Lights of Saint Elmo or Lights of Saint Elmo ( eng. Saint Elmo's fire, Saint Elmo's light ) - discharge in the form of luminous beams or tassels (or corona discharge ), arising at the sharp ends of high objects (towers, masts, single trees, sharp peaks of rocks etc.) with a high electric field strength in the atmosphere . They are formed at the moments when the intensity of the electric field in the atmosphere at the tip reaches a value of about 500 V / m and higher, which most often happens during a thunderstorm or when it approaches, and in winter during blizzards . By physical nature, they are a special form of corona discharge .
The name of the phenomenon received on behalf of St. Elmo (Erasmus) - the patron saint of sailors in Catholicism . Seafarers their appearance promised hope of success, and in times of danger - and salvation.
May occur on the skin of the aircraft caught in a cloud of volcanic ash.
At present, methods have been developed that allow one to obtain such a discharge by artificial means. Some of them are available at home - for example, take off a synthetic t-shirt (or sweater) and send a needle to it. From a certain distance, a discharge appears at the tip of the needle, clearly visible in the dark, with a crackling hiss. It is also possible to cause a discharge at the tip of the needle, bringing it closer to the screen of a color TV with a kinescope , or next to an apparatus similar to a Tesla transformer , at a distance more than is necessary for an arc discharge.
In popular culture
- In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the lights of St. Elmo announce the breakthrough of the immaterium and the appearance of demons on this side of reality. This episode is also reflected in the animated film "Ultramarines" , which takes place in the Warhammer universe.
- The lights of Saint Elmo appear in a thunderstorm on the masts of the Pecode ship in the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville .
See also
- Lights of Saint Elmo - Motion Picture
- Incident with Boeing 747 over Java - “Fires of Saint Elmo” on an airplane during a volcanic eruption
Literature
- Shipchinsky V.V. Elm of the Holy of Lights // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.