St. elmo's fire: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:11, 20 February 2012

St. Elmo's fire

(Also called Elmo's fire, corposant.) Corona or point discharges that occur when the environmental electric field is high, typically at the tips of sharp conductors that enhance the electric field.

This name was given the phenomenon by Mediterranean sailors who regarded it as a visitation of their patron saint, Elmo (Erasmus). Their superstition also led to the equivalent term corposant. An appearance of St. Elmo's fire was regarded as a good omen, for it tends to occur in those latter phases of a violent thunderstorm when most of the surface wind and wave disturbance is over.

Schonland, B. F. J. 1950. The Flight of Thunderbolts. 44–47.

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-<div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">(<br/>''Also called'' Elmo's fire, corposant.) [[Corona]] or [[point discharges]] that occur when  the environmental [[electric field]] is high, typically at the tips of sharp conductors that enhance the  electric field.</div><br/> <div class="paragraph">This name was given the phenomenon by Mediterranean sailors who regarded it as a visitation  of their patron saint, Elmo (Erasmus). Their superstition also led to the equivalent term corposant.  An appearance of St. Elmo's fire was regarded as a good omen, for it tends to occur in those latter  phases of a violent [[thunderstorm]] when most of the surface wind and wave disturbance is over.</div><br/> </div><div class="reference">Schonland, B. F. J. 1950. The Flight of Thunderbolts. 44&ndash;47. </div><br/>
+<div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">(''Also called'' Elmo's fire, corposant.) [[Corona]] or [[point discharges]] that occur when  the environmental [[electric field]] is high, typically at the tips of sharp conductors that enhance the  electric field.</div><br/> <div class="paragraph">This name was given the phenomenon by Mediterranean sailors who regarded it as a visitation  of their patron saint, Elmo (Erasmus). Their superstition also led to the equivalent term corposant.  An appearance of St. Elmo's fire was regarded as a good omen, for it tends to occur in those latter  phases of a violent [[thunderstorm]] when most of the surface wind and wave disturbance is over.</div><br/> </div><div class="reference">Schonland, B. F. J. 1950. The Flight of Thunderbolts. 44&ndash;47. </div><br/>
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