Why Schonland Failed in His Search for Runaway Electrons From Thunderstorms
Abstract B.F.J. Schonland, advised and encouraged by C.T.R. Wilson, made two unsuccessful searches for runaway electrons from thunderstorms in the 1930s. These findings stand in marked contrast with research results over the last decade and ironically set this field of research back many decades. Schonland's lack of success is traced to gamma ray attenuation in the atmosphere above Johannesburg (1,780 m MSL) and to his restriction to nine thunderstorms.
Authors
- Earle Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1488-3361)
- A. Chilingarian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2018-9715)
- H. Mkrtchyan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-1384)
- G. Hovsepyan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1027-709X)
Institutions
- Parsons (United States) (US)
- A. Alikhanyan National Laboratory (AM)
- American University of Armenia (AM)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
- Published
- 2025-05-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024jd042350
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Lightning and Electromagnetic Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.15
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy