Abstract
The GRAPES-3 muon telescope located in Ooty, India records rapid () variations in the muon intensity during major thunderstorms. Out of a total of 184 thunderstorms recorded during the interval of April 2011–December 2014, the one on December 1, 2014 produced a massive potential of 1.3 GV. The electric field measured by four well-separated (up to 6 km) monitors on the ground was used to help estimate some of the properties of this thundercloud, including its altitude and area that were found to be 11.4 km above mean sea level and , respectively. A charging time of 6 min to reach 1.3 GV implied the delivery of a power of by this thundercloud that was moving at a speed of . This work possibly provides the first direct evidence for the generation of gigavolt potentials in thunderclouds that could also possibly explain the production of highest-energy (100 MeV) gamma rays in the terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.
- Received 6 January 2019
- Revised 21 January 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.105101
© 2019 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
Muons Reveal Record-Breaking Thunderstorm Voltage
Published 15 March 2019
A thunderstorm probed with atmospheric muons had an electric potential exceeding one billion volts, much higher than values measured previously.
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