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Gamma rays

Lightning Leaders Collide to Create Gamma-Ray Burst

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A remarkable event has been captured by researchers in Japan, where a lightning collision produced a gamma-ray burst, a high-energy emission typically observed from cosmic phenomena. The study published in Science Advances outlines how a sophisticated array of sensors recorded a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF) triggered by a lightning collision above central Japan. This discovery marks a significant leap in our understanding of the intense electromagnetic energy that can erupt in our own atmosphere.

Key Takeaways:

  • The event was captured in a winter storm over Kanazawa, central Japan, where a negative lightning leader met a positive leader rising from a broadcast tower, resulting in a TGF explosion.
  • The sensors recorded the gamma-ray burst beginning just 31 microseconds before the lightning paths connected and ended within 20 microseconds after the collision.
  • The electric discharge was recorded at -56 kiloamperes, confirming the tremendous energy involved.
  • The team used a multi-sensor system combining optical, radio, and high-energy detectors to map the sequence with unmatched clarity, capturing not only the flash but its exact timing with the leader strokes.
  • A faint, prolonged glow lasting around 80 milliseconds was detected, suggesting photonuclear reactions were triggered, where gamma photons collide with atmospheric atoms, releasing neutrons and producing more gamma rays.
  • This afterglow points to a process more akin to nuclear chain reactions than traditional lightning physics, indicating that storm-induced radiation could be more dynamic and complex than previously understood.

Statistics:

  • The gamma-ray burst was recorded beginning 31 microseconds before and ending 20 microseconds after the lightning paths connected.
  • The electric discharge was recorded at -56 kiloamperes.
  • The faint, prolonged glow lasted around 80 milliseconds.
  • The multi-sensor system used a combination of optical, radio, and high-energy detectors.

Sources:

  • Science Advances (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads6906)
  • University of Osaka (https://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en)
  • Daily Galaxy (https://dailygalaxy.com/2024/07/nasas-fermi-telescope-feature-gamma-ray/)
  • Daily Galaxy (https://dailygalaxy.com/newsletter/)

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