An experimental search for gamma radiation associated with thunderstorm activity

Conference · Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:7062023

Fryberger, D

This experiment is a repeat of an earlier experiment, but with more sensitive apparatus and in a location with a higher incidence of thunderstorm activity. The earlier experiment was undertaken by Ashby and Whitehead to investigate the theory that ball lightning might be associated with the annihilation of small amounts of antimatter, and it yielded some very interesting but inconclusive results. In the course of about 12 months of data taking, four high rate bursts of gamma radiation were detected. These events lasted a few seconds and had many thousands of counts (16500, 5000, 3700, and [gt] 7700. Unfortunately, the association of these gamma ray bursts with thunderstorms or ball lightning was not clearly established, although one of the bursts did occur during a local thunderstorm in rough coincidence with a lightning bolt striking a flagpole about 100 yards from the gamma ray detection crystals. A pulse height spectrum taken for this burst (no spectrum was taken for the other three) exhibited a significant peak, well above background, the energy of which appeared to be compatible with the 511 keV positron annihilation line. While the peak could not be unambiguously attributed to positron annihilation, this certainly appeared to be the most likely source.

• Research Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 7062023
• Report Number(s): SLAC-PUB-5980; CONF-9207177-1; ON: DE93006939
• Resource Relation: Conference: 3. international symposium on ball lightning, Pasadena, CA (United States), 28-30 Jul 1992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
BALL LIGHTNING
GAMMA DETECTION
ANNIHILATION
ANTIMATTER
GAMMA RADIATION
POSITRONS
STORMS
ANTILEPTONS
ANTIPARTICLES
BASIC INTERACTIONS
DETECTION
DISASTERS
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
INTERACTIONS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
LEPTONS
LIGHTNING
MATTER
PARTICLE INTERACTIONS
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIATIONS
661300* - Other Aspects of Physical Science- (1992-)
440103 - Radiation Instrumentation- Nuclear Spectroscopic Instrumentation