Scientists Measure 1.3-Billion-Volt Thunderstorm, the Strongest on Record (gizmodo.com) 41
An anonymous reader shares a report: Scientists in India observed the highest-voltage thunderstorm ever documented with the help of a subatomic particle you might not hear much about: the muon. The researchers operate the GRAPES-3 telescope, which measures muons, particles that are similar to electrons but heavier. Specifically, the Gamma Ray Astronomy at PeV EnergieS Phase-3 (GRAPES-3) muon telescope measures high-energy particles from outer space called cosmic rays. It typically picks up 2.5 million muons each minute, mapped on a 13-by-13 grid across the sky. But during thunderstorms, it experiences quick changes to the amount of muons it receives. The GRAPES-3 researchers added electric field monitors to the experiment, and devised a way to turn these muon fluctuations into measurements of the voltage of passing storms.
A storm on December 1, 2014, led to a relatively enormous 2 percent decrease in the amount of muons that the experiment received. According to their methods, published in Physical Review Letters, this would be equivalent to a 1.3-billion-volt electric potential in the thunderhead. This doesn't refer to a single lightning bolt, but rather the strength of the electric field caused by positively charged water molecules carried by convection to the top of the cloud while negatively charged ice remains lower down. For comparison, most lightning bolts have 100 million volts of electric potential between their ends. Subway tracks carry less than 1,000 volts.
A storm on December 1, 2014, led to a relatively enormous 2 percent decrease in the amount of muons that the experiment received. According to their methods, published in Physical Review Letters, this would be equivalent to a 1.3-billion-volt electric potential in the thunderhead. This doesn't refer to a single lightning bolt, but rather the strength of the electric field caused by positively charged water molecules carried by convection to the top of the cloud while negatively charged ice remains lower down. For comparison, most lightning bolts have 100 million volts of electric potential between their ends. Subway tracks carry less than 1,000 volts.
How many gigajoules? (Score:3, Insightful)
Just asking for a friend.
Re: How many gigajoules? (Score:1)
a jiggawatt is how you're supposes to pronounce gigawatt. in short, it's the proper phonetic spelling.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
That doesn't sound right. Hold on while I Joogle it.
For a sense of scale (Score:5, Funny)
If I read the summary correctly, the voltage is the equivalent of 1.3 million subway cars end to end...
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
If I read the summary correctly, the voltage is the equivalent of 1.3 million subway cars end to end...
How many Library of Congresses is that? /s
And what about AMPS or WATTS? I checked the article and it didn't bother guesstimating anything other than Volts.
Maybe they could try standing on a high spot with a kite and a voltmeter to further science...
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think you're going to discharge the whole storm with a kite anyways, so it wouldn't really pair with their other number.
You're going to need a giant pyramid made of metal.
Re: (Score:3)
jesus man, will you think of the children?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
All of them.
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry, that's only 1/10th of a Jet Girl.
She worked at Water and Power, you know.
Slice of nerd (Score:2)
To paraphrase Deb from Dexter: "Holy freakin' fudge! What does this have to do with politics?"
Back to The Future (Score:2)
Enough for the Flux Capacitor (1.21 GigaWatts) ;)
Get off my lawn (Score:4, Funny)
When I was a kid, we didn't have any of these newfangled muons. We had to make do with our old mu mesons, and we liked it just fine that way.
Is it enough to power (Score:1)
/ where did these your mom jokes come from?
Pick it up (Score:3)
Thor takes a back seat to no Marvel character.