During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura.
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Some people seek out rare birds or chase storms. Patrick McFarland modified a Toyota minivan so he could track down the subtle electric "corona" that shines around trees, potentially shaping the ecology of forests.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL119591 #science #nature #ecology
If humans had ultraviolet vision, "I believe you’d see this swath of glow on the top of every tree under the thunderstorm. It’d probably look like a pretty cool light show, as if thousands of UV-flashing fireflies descended on the treetops."
-- Patrick McFarland
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During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell
Lots of critters can see UV - bees, birds, reindeer, salmon, …
This is a sample -
https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/15-animals-that-can-see-uv-light-5-332724/ -
During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell Any sharp point in enough of an electric field will create corona. Not sure what "new thing" they have discovered ?
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@coreyspowell Any sharp point in enough of an electric field will create corona. Not sure what "new thing" they have discovered ?
@Extelec @coreyspowell
I try to understand if they are talking about something significantly different to "St. Elmos Fire" that is a visible strong corona discharge known since many centuriesEspically becasue they never refer to this phenomen
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During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell ELECTRIFYING DISCOVERIES NEAR YOU
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E eyjala@mastodon.social shared this topic
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During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell
Finally, a technology from the back pages of Popular Mechanics makes it to the big time. -
During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell I feel that calling it aura is only getting esoterics picking up on that
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During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell Always knew the things I saw tripping were real
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@coreyspowell
Lots of critters can see UV - bees, birds, reindeer, salmon, …
This is a sample -
https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/15-animals-that-can-see-uv-light-5-332724/Cool!
Appears the emissions were iUVC at 260 nm wavelength. Bumblebees can see some in the middle of UVA (347 nm).
“Coronae moved sporadically among leaves on every tree branch in a narrow field of view while the thunderstorm was directly overhead. Coronae emitted ∼1011 photons at 260 nm, corresponding to electrical currents of ∼1 μA, derived from unique measurements relating corona intensity to tree electrical current.”
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During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
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Cool!
Appears the emissions were iUVC at 260 nm wavelength. Bumblebees can see some in the middle of UVA (347 nm).
“Coronae moved sporadically among leaves on every tree branch in a narrow field of view while the thunderstorm was directly overhead. Coronae emitted ∼1011 photons at 260 nm, corresponding to electrical currents of ∼1 μA, derived from unique measurements relating corona intensity to tree electrical current.”
@stepheneb @coreyspowell Your quote caused me to wonder “besides sub-atomic particles, what is not electrical to some degree” So thanks for sending me down the electron rabbithole & “strange metals” that depart from Fermi's electron transport theory.
And this - https://www.earth.com/news/bee-vision-reveals-a-hidden-world-that-we-cannot-see/ -
During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell
This phenomenon has been investigated for potential production of paclitaxel, the main ingredient for taxol, an anticancer drug made from yew trees.
Almost literally milking trees.
https://repository.tudelft.nl/record/uuid:0500bcc5-c263-4fe3-a428-87beac9ac806 -
If humans had ultraviolet vision, "I believe you’d see this swath of glow on the top of every tree under the thunderstorm. It’d probably look like a pretty cool light show, as if thousands of UV-flashing fireflies descended on the treetops."
-- Patrick McFarland
Reminds me of reading about the work of Robert O. Becker, back in the day.
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During thunderstorms, electric discharges in the air cause trees to glow with an ultraviolet aura. You can't see it with your eyes, but researchers have finally managed to measure it & recreate it in the lab.
https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ #science #nature
@coreyspowell I take it such a discharge works differently than a electric arc? Coz for that distance it would have needed to be 1k-2k volts?
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A alsternerd@akkoma.alster.space shared this topic
