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SUMMARY:The Fascinating World of Lightning Research  -  Dr Daniel Mitchard
 \, Senior Lecturer Lightning Laboratory\, Cardiff University
DTSTART:20241022T100000Z
DTEND:20241022T110000Z
UID:TALK221380@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Vichawan (Print) Sakulsupich
DESCRIPTION: Lightning is one of the most powerful and unpredictable force
 s in nature with over 3 million strikes a day - around 34 per second. It i
 s something which many have experienced but few understand\, and is a fasc
 inating topic which reaches across traditional disciplines into sometimes 
 unexpected and surprising research areas.\n\nIn this seminar\, Dr Mitchard
  will outline how lightning works\, including types\, polarity\, distribut
 ion\, and real-time location\, as well as how it is impacted by and affect
 s the climate: it is responsible for around 15% of worldwide greenhouse ga
 s NOx emissions\; starts more than half of all uncontrolled wildfires in m
 any parts of the world\, and kills around 25\,000 people each year. There 
 are rare and recently discovered upper-atmosphere lightning phenomena incl
 uding pixies\, jets\, sprites\, ghosts\, and elves\; lightning has been ob
 served on Saturn and Jupiter but it is still a mystery for Venus and Mars\
 ; and it could be an important mechanism for initiating alien life.\n\nHe 
 will explain how lightning is made at Cardiff University's lightning labor
 atory\, the only such facility in Europe\, which can generate arcs eight t
 imes more powerful than the average natural lightning strike every three m
 inutes\, as well as the various high-speed cameras\, schlieren imaging\, a
 nd optical emission spectroscopy techniques used to characterise them. Res
 earch projects include ensuring that commercial airliners in-flight struck
  by lightning remain safe\, understanding tree mortality from lightning in
  African rainforests\, replication of above-cloud lightning using inhouse 
 designed and built environment chambers\, and using the topic of lightning
  as inspiration for artworks to better integrate the local community. See 
 rare footage of upper-atmosphere lightning\, how lightning initiated a wil
 dfire in the laboratory\, and what happened when a piggy bank was struck.\
 n\n----------------\n\nCAS UnionRoad is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom m
 eeting.\n\nTopic: CAS seminar: Dr Daniel Mitchard\nTime: Oct 22\, 2024 11:
 00 AM London\n\nJoin Zoom Meeting\nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85126438539?p
 wd=SEZc8esBAaN98xU5Jf44DQ17Nbl17i.1\n\nMeeting ID: 851 2643 8539\nPasscode
 : 461728
LOCATION:Chemistry Dept\, Unilever Lecture Theatre and Zoom
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