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Atmospheric Electric Field Effects in Cosmic Rays

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Cosmic Rays in the Earth’s Atmosphere and Underground

Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library ((ASSL,volume 303))

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Abstract

Discussions on the possible acceleration of charged particles by atmospheric electric fields in periods of thunderstorms started to appear in the scientific literature many years ago. Wilson (1925) assumed that electrons in thunderstorms clouds can be accelerated up to very high energies, as in CR. There were many attempts to observe effects of charged particle acceleration by atmospheric electric fields before or during thunderstorms (e.g., Shonland, 1930; Shonland and Vilfoen, 1933; Clay et al., 1952), but the results were contradictory and not clear. The first real CR fluctuations connected with precipitations out of cumulous-nimbus and nimbostratus clouds were observed by Attolini et al. (1971), but they suggested that the most probable cause of the observed phenomenon are the air temperature variations in the atmosphere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Israel Cosmic Ray Center, Space Weather Center, and Emilio Segrè Observatory, Tel Aviv University, Israel Space Agency, and Technion, Qazrin, Israel

    Lev I. Dorman

  2. Cosmic Ray Department of IZMIRAN, Russian Academy of Science, Troitsk, Russia

    Lev I. Dorman

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  1. Lev I. Dorman
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Dorman, L.I. (2004). Atmospheric Electric Field Effects in Cosmic Rays. In: Cosmic Rays in the Earth’s Atmosphere and Underground. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 303. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2113-8_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2113-8_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-015-6987-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-2113-8

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