Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Time exposure of a bean plant in a strong electric field in a dark room. A second exposure shows the plant and vase. The St. Elmo’s fire can be seen with a dark adapted eye.
- Figure 2.
A U+ stroke. The spark starts at the bottom smaller electrode and propagates upward to the larger electrode which acts as the negatively charged cloud. Note branching in direction of propagation.
- Figure 3.
A D-stroke. The spark starts at the smaller top electrode which would be the cloud. Before the spark propagates all the way to the ground on the larger electrode, it is met by a return stroke.
- Figure 4.
A piece of Sitka spruce wood after having many laboratory sparks pass through it. The summer wood is selectively removed by the spark channel. Only spring wood remains.
- Figure 5.
A spark to a shallow puddle of fresh water. The resistance of the water is sufficiently large so that electrical breakdown occurs horizontally over the surface of the water. A similar spark will penetrate salt water without spreading over the surface. Similar lateral spreading in shallow soil can be lethal to campers or animals in the proximity of the stroke.
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