1. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
On the possible mechanism of keraunographic markings on lightning victims
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1364-6826 .- 1879-1824. ; 136:Part A, s. 119-123
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During a lightning strike to a human the high electric field that exists at the point of contact of the lightning flash can generate electrical discharges known as streamer discharges along the skin. Previous research work has shown that the electric field at the head of these streamer discharges are large enough to accelerate electrons to relativistic speeds. In this paper it is shown that the streamers propagating along the skin will bombard the skin with energetic electrons. In this paper an estimation of the energy dissipated by these energetic electrons on the skin is estimated. Since beta radiation generated by radioactive substances consists of energetic electrons the effects of the energetic electrons generated by streamer discharges would be similar to the effects caused by low level beta radiation. It is suggested that the feather like marks, called keraunographical marks, that is sometimes observed on the skin of lightning victims is a result of superficial radiation injury with following inflammation in the epidermis and superficial layers of the dermis caused by energetic electrons.
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2. |
- Cooray, Gerald, et al.
(author)
-
Application of electromagnetic fields of an accelerating charge to obtain the electromagnetic fields of a propagating current pulse
- 2012
-
In: Lightning Electromagnetics. - : IET. - 9781849192156 ; , s. 55-65
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It was recently demonstrated that electromagnetic fields from accelerating charges can be utilized to evaluate the electromagnetic fields from lightning return strokes. It was documented in detail how to utilize the equations to calculate electromagnetic fields of various engineering return stroke models, both current propagation and current generation types.It was also demonstrated how the equations can be utilized to calculate radiation fields generated by currents propagating along transmission lines in the presence of bends. The basics of this technique are summarized in this chapter by applying it to evaluate the electromagnetic fields of a propagating current pulse.
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3. |
- Cooray, Gerald, et al.
(author)
-
Could Some Ball Lightning Observations be Optical Hallucinations Caused by Epileptic Seizures?
- 2008
-
In: The Open Atmospheric Science Journal. - 1874-2823. ; 2, s. 101-105
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The great difficulty of encompassing all observed features of ball lightning into a single theory makes it highly probable that many observations and experiences which have no connection to ball lightning are also categorized as ball lightning experiences. In this note we compare the eyewitness reports of ball lightning and the symptoms of epileptic seizures of the occipital lobe as described in the medical literature and show that a person experiencing such a seizure for the first time may believe that he has witnessed a ball lightning event. Since many of the ball lightning reports are associated with nearby lightning strikes, the possibility that the rapidly changing magnetic field of a close lightning strike could trigger an epileptic seizure is analyzed. The results show that the time derivative of the magnetic field in the vicinity of an intense lightning flash is strong enough to stimulate neurons in the brain. This strengthens the possibility of inducing seizures in the occipital lobe of a person located in the vicinity of lightning strikes.
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4. |
- Cooray, Gerald, et al.
(author)
-
Electromagnetic fields of a short electric dipole in free space - revisited
- 2012
-
In: PROG ELECTROMAGN RES. - 1559-8985. ; 131, s. 357-373
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Maxwell's equations specify that electromagnetic radiation fields are generated by accelerating charges. However, the electromagnetic radiation fields of an accelerating charge are seldom used to derive the electromagnetic fields of radiating systems. In this paper, the equations pertinent to the electromagnetic fields generated by accelerating charges are utilized to evaluate the electromagnetic fields of a current path of length l for the case when a pulse of current propagates with constant velocity. According to these equations, radiation is generated only at the end points of the channel where charges are being accelerated or decelerated. The electromagnetic fields of a short dipole are extracted from these equations when r >> l, where r is the distance to the point of observation. The speed of propagation of the pulse enters into the electromagnetic fields only in the terms that are second order in l and they can be neglected in the dipole approximation. The results illustrate how the radiation fields emanating from the two ends of the dipole give rise to field terms varying as 1/r and 1/r(2), while the time-variant stationary charges at the ends of the dipole contribute to field terms varying as 1/r(2) and 1/r(3).
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5. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
A Novel Interpretation of the Electromagnetic Fields of Lightning Return Strokes
- 2019
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 10:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electric and/or magnetic fields are generated by stationary charges, uniformly moving charges and accelerating charges. These field components are described in the literature as static fields, velocity fields (or generalized Coulomb field) and radiation fields (or acceleration fields), respectively. In the literature, the electromagnetic fields generated by lightning return strokes are presented using the field components associated with short dipoles, and in this description the one-to-one association of the electromagnetic field terms with the physical process that gives rise to them is lost. In this paper, we have derived expressions for the electromagnetic fields using field equations associated with accelerating (and moving) charges and separated the resulting fields into static, velocity and radiation fields. The results illustrate how the radiation fields emanating from the lightning channel give rise to field terms varying as 1/r and 1/r2, the velocity fields generating field terms varying as 1/r2, and the static fields generating field components varying as 1/r2 and 1/r3. These field components depend explicitly on the speed of propagation of the current pulse. However, the total field does not depend explicitly on the speed of propagation of the current pulse. It is shown that these field components can be combined to generate the field components pertinent to the dipole technique. However, in this conversion process the connection of the field components to the physical processes taking place at the source that generate these fields (i.e., static charges, uniformly moving charges and accelerating charges) is lost.
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6. |
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7. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Basic electromagnetic theory - a summary
- 2012
-
In: Lightning Electromagnetics. - : The Institution of Engineering and Technology. - 9781849192156
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The goal of this chapter is to provide a summary of the basic concepts of electro- magnetic theory as a complement to the subject matter, most of which is related to electromagnetism, discussed in this book. The chapter covers only the concepts that are necessary to understand the electromagnetics of lightning flashes.
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8. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Comment on "Straight lightning as a signature of macroscopic dark matter"
- 2022
-
In: Physical Review D. - : American Physical Society. - 2470-0010 .- 2470-0029. ; 105:8
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In the discussed paper [N. Starkman, H. Winch, J. S. Sidhu, and G. Starkman, Straight lightning as a signature of macroscopic dark matter, Phys. Rev. D 103, 063024 (2021)], the authors have made several assumptions and statements concerning the initiation and propagation of lightning flashes induced by macroscopic dark matter passing through the atmosphere. The authors suggest that the path of dark matter can be identified by looking for lightning with straight channels, although such channels have not been previously reported. Even though we agree with the suggestion of the authors that macroscopic dark matter could, in theory, give rise to straight lightning channels, there are several statements in the paper that are not sufficiently clear and which could lead to misinterpretation. Our comments on the paper are the following.
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9. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Corona currents generated from a person’s head in the vicinity of lightning strikes : Stimulation ofphosphenes
- 2011
-
In: 7th Asia-Pacific International Conference on Lightning.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Phosphene is a sensory experience which occurs dueto the interaction of electric currents generated by an externalagent with the visual cortex or retina. Occurrence of phospheneshas been documented in clinical Transcranial MagneticStimulation (TMS) studies where electric fields are induced inthe brain by the application of time varying magnetic fields. Inthis paper the possibility of creating phosphenes by the coronacurrents developing from the head of a person located close to alightning strike is investigated. The results show that themagnitude of the electric fields induced in the brain by coronacurrents are comparable to those generated by TMS. This inturn shows that the corona currents generated by long durationlightning flashes could excite phosphenes through theirinteraction with the visual cortex or retina in a human located inthe vicinity of the lightning channel. It is suggested that some ofthe ball lightning observations reported in the literature could beluminous perceptions caused by the interaction of the coronacurrents with the visual cortex or retina of a person located inthe vicinity of a lightning strike.
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10. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Could Macroscopic Dark Matter (Macros) Give Rise to Mini-Lightning Flashes out of a Blue Sky without Clouds?
- 2021
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 12:9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A recent study pointed out that macroscopic dark matter (macros) traversing through the Earth's atmosphere can give rise to hot and ionized channels similar to those associated with lightning leaders. The authors of the study investigated the possibility that when such channels created by macros pass through a thundercloud, lightning leaders may be locked in by these ionized channels, creating lightning discharges with perfectly straight channels. They suggested the possibility of detecting such channels as a means of detecting the passage of macros through the atmosphere. In this paper, we show that such macros crossing the atmosphere under fair weather conditions could also give rise to mini-lightning flashes with current amplitudes in the order of a few hundred Amperes. These mini-lightning flashes would generate a thunder signature similar to or stronger than those of long laboratory sparks and they could also be detected by optical means. As in the case of thunderstorm-assisted macro lightning, these mini-lightning flashes are also associated with straight channels. Moreover, since the frequency of mini-lightning flashes is about thirty times greater than the macro-generated lightning flashes assisted by thunderstorms, they could be used as a means to look for the paths of macroscopic dark matter crossing the atmosphere.
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11. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Electric field of a relativistic electron avalanche
- 2012
-
In: 2012 31st International Conference on Lightning Protection, ICLP 2012. - 9781467318976 ; , s. 6344240-
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the present study, electromagnetic fields of accelerating charges were utilized to evaluate the electromagnetic fields generated by a relativistic electron avalanche. In the analysis it is assumed that all the electrons in the avalanche are moving with the same speed. In other words, the growth or the decay of the number of electrons takes place only at the head of the avalanche. It is shown that the radiation is emanating only from the head of the avalanche where electrons are being accelerated. It is also shown that an analytical expression for the radiation field of the avalanche at any distance can be written directly in terms of the e-folding length of the avalanche. This makes it possible to extract directly the spatial variation of the e-folding length of the avalanche from the measured radiation fields.
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12. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Electromagnetic fields of a relativistic electron avalanche with special attention to the origin of lightning signatures known as narrow bipolar pulses
- 2014
-
In: Atmospheric research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-8095 .- 1873-2895. ; 149, s. 346-358
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the present study, electromagnetic fields of accelerating charges were utilized to evaluate the electromagnetic fields generated by a relativistic electron avalanche. In the analysis it is assumed that all the electrons in the avalanche are moving with the same speed. In other words, the growth or the decay of the number of electrons takes place only at the head of the avalanche. It is shown that the radiation is emanating only from the head of the avalanche where electrons are being accelerated. It is also shown that an analytical expression for the radiation field of the avalanche at any distance can be written directly in terms of the e-folding length of the avalanche. This model of the avalanche was utilized to test the idea whether the source of the lightning signatures known as narrow bipolar pulses could be relativistic avalanches. The idea was tested by using the simultaneously measured electric fields of narrow bipolar pulses at two distances, one measured far away from the source and the other in the near vicinity. The avalanche parameters were extracted from the distant field and they are used to evaluate the close field. The results show that the source of the NBP can be modeled either as a single or a multiple burst of relativistic avalanches with speed of avalanches in the range of 2-3 x 10(8) m/s. The multiple avalanche model agrees better with the experimental data in that it can also generate the correct signature of the time derivatives and the HF and VHF radiation bursts of NBP.
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13. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Electromagnetic fields of accelerating charges : Applications in lightning protection
- 2017
-
In: Electric power systems research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-7796 .- 1873-2046. ; 145, s. 234-247
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electromagnetic fields generated by accelerating charges can be utilized to evaluate the electromagnetic fields generated by systems where moving charges and/or propagating currents are present. The technique can be used easily to evaluate the electromagnetic fields generated by systems in which propagating currents are present. This is illustrated by utilizing the equations to derive expressions for the electromagnetic fields generated by systems in which current pulses injected by lightning flashes are propagating.
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14. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Electromagnetic radiation field of an electron avalanche
- 2012
-
In: Atmospheric research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-8095 .- 1873-2895. ; 117:SI, s. 18-27
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electron avalanches are the main constituent of electrical discharges in the atmosphere. However, the electromagnetic radiation field generated by a single electron avalanche growing in different field configurations has not yet been evaluated in the literature. In this paper, the electromagnetic radiation fields created by electron avalanches were evaluated for electric fields in pointed, co-axial and spherical geometries. The results show that the radiation field has a duration of approximately 1–2 ns, with a rise time in the range of 0.25 ns. The wave-shape takes the form of an initial peak followed by an overshoot in the opposite direction. The electromagnetic spectrum generated by the avalanches has a peak around 109 Hz.
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15. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Exact Expressions for Lightning Electromagnetic Fields : Application to the Rusck Field-to-Transmission Line Coupling Model
- 2023
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 14:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An exact analytical expression for the electric field of the return stroke as excited by a propagating step current source is derived in this paper. This expression could be advantageously used to evaluate the disturbances caused by lightning on overhead lines. There are three equivalent procedures to evaluate the voltages induced by lightning on power lines, namely, the Agrawal-Price-Gurbaxani model, the Taylor-Satterwhite-Harrison model, and the Rachidi model. In the case of a vertical return stroke channel, the coupling model developed by Rusck becomes identical to these three coupling models. Due to its simplicity, the Rusck model is frequently used by engineers to study the effects of lightning on power distribution and transmission lines. In order to reduce the time involved in the electromagnetic field calculation, the Rusck model is incorporated with an analytical expression for the electromagnetic fields of the return stroke excited by a propagating step current pulse. Our research work shows that the Rusck expression can be used to calculate the peak values of lightning induced voltages to an accuracy of about 10%. However, the use of this analytical expression to calculate the time derivatives of lightning induced voltages may result in errors as large as 50%. The derived expression in this paper can be used to correct for this inaccuracy. We also provide an exact expression for the electric field at any given point in space when the propagating current is an impulse function. This expression can be combined with the convolution integral to obtain the electric field corresponding to waveforms similar to measured return stroke currents.
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16. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Excitation of visual sensory experiences by electromagnetic fields of lightning
- 2012
-
In: Lightning Electromagnetics. - : IET. - 9781849192156
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this chapter, we will consider the possible interactions, either direct or indirect, of the lightning-generated electromagnetic fields with the brain or the visual system of humans to induce visual sensations. Some of these visual sensations are known as phosphenes in the medical literature. Since some of these visual sensations could be misinterpreted as ball lightning, this subject is of interest for lightning researchers due to the still unsolved problem of the origin of ball lightning.
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17. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Generalized Electric Field Equations of a Time-Varying Current Distribution Based on the Electromagnetic Fields of Moving and Accelerating Charges
- 2019
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 10:7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In several studies conducted recently, it was shown that equations pertinent to the electric and magnetic fields produced by electrical charges in motion can be used to calculate the electromagnetic fields produced by current pulses propagating along linearly restricted paths. An example includes the case of current pulses propagating along conductors and conducting channels such as lightning. In this paper, it is shown how the technique can be applied to estimate the electromagnetic fields generated by current and charge distributions moving in arbitrary directions in space. The analysis shows that, depending on the way the problem is formulated using the field equations pertinent to accelerating charges, one procedure leads to the generalized dipole equations, which are independent of the velocity of propagation of the current, and the other procedure leads to a set of equations that depend on the velocity. Using the well-tested transmission line model of lightning return strokes as an example, it is shown that both sets of field equations give rise to the same total electromagnetic field.
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18. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Ionization Waves Enhance the Production of X-rays during Streamer Collisions
- 2021
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 12:9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Experimental data show that in laboratory sparks, X-rays are produced in time synchronization with the meeting of streamers of opposite polarity just before the final breakdown of the discharge gap. It has been suggested that the electric field enhancement created during the collision of streamers could provide the necessary conditions for electron acceleration, even though some of the theoretical studies show that the duration of the electric field is not long enough to do so. The experimental data on laboratory discharges show that. when streamers of opposite polarity meet each other, a potential or ionization wave that renders the streamer channels conducting is initiated. This paper shows that these ionization waves that convert the discharge channels from weakly conducting to highly conducting are associated with electric fields large enough to accelerate electrons to relativistic energies.
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19. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Lightning caused injuries in humans
- 2009
-
In: Lightning Protection. - London : The Institution of Engineering and Technology, London, UK. - 9780863417443
-
Book chapter (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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20. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
Lightning caused injuries in humans
- 2007
-
In: Journal of Electrostatics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3886 .- 1873-5738. ; 65:5-6, s. 386-394
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A lightning flash may interact with humans in several ways. The possible pathways of interactions are direct strike, side flash, touch voltage, step voltage, subsequent stroke, connecting leaders and shock waves. The permanent or the temporary injuries that a victim suffers depend, among other parameters, on the type of interaction through which the body is exposed to a lightning strike and the path and the strength of the electric current passing through the body. In addition to the effects of electric current passing through the body, strong light and shock waves may also interact with the body in various ways. In this paper, the different types of injuries that may result from a lightning strike are documented and they are summarized, from engineering rather than a medical perspective
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21. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Modeling Compact Intracloud Discharge (CID) as a Streamer Burst
- 2020
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 11:5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Narrow Bipolar Pulses are generated by bursts of electrical activity in the cloud and these are referred to as Compact Intracloud Discharges (CID) or Narrow Bipolar Events in the current literature. These discharges usually occur in isolation without much electrical activity before or after the event, but sometimes they are observed to initiate lightning flashes. In this paper, we have studied the features of CIDs assuming that they consist of streamer bursts without any conducting channels. A typical CID may contain about 10(9) streamer heads during the time of its maximum growth. A CID consists of a current front of several nanosecond duration that travels forward with the speed of the streamers. The amplitude of this current front increases initially during the streamer growth and decays subsequently as the streamer burst continues to propagate. Depending on the conductivity of the streamer channels, there could be a low-level current flow behind this current front which transports negative charge towards the streamer origin. The features of the current associated with the CID are very different from those of the radiation field that it generates. The duration of the radiation field of a CID is about 10-20 mu s, whereas the duration of the propagating current pulse associated with the CID is no more than a few nanoseconds in duration. The peak current of a CID is the result of a multitude of small currents associated with a large number of streamers and, if all the forward moving streamer heads are located on a single horizontal plane, the cumulative current that radiates at its peak value could be about 10(8) A. On the other hand, the current associated with an individual streamer is no more than a few hundreds of mA. However, if the location of the forward moving streamer heads are spread in a vertical direction, the peak current can be reduced considerably. Moreover, this large current is spread over an area of several tens to several hundreds of square meters. The study shows that the streamer model of the CID could explain the fine structure of the radiation fields present both in the electric field and electric field time derivative.
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22. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
On the Action of the Radiation Field Generated by a Traveling-Wave Element and Its Connection to the Time Energy Uncertainty Principle, Elementary Charge and the Fine Structure Constant
- 2017
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 8:3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recently, we published two papers in this journal. One of the papers dealt with the action of the radiation fields generated by a traveling-wave element and the other dealt with the momentum transferred by the same radiation fields and their connection to the time energy uncertainty principle. The traveling-wave element is defined as a conductor through which a current pulse propagates with the speed of light in free space from one end of the conductor to the other without attenuation. The goal of this letter is to combine the information provided in these two papers together and make conclusive statements concerning the connection between the energy dissipated by the radiation fields, the time energy uncertainty principle and the elementary charge. As we will show here, the results presented in these two papers, when combined together, show that the time energy uncertainty principle can be applied to the classical radiation emitted by a traveling-wave element and it results in the prediction that the smallest charge associated with the current that can be detected using radiated energy as a vehicle is on the order of the elementary charge. Based on the results, an expression for the fine structure constant is obtained. This is the first time that an order of magnitude estimation of the elementary charge based on electromagnetic radiation fields is obtained. Even though the results obtained in this paper have to be considered as order of magnitude estimations, a strict interpretation of the derived equations shows that the fine structure constant or the elementary charge may change as the size or the age of the universe increases.
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23. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
On the Apparent Non-Uniqueness of the Electromagnetic Field Components of Return Strokes Revisited
- 2021
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 12:10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent research work shows that there are four procedures that can be used to calculate the electromagnetic fields from a current source. These different procedures, even though producing the same total field, give rise to field components that differ from one procedure to another. This has led to the understanding that the various field terms that constitute the total field cannot be uniquely determined. In this paper, it is shown that all four field expressions can be reduced to a single field expression, and the various field terms arising from acceleration, uniformly moving, and stationary charges can be uniquely determined. The differences in the field terms arising from different techniques are caused by the different ways of summing up the contribution to the total electric field coming from the accelerating, moving, and stationary charges.
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24. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
On the electric and magnetic fields below a single conductor overhead power line
- 2012
-
In: 2012 31st International Conference on Lightning Protection, ICLP 2012. - 9781467318976 ; , s. 6344307-
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electromagnetic fields associated with the electric current flowing along a overhead power line with a single conductor located over perfectly conducting ground are estimated using electromagnetic fields pertinent to acceleration of electric charges. It is shown that the electric and magnetic fields that exist below a long overhead power line are nothing but the radiation fields generated by the acceleration of charge at the point of injection of current into the power line.
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25. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
On the Momentum Transported by the Radiation Field of a Long Transient Dipole and Time Energy Uncertainty Principle
- 2016
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 7:11
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The paper describes the net momentum transported by the transient electromagnetic radiation field of a long transient dipole in free space. In the dipole a current is initiated at one end and propagates towards the other end where it is absorbed. The results show that the net momentum transported by the radiation is directed along the axis of the dipole where the currents are propagating. In general, the net momentum P transported by the electromagnetic radiation of the dipole is less than the quantity U/c, where U is the total energy radiated by the dipole and c is the speed of light in free space. In the case of a Hertzian dipole, the net momentum transported by the radiation field is zero because of the spatial symmetry of the radiation field. As the effective wavelength of the current decreases with respect to the length of the dipole (or the duration of the current decreases with respect to the travel time of the current along the dipole), the net momentum transported by the radiation field becomes closer and closer to U/c, and for effective wavelengths which are much shorter than the length of the dipole, P approximate to U/c. The results show that when the condition P approximate to U/c is satisfied, the radiated fields satisfy the condition Delta t Delta U >= h/4 pi where Delta t is the duration of the radiation, Delta U is the uncertainty in the dissipated energy and h is the Plank constant.
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26. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
On the possibility of phosphenes being generated by the energetic radiation from lightning flashes and thunderstorms
- 2011
-
In: Physics Letters A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0375-9601 .- 1873-2429. ; 375:42, s. 3704-3709
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- After the first report of this phenomenon by Apollo 11 astronauts, experiments conducted in space and on the ground confirmed the creation of phosphenes by the interaction of energetic radiation with the human visual system. The aim of this Letter is to show that the energetic radiation generated in the form of X-rays, gamma rays, electrons and neutrons by thunderstorms and lightning is strong enough for the creation of phosphenes in humans. It is also pointed out that some of the visual observations reported during thunderstorms might be attributable to phosphenes excited by this energetic radiation.
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27. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
On the Remarkable Features of the Lower Limits of Charge and the Radiated Energy of Antennas as Predicted by Classical Electrodynamics
- 2016
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 7:5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electromagnetic energy radiated by antennas working in both the frequency domain and time domain is studied as a function of the charge associated with the current in the antenna. The frequency domain results, obtained under the assumption of sinusoidal current distribution, show that, for a given charge, the energy radiated within a period of oscillation increases initially with L/lambda and then starts to oscillate around a steady value when L/lambda>1. The results show that for the energy radiated by the antenna to be equal to or larger than the energy of one photon, the oscillating charge in the antenna has to be equal to or larger than the electronic charge. That is, U >= hv or UT >= h double right arrow q >= e, where U is the energy dissipated over a period, v is the frequency of oscillation, T is the period, h is Planck's constant, q is the rms value of the oscillating charge, and e is the electronic charge. In the case of antennas working in the time domain, it is observed that U Delta t >= h/4 pi double right arrow q >= e, where U is the total energy radiated, Delta t is the time over which the energy is radiated, and q is the charge transported by the current. It is shown that one can recover the time-energy uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics from this time domain result. The results presented in this paper show that when quantum mechanical constraints are applied to the electromagnetic energy radiated by a finite antenna as estimated using the equations of classical electrodynamics, the electronic charge emerges as the smallest unit of free charge in nature.
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28. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
On the streamer discharges emitted from the head of a person located in the vicinity of lightning strikes and their possible consequences
- 2013
-
In: Journal of Electrostatics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3886 .- 1873-5738. ; 71:3, s. 572-576
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper the currents associated with the streamer discharges generated from the head of a person located in the vicinity of a lightning strike are investigated. In the analysis the location of the person with respect to the lightning strike is selected in such a way that only a streamer burst, without the formation of a connecting leader, is emitted from the head. The current associated with these streamer bursts could exceed several hundreds of mA and may last for several hundreds of microseconds. The results of the calculation show that the passage of the streamer currents through the body of the person could create electric fields in the brain large enough to excite neurons. Depending on the strength of lightning flash and the distance to the strike point these streamer bursts can give rise to phosphenes which are a form of visual experience that occurs when the visual cortex is stimulated by electric currents.
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29. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
-
Polarity Asymmetry in Lightning Return Stroke Speed Caused by the Momentum Associated with Radiation
- 2021
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI. - 2073-4433. ; 12:12
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In positive lightning return strokes, the net momentum transported by the radiation field has the same direction as the momentum associated with electrons, whereas the momentum associated with electrons is in opposite direction to the momentum of radiation in negative return strokes. It is shown here that this polarity asymmetry could limit the maximum speed of positive return strokes with respect to the negative return strokes.
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30. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
-
The Deep Physics Hidden within the Field Expressions of the Radiation Fields of Lightning Return Strokes
- 2016
-
In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 7:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Based on the electromagnetic fields generated by a current pulse propagating from one point in space to another, a scenario that is frequently used to simulate return strokes in lightning flashes, it is shown that there is a deep physical connection between the electromagnetic energy dissipated by the system, the time over which this energy is dissipated and the charge associated with the current. For a given current pulse, the product of the energy dissipated and the time over which this energy is dissipated, defined as action in this paper, depends on the length of the channel, or the path, through which the current pulse is propagating. As the length of the channel varies, the action plotted against the length of the channel exhibits a maximum value. The location of the maximum value depends on the ratio of the length of the channel to the characteristic length of the current pulse. The latter is defined as the product of the duration of the current pulse and the speed of propagation of the current pulse. The magnitude of this maximum depends on the charge associated with the current pulse. The results show that when the charge associated with the current pulse approaches the electronic charge, the value of this maximum reaches a value close to h/8 where h is the Plank constant. From this result, one can deduce that the time-energy uncertainty principle is the reason for the fact that the smallest charge that can be detected from the electromagnetic radiation is equal to the electronic charge. Since any system that generates electromagnetic radiation can be represented by a current pulse propagating from one point in space to another, the result is deemed valid for electromagnetic radiation fields in general.
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31. |
- Cooray, Vernon, et al.
(author)
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The Electromagnetic Fields of an Accelerating Charge : Applications in Lightning Return-Stroke Models
- 2010
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In: IEEE transactions on electromagnetic compatibility (Print). - 0018-9375 .- 1558-187X. ; 52:4, s. 944-955
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the literature, three procedures have been used to calculate the electromagnetic fields from return strokes. In the first technique, the source is described only in terms of current density and the fields are expressed entirely in terms of the return-stroke current. In the second technique, the source is expressed in terms of the current and the charge densities and the fields are given in terms of both the current and the charge density. In the third technique, the fields are expressed in terms of the apparent charge density. The fields are connected to the source terms through the vector and scalar potentials. In this paper, the standard equations for the electromagnetic fields generated by an accelerating charge are utilized to evaluate the electromagnetic fields from lightning return strokes. It is shown that the total fields evaluated at any distance using these expressions are identical to those obtained using other techniques. However, the composition of the terms that vary as 1/R, 1/R2, and 1/R3 of the total electric field is different from those of other formulations. In the case of the transmission-line model, where the return stroke is described as a current pulse propagating with uniform velocity, radiation emanates only from the bottom of the channel where current is generated. When the speed of propagation is equal to the speed of light, the total field throughout the entire space becomes radiation. The procedure is also applied here to obtain the electric fields of the traveling-current-source model. The electric fields obtained for this case, too, agree with the previous study. It is also shown how the equations can be applied rather conveniently to evaluate: 1) the electromagnetic fields generated by current pulses propagating along overhead power lines; and 2) the electromagnetic fields generated by vertical conductors and towers during lightning strikes.
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32. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
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The Upper Bound of the Speed of Propagation of Waves along a Transmission Line
- 2020
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In: Progress In Electromagnetics Research M. - : ELECTROMAGNETICS ACAD. - 1937-8726. ; 93, s. 119-125
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- According to theory, once certain conditions are fulfilled, current and voltage pulses propagate along ideal transmission lines with the speed of light. One can reach such a conclusion only when the conductors are assumed to be perfectly conducting, which cannot be realized in practice. A wave can only propagate along a transmission line with the speed of light if no energy has to be spent in establishing the current in the conductor. However, in establishing a current in a transmission line, energy has to be supplied to the electrons to set them in motion since they have a mass. The energy transfer to the electrons manifests itself in the form of an inductance which is called the kinetic inductance. The effect of the kinetic inductance has to be taken into account in signal propagation along high carrier mobility conductors including super conductors. In the case of transmission lines, the kinetic inductance leads to a change in the characteristic impedance and a reduction in the speed of propagation of waves along the transmission line. The goal of this paper is to show that the kinetic inductance will set an upper bound to the speed of propagation of waves along transmission lines, which is smaller than the speed of light.
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33. |
- Abegunawardana, Sidath, et al.
(author)
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Audible Frequency Analysis of Ground Flashes
- 2018
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Thunder signatures categorized into three types based on peak pressure and variation in fundamental frequency, have been studied by using acoustic spectrum of thunder. S-transformation has been used to estimate the dominant frequency variation around the peak pressure. The mean fundamental frequencies of type 3 ground and cloud flashes are 160 Hz and 98 Hz respectively. The mean frequencies of type 2 ground and cloud flashes are 108 Hz and 82 Hz respectively.
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34. |
- Abegunawardana, Sidath, et al.
(author)
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Sound Source Localization of Lightning Discharges
- 2018
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lightning channel can be retraced by thunder signature recorded with an array of microphones. Four microphones were arranged to capture thunder sound, and acoustic cross-correlation of captured pressure signals estimated the time lag of each pair of microphones. A wave segment with 0.25 s or 0.5 s of duration was compared with the acoustic signal recorded by other microphones to estimate time lapse. The direction of channel propagation has been estimated by the time difference of arrival of each pair of microphones. Thunder source locations estimated by this method can be extended to investigate the channel propagation inside clouds.
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35. |
- Abewardhana, Ruwan, et al.
(author)
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Lightning Localization Based on VHF Broadband Interferometer Developed in Sri Lanka
- 2018
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In: 2018 34th international conference on lightning protection (ICLP 2018). - New York : IEEE. - 9781538666357
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A basic broadband digital interferometer was developed, which is capable of locating Very High Frequency (VHF) radiation sources in two spatial dimensions and time. Three antennas sensed the time series of broadband electromagnetic (EM) signals and digitized with 4 ns sampling interval for a duration of several milliseconds. A technique based on cross-correlations has been implemented for mapping lightning source locations. A map of the first return stroke (RS) and the preceding stepped leader was mapped successfully, using the system with a time resolution of few milliseconds. The result was compared with the visible events of the ground flash to validate the system.
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36. |
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37. |
- Ahmad, Mohd Riduan, et al.
(author)
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Chaotic Pulse Train in Cloud-to-Ground and Cloud Flashes of Tropical Thunderstorms
- 2014
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we report for the first time the observation of chaotic pulse train (CPT) preceding natural subsequent negative return strokes and also CPT occurrence in IC flashes from tropical thunderstorms in South Malaysia. In CG flashes, all CPTs were occurred in between return strokes with 41.1% have occurred between the first and second return strokes. The maximum number of CPT in one sequence is 3, which can be observed between the first and third return strokes only. In IC flashes, all CPTs were observed to occur in between IC flash pulses.
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38. |
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39. |
- Ahmad, Mohd Riduan, et al.
(author)
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Emission Heights of Narrow Bipolar Events in a Tropical Storm over the Malacca Strait
- 2017
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In: 2017 International Conference On Electrical Engineering And Computer Science (Icecos). - : IEEE. - 9781479976751 - 9781479976768 - 9781479976744 ; , s. 305-309
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Emission heights for narrow bipolar events (NBEs) have been reported mostly from observations at mid latitudes but none have been reported from tropical regions. In this paper, we are reporting for the first time the heights of NBE emissions from a tropical storm over the Malacca Strait, a narrow water passage between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island. A total of 49 positive NBEs (+NBEs) were detected from the storm. The NBE activity can be divided into two stages according to the emission heights and radar reflectivity data. The first stage (or S1) lasted for only 6 minutes, started with the first detected NBE, and produced 20 NBEs (41%). The emission heights ranged between 12.0 and 16.7 km. Radar reflectivity data showed that the storm reached maximum values at 55 dBZ within the period S1. In contrast, the second stage (S2) lasted longer (32 minutes) and produced 29 NBEs (59%). The emission heights were lower and ranged from 8.5 to 13.7 km. Radar reflectivity data showed that the storm reached maximum values at 50 dBZ within the period S2.
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40. |
- Ahmad, Mohd Riduan, 1980-
(author)
-
Interaction of Lightning Flashes with Wireless Communication Networks : Special Attention to Narrow Bipolar Pulses
- 2014
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this thesis, the features of electric field signatures of narrow bipolar pulses (NBPs) generated by cloud flashes are investigated and their effects on wireless communication systems are studied. A handful amount of NBPs (14.5%) have been observed to occur as part of cloud-to-ground flashes in South Malaysia. Occurrence of NBPs in Sweden has been reported for the first time in this thesis. The electric field waveform characteristics of NBPs as part of cloud-to-ground flashes were similar to isolated NBPs found in Sweden and South Malaysia and also to those isolated NBPs reported by previous studies from various geographical areas. This is a strong indication that their breakdown mechanisms are similar at any latitudes regardless of geographical areas.A comparative study on the occurrence of NBPs and other forms of lightning flashes across various geographical areas ranging from northern regions to the tropics is presented. As the latitude decreased from Uppsala, Sweden (59.8°N) to South Malaysia (1.5°N), the percentage of NBP emissions relative to the total number of lightning flashes increased significantly from 0.13% to 12%. Occurrences of positive NBPs were more common than negative NBPs at all observed latitudes. However, as latitudes decreased, the negative NBP emissions increased significantly from 20% (Sweden) to 45% (South Malaysia). Factors involving mixed-phase region elevations and vertical extents of thundercloud tops are invoked to explain the observed results. These factors are fundamentally latitude dependent.In this thesis, the interaction between microwave radiations emitted by cloud-to-ground and cloud flashes events and bits transmission in wireless communication networks are also presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such effects are investigated in the literature. Narrow bipolar pulses were found to be the strongest source of interference that interfered with the bits transmission.
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41. |
- Ahmad, Mohd Riduan, et al.
(author)
-
Interference from cloud-to-ground and cloud flashes in wireless communication system
- 2014
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In: Electric power systems research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-7796 .- 1873-2046. ; 113, s. 237-246
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, cloud-to-ground (CG) flash and intra-cloud (IC) flash events that interfere with the transmission of bits in wireless communication system operating at 2.4 GHz were analyzed. Bit error rate (BER) and consecutive lost datagram (CLD) measurement methods were used to evaluate BER and burst error from 3 tropical thunderstorms on November 27, 28, and 29 during 2012 northeastern monsoon in Malaysia. A total of 850 waveforms from the electric field change recording system were recorded and examined. Out of these, 94 waveforms of very fine structure were selected which matched perfectly with the timing information of the recorded BER. We found that both CG and IC flashes interfered significantly with the transmission of bits in wireless communication system. The severity of the interference depends mainly on two factors namely the number of pulses and the amplitude intensity of the flash. The interference level becomes worst when the number of pulses in a flash increases and the amplitude intensity of pulses in a flash intensifies. During thunderstorms, wireless communication system has experienced mostly intermittent interference due to burst error. Occasionally, in the presence of very intense NBP event, wireless communication system could experience total communication lost. In CG flash, it can be concluded that PBP is the major. source of interference that interfered with the bits transmission and caused the largest burst error. In IC flash, we found that the typical IC pulses interfered the bits transmission in the same way as PBP and mixed events in CG flash and produced comparable and in some cases higher amount of burst error. NBP has been observed to interfere the bits transmission more severely than typical IC and CG flashes and caused the most severe burst error to wireless communication system.
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42. |
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43. |
- Ahmad, Mohd Riduan, et al.
(author)
-
Lightning interference in multiple antennas wireless communication systems
- 2012
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In: Journal of Lightning Research. - : Bentham open. - 1652-8034. ; 4, s. 155-165
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper analyzes the interference of lightning flashes with multiple antennas wireless communicationsystems operating in the microwave band at 2.4 GHz and 5.2 GHz. A bit error rate (BER) measurement method was usedto evaluate BER and packet error rate (PER) during 5 heavy thunderstorms on January 25 and March 17 to 20, 2011,respectively. In addition, BER measurements also were done on January 21 and March 30, 2011 under fair weather (FW)conditions providing a baseline for comparison. The Transmitter-Receiver separation was fixed at 10 meter with line-ofsight(LOS) consideration. We infer that lightning interfered with the transmitted digital pulses which resulted in a higherrecorded BER. The maximum recorded BER was 9.9·10-1 and the average recorded BER and PER were 2.07·10-2 and2.44·10-2 respectively during the thunderstorms with the average fair weather BER and PER values under the influence ofadjacent channel interference (ACI) and co-channel interference (CCI) being 1.75·10-5 and 7.35·10-6 respectively. Weconclude that multiple antennas wireless communication systems operating at the microwave frequency can besignificantly interfered by lightning.
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44. |
- Ahmad, M R, et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of bit error rate at 2,4 GHz due to lightning interference
- 2012
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In: Proceeding of the 31st International Conference on Lightning Protection ICLP 2012. - 9781467318976
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper analyzes the interference of lightning flashes with wireless communication systems operating in the microwave band at 2.4 GHz. A bit error rate (BER) measurement method was used to evaluate BER during 3 heavy thunderstorms on January 25, March 17 and March 20, all in year 2011. In addition, BER measurements also were done on January 21 and March 30, 2011 under fair weather (FW) conditions providing a baseline for comparison. The Transmitter-Receiver separation was fixed at 10 meter with line-of-sight (LOS) consideration. We infer that lightning interfered with the transmitted digital pulses which resulted in a higher recorded BER. The maximum recorded BER was 9.9·101 and the average recorded BER was 9.95·10 -3 during the thunderstorms with the average fair weather BER values under the influence of adjacent channel interference (ACI) and co-channel interference (CCI) being 1.75·10-5 and 7.35·10 -6 respectively. We conclude that wireless communication systems operating at 2.4 GHz microwave frequency can be significantly interfered by lightning.
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45. |
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46. |
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47. |
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48. |
- Ahmad, Mohd Riduan, et al.
(author)
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Preliminary Observations of Lightning Signature At 2400 MHz in Sweden Thunderstorm
- 2012
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper presents a preliminary observation of lightning signature at 2400 MHz. We believe this is the first time such observation was made in such frequency band. One positive ground discharge and one cloud discharge waveforms have been selected from a collection of waveforms recorded using fast and slow broadband antenna systems. In addition, waveforms recorded directly from 2400 MHz whip antenna associated with the selected ground and cloud discharges waveforms were observed. The measurements were carried out in Uppsala, Sweden in July 2012. We discovered a possible lightning signature at 2400 MHz with the existence of bursts of pulses happened to occur simultaneously with preliminary breakdown, negative return stroke and cloud pulses. These bursts of pulses possibly interfered in some ways with the transmitted bits leading to higher recorded error bits during the thunderstorm.
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49. |
- Ahmad, Mohd Riduan, et al.
(author)
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Similarity between the Initial Breakdown Pulses of Negative Ground Flash and Narrow Bipolar Pulses
- 2014
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In: 2014 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIGHTNING PROTECTION (ICLP). - : IEEE conference proceedings. - 9781479935444 ; , s. 810-813
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, temporal characteristics of several initial electric field pulses of preliminary breakdown process (PBP) from very close negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes are compared to close narrow bipolar pulses (NBPs) to observe any similarity that may exists. Interestingly, we found that the initial PBP pulses are similar to close NBP with zero crossing time less than 5 mu s, do not preceded by any slow field change and followed by pronounce static component. As NBPs are believed to be a result of relativistic runaway electron avalanches discharge, this finding is an indication that the initial electric field pulses of PBP are perhaps the result of the same discharge mechanism.
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50. |
- Ahmad, Noor Azlinda, 1978-
(author)
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Broadband and HF Radiation from Cloud Flashes and Narrow Bipolar Pulses
- 2011
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Remote measurement of electric field generated by lightning has played a major role in understanding the lightning phenomenon. Even though other measurements such as photographic and channel base current have contributed to this research field, due to practical reasons remote measurements of electric field is considered as the most useful tool in lightning research. This thesis discusses the remotely measured radiation field component of electric field generated by cloud flashes (ICs) and narrow bipolar pulses (NBPs). The associated HF radiation of these events at 3 MHz and 30 MHz are also discussed. To understand the initiation process of these discharges, a comparative study of the initial pulse of cloud flashes against the initial pulse of cloud to ground flashes was conducted. The result suggests that both discharges might have been initiated by similar physical processes inside the thunderclouds. Comparing the features of initial pulse of cloud and ground flashes with that of pulses that appeared in the later stages of cloud flashes suggests that the initiation process involved in both flashes are not very much different from the initiation of cloud flashes at the later stage. The average spectral amplitudes of electric field of full duration cloud flashes (180 ms) showed f -1 frequency dependence within the interval of 10 kHz to approximately 10 MHz. This is in contrast to the standard f -2 decrement (or even steeper ) at high frequency region for other lightning processes such as return strokes. It was suggested that small pulses which repeatedly appeared at the later stage of cloud flashes might have contributed to enhance the spectral amplitude at higher frequencies. Electric fields generated by Narrow Bipolar Pulses (NBPs), which are considered as one of the strongest sources of HF radiation, were measured in the tropics of Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Their features were also studied and show a good agreement with previously published observations of NBPs from other geographical regions. Thorough analyses and observations of these pulses found previously unreported sharp, fine peaks embedded in the rising and decaying edge of the electric field change of NBPs. Therefore it was suggested that these fine peaks are mostly responsible for the intense HF radiation at 30 MHz.
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