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(Credit to David Cardinal/Cardinal Photograph)
Although "Dark Lightning" sounds like something from a fantasy book, it is very real. These invisible bolts are the strongest type of lightning. Research on dark lightning has shown that passengers could be exposed to gamma radiation if it strikes a plane.
Dark lightning has been known by scientists since the 1990s when satellites detected it in our atmosphere. We initially thought that the event was a gamma radiation burst. NASA's Fermi space telescope discovered a terrestrial TGF. This allowed us trace the source of the phenomenon to a terrestrial storm.
We have learned that only one in 1,000 lightning bolts can produce a TGF. This means that dark lightning can strike 1,000 times per day. They are not dangerous for people living on the ground. A new study has concluded that plane passengers are at risk from dark lightning bolts. It was compared with the frequency of dark lightning bolts.
The report's first author, Melody Pallu (atmospheric scientist), was discussed at the American Geophysical Union conference. Pallu suggested that dark lightning could strike a plane once in every one to four years. However, that is probably not the true probability. Pallu also said that the calculations did not account for the fact that most pilots avoid thunderstorms. This means that the estimated rate of 10 times per year could be 10 times higher than what is actually happening.
Planes are designed to withstand terrifying lightning strikes. They can't protect against all and gamma radiations. Dark lightning happens at cruising altitude for some planes. Pallu stated that 0.3 sieverts could be received by passengers if a plane passes near a bolt or dark lightning. This is more radiation than one year's worth. Although it doesn't cause radiation sickness, it can increase a person's risk of developing cancer over the course of their lives.
Most airline pilots try to avoid thunderstorms. To do this, they'll sometimes take a deviation from their normal course. Sometimes lightning strikes planes, usually at the tail or nose of the plane. The plane's body acts like a Faraday cage and diverts the lightning bolt's electromagnetic impulse (EMP). This protects the passengers inside. The majority of lightning strikes from cloud to cloud, so the zorch passes through the plane's body and out the other end. Dark lightning is a different kind of lightning.
What causes dark lightning?
Pallu says that we still don't know how thunderstorms produce these invisible, massive bolts of dark lighting. NASA says that the most popular hypothesis is that regular lightning acts as an invisible particle accelerator. This creates an electric field that sends out electrons at near-light speed. The electrons that crash into the atmosphere release energy so high it isn't visible.
The cloud-tops are where most lightning happens. When ice crystals rub against each other, negative and positive charges build up deep within a thundercloud. These charged particles can be separated by the upward current. Lightning occurs when an electrical charge that is concentrated in one area finds a way to travel to another place with a different charge. It will find a way to equalize the electrical "pressure" as soon as it happens. This is what happens in high-voltage electric arcing, sparkplugs, and even neurons being fired.
Bremsstrahlung (or "braking radiation") is what gives light to lightning. This occurs when fast-moving electrons that have a lot of kinetic energie are deflected by the atmosphere and slowed down. This energy is released by the electron as a photon. Normal lightning is seen by our eyes as a glow in visible spectrum.
Dark lightning is when the braking radiation of lightning in the upper atmosphere absorbs so much energy that an electron releases a photon within the Gamma energy range. This can happen when there are a lot of lightning strikes and severe storms. These gamma radiations can strike oxygen atoms and create an electron or a positron. The process then begins again, with antimatter added to the mix. NASA explains it in the video below. It's an invisible, self-generated, and self-sustaining particle accelerator.
Pallu concluded that more research is needed to better understand dark lightning and the risks it poses to human health. Scientistically, dark lightning is a reminder that the most powerful interactions on Earth occur in areas of the electromagnetic spectrum that we don't see.
Check out these links:
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By: Jessica Hall
Title: Scientists Calculate How Often ‘Dark Lightning’ Could Strike Passenger Planes
Sourced From: www.extremetech.com/extreme/342627-scientists-calculate-how-often-dark-lightning-could-strike-passenger-planes
Published Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2023 15:26:33 +0000
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