain congruity. The separate regions shift and the gaps between them close up an the speed of light. The sound and light is a result of that magnetoelectrospacetime fault line between the differing regions.
tl;dr: Lightning isn't a thing, it's a manifestation of fractures in reality.
Masturbate during a lightning storm.
I have a mile or so of 40ga copper wire and a few model rockets here... What can I do with these two things?
Mostly random stuff.
Wrong, and not just because you would appreciate some warning if lightning were to strike your bridge.
There are some strange things going on in thunderstorms (sprites, gamma rays, etc.) that point to the existence of low-energy nuclear reactions. We really need to know more about internal structure and process in thunderstorms.
Here is a presentation by Pim Schellaert (referenced in the article) with some more information:
http://www.lofar.org/wiki/lib/...
I've seen a presentation of their more recent results, but that doesn't seem to be public yet, I can't find a link.
One of the coolest things we did recently with the LOFAR telescope was to observe the Solar Eclipse in real time, I think it has never been done with a radio telescope before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
In general you can find a lot of info about what we're doing with the LOFAR telescope here:
http://www.astron.nl/dailyimag...
and here: http://www.lofar.org/wiki/doku...
RogerWilco the Adventurous Janitor
..also perhaps explain me why Systemd sucks so much?
So, best not attend ball games, the beach or parking lots in case of a one in several million chance of being struck? Meh
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Think of the children whose lives will be saved.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
There are some strange things going on in thunderstorms (sprites, gamma rays, etc.) that point to the existence of low-energy nuclear reactions.
So far they are doing a good job of pointing toward regular high energy reactions, looking pretty similar to ones in the lab under much more controlled conditions. It is more a question of how the necessary conditions come up than if there is some new reaction unlike ones seen before.
Just filler text here, just move along nothing to see...
THE SOFTWARE, IT NO WORKY!!!
This doesn't need research, or grants, or unemployed post-docs working on it. It's rain. It's a thunderstorm. Go inside. Seriously, have we degenerated as a culture to the point where we need scientists telling people to stay inside during a thunderstorm?
Most people aren't scared of getting wet. I enjoy being rained on and love a good storm. Since I own a swimming pool next to a two story house and surrounded by even taller trees I wondered how there could be much risk. I did some research and couldn't come up with any scientific sounding reason for not swimming during a storm. Yes, don't stand on an open field, a beach or in open water, where you are the tallest thing around. That's really dangerous, but if I'm in the water? I'm not on the path of least resistance. Not even close. Sadly, the only source of information about lightning danger seems to be the National Lightning Scaredycat Institute who believes that not only should I stay inside cowering in fear, but that I also shouldn't touch any electrical appliances or use any plumbing. This even though I'm more likely to die taking a shower than from lightning. That said, I do not swim during lightning storms. I do swim during rain without lightning and it's really fun.
While getting killed by lightening strike is far more likely than getting killed by terrorism, there is absolutely no sane reason to "get people out of harm's way", it is just far, far too unlikely to happen to be relevant. Now, making traffic and food safer, that would actually safe lives, but lightening? Madness!
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.