Scientific research: corona discharges at top of trees during storms (fresh: 2026)
- Thread starter LW1DSE
- Start date
Ham4CW
Administrator
Imagine how the seafarers of old felt when they witnessed St Elmo's fire around the mastheads of their ships!
A number of years ago we had some electrical storms here in the UK, and at the time I had a 130' wire antenna at about 30'. I was sitting in the shack and I could hear a continuous hissing sound. After some investigation I realized that the sound was coming from a corona discharge between the end of the antenna wire and a cold water pipe in the house.
There was a pale blue glow, maybe four inches or so across at the end of the antenna wire. I didn't dare touch it!
On another occasion there were lightening discharges maybe six or seven miles away. Each time there was a flash of lightening I could see and hear sparks jumping across the plates of the tuning capacitor in my ATU.
73, Mark...
A number of years ago we had some electrical storms here in the UK, and at the time I had a 130' wire antenna at about 30'. I was sitting in the shack and I could hear a continuous hissing sound. After some investigation I realized that the sound was coming from a corona discharge between the end of the antenna wire and a cold water pipe in the house.
There was a pale blue glow, maybe four inches or so across at the end of the antenna wire. I didn't dare touch it!
On another occasion there were lightening discharges maybe six or seven miles away. Each time there was a flash of lightening I could see and hear sparks jumping across the plates of the tuning capacitor in my ATU.
73, Mark...