Atmospheric Electricity Lecture Notes
Table of Contents
(note the listing is in reverse chronological order)
Wed., Apr. 29 - The last day of
classes, Final Exam question, "Lightning and Climate" Pt. 2,
course evaluation
Mon., Apr. 27 - Calbuco volcano in
Chile, a final exam question and a set of short answer questions,
"Lightning and Climate" Pt. 1 (the 2012 Franklin Lecture)
Fri., Apr. 24 - In place of our normal class meeting, watch the
PBS Nova Video
"At the Edge of Space" at your convenience
Wed., Apr. 22 - Sprites, blue jets,
elves; x-rays produced during triggered lightning discharges;
Schumann resonance; 2 final exam questions
Mon., Apr. 20 - Volcanic lightning,
lightning on other planets and another final exam question
Fri., Apr. 17 - Ground based optical
measurements of lightning and a final exam question
Wed., Apr. 15 - Observing and
locating lightning from satellites
Mon., Apr. 13 - Lightning
spectroscopy
Fri., Apr. 10 - Lightning location
pt. 2b - interferometry; thunder
Wed., Apr. 08 - Lightning location
pt. 2a - VHF time of arrival
Mon., Apr. 06 - Lightning location
pt. 1 - magnetic direction finding & time of arrival as used
in the National Lightning Detection Network
Fri., Apr. 03 - Lightning strikes to
aircraft, the initiation of rocket triggered lightning discharges
Wed., Apr. 01 - Lightning protection
pt. 2 - electronics
Mon., Mar. 30 - Lightning protection
pt. 1 - structures
Fri., Mar. 27 - The nearest neighbor
probability distribution function
Wed., Mar. 25 - Lightning E field
recording systems, the traveling current source mode,
using triggered lightning to validate National Lightning Detection
Network data
Mon., Mar. 23 - An experimental test
of the transmission line model, estimates of peak I
and peak dI/dt in natural lightning
derived from electric radiation field measurements
Wed., Mar. 11 - Midterm Exam
Mon., Mar. 9 - Midterm exam
review (answers
to the example questions)
Fri., Mar. 6 - Lightning return
stroke current models and experimental tests of the models
Wed., Mar. 4 - Measured peak I and
dI/dt in return strokes, determining return currents from remote E
and B field measurements
Mon., Mar. 2 - Measuring lightning
return stroke currents
Fri., Feb. 27 - Lightning
phenomenology pt. 2
Wed., Feb. 25 - Lightning
phenomenology pt. 1
Mon., Feb. 23 - The thunderstorm as
a current source, the Maxwell current
Fri., Feb. 20 - Using multi-station
E field change measurements to determine the locations and amounts
of charge neutralized by lightning discharges
Wed., Feb. 18 - Cloud
electrification pt. 2
Mon., Feb. 16 - Cloud
electrification pt. 1
Supplementary
reading - Cold clouds
Fri., Feb. 13 - Small ion attachment
to particles, charged to uncharged particle fraction
Wed., Feb. 11 - Cosmic rays,
attachment of free electrons to O2,
small ion balance equation
Mon., Feb. 09 - Cloud screening
layers, sources of atmospheric ionization needed for small ion
creation
Fri., Feb. 06 - Ion counters and
conductivity meters
Wed., Feb. 04 - Electrical currents
in air, mobility, conductivity, continuity equation
Mon., Feb. 02 - E field enhancement,
a balloon-borne E field mills and measurements of E fields in
clouds
Fri., Jan. 30 - Conducting sphere in
a uniform electric field, electric field enhancement
Wed., Jan. 28 - Electrostatic
potential, "slow" and "fast" electric field antennas
Mon., Jan. 26 - E field inside and
at the surface of a conductor, electric field mills
Fri., Jan. 23 - The electrical
experiments of Benjamin Franklin, electrostatics review pt.1:
Coulomb's law, electric field, Gauss' Law
Wed., Jan. 21 - Historical
developments in atmospheric electricity
Fri., Jan. 16 - Global electric
circuit pt. 2, Carnegie curve
Wed., Jan 14 - First
day of class, global electric circuit pt. 1