Photoacoustic Sounds from Meteors.
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR), Prague (Czech Republic)
High-speed photometric observations of meteor fireballs have shown that they often produce high-amplitude light oscillations with frequency components in the kHz range, and in some cases exhibit strong millisecond flares. We built a light source with similar characteristics and illuminated various materials in the laboratory, generating audible sounds. Models suggest that light oscillations and pulses can radiatively heat dielectric materials, which in turn conductively heats the surrounding air on millisecond timescales. The sound waves can be heard if the illuminated material is sufficiently close to the observer’s ears. The mechanism described herein may explain many reports of meteors that appear to be audible while they are concurrently visible in the sky and too far away for sound to have propagated to the observer. This photoacoustic (PA) explanation provides an alternative to electrophonic (EP) sounds hypothesized to arise from electromagnetic coupling of plasma oscillation in the meteor wake to natural antennas in the vicinity of an observer.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Secretary of Energy (S)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1427219
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-2015-1873J; 579529
- Journal Information:
- Sandia journal manuscript; Not yet accepted for publication, Journal Name: Sandia journal manuscript; Not yet accepted for publication; ISSN 9999-0014
- Publisher:
- Sandia
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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