Fire of Saint-Elme

The fire of Saint-Elme is a physical phenomenon, occurring only under certain weather conditions , which appears by gleams appearing especially at the ends of the Mât S of the Navire S certain evenings. This phenomenon is sometimes also created in altitude, below the Cumulo-nimbus. In this case, one will speak about goblins.

Principle

The fire of Saint-Elme is a manifestation of the effect corona, which occurs when the Electric field near a conducting is enough strong to cause a discharge in the ambient air and thus to stimulate the Molécule S of Air which emit a characteristic Lumière then. Indeed, thanks to the To be able of the points, which involves an considerable increase of the electric field in the vicinity of a point, in the presence of an important electric field as that which accompanies a storm, the air is ionized at weak distances in front of the distance separating the various projections, and the recombination of the electron S with the Ion S is accompanied by the emission of light, which is the fire of Saint-Elme itself. So that the phenomenon occurs, the electric field must be sufficiently strong to accelerate the electrons at a minimum speed before those do not enter in collision with the other molecules, if not those cannot be ionized.

Origin

This phenomenon would draw its name from Elme saint or Érasme de Formia, owner of the sailors, who would have continued to fish after the lightning had struck the ground close to him; he was then requested by the sailors who feared the storms at sea; a fire of Saint-Elme is then seen like a sign of protection of the Saint.

See too

Foudre swell
transitory luminous Phénomènes of it
Image of a fire of St Elme in a Buddhist Temple in Thailand

In arts

the fire of Saint-Elme was illustrated by Hergé in 1960 in Tintin in Tibet : when the Captain Haddock climbing a mountainside, its Piolet is suddenly wrapped by a Electric field (curiously of color Vert E), and Tintin explains the phenomenon to him.

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