In reply to [email protected]'s message of Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:53:23
-0400 (EDT):
Hi,
[snip]
>Robin,
>
>It's been a long time since I looked at it, but a bare, high kinetic
>energy e-p collision (not just a "coulombic deflection") can emit an
>unpredictable variety of subatomic particle sprays which must, of course,
>satisfy all conservation laws.
That depends on how high the kinetic energy is, and that gets complicated.
I know of no particles other than the electron/positron, the
neutrino/anti-neutrino and photons(?) that have a mass less than 782 keV.
From what I have gathered on the Internet, the total voltage available to a
lightning bolt probably lies in the multi megavolt range, somewhere between
10-100 MV.
However the actual instantaneous energy acquired by an individual particle will
depend on the free path it has, so will mostly be a lot less than if it were
able to accelerate over the full length of the bolt.
>
>An e-p collision involving collective electric or magnetic forces may be
>quite different. If we just use Newtonian physics and view an electron
>as a classical charged particle traveling in a ballistic current, or in
>an arc, its kinetic energy ("KE") may be well below 782 keV, but the
>magnetic field it couples to can possess enormous momentum, allowing it
>to surmount potential barriers greater than KE.
>
>A mechanical analogy:
>A basketball must surmount the gravitational barrier of a 1m high ramp.
>If its initial kinetic energy is equivalent to the barrier's potential
>energy "g X 1[m]"(g = gravit const), it rolls up and over.
>However, a suffiently strong constant wind can push it over the ramp,
>even if the ball never reaches a speed of "g X 1[m]".
>
>I believe that a classical electron encountering a barrier in an intense
>current slows and receives continual coulombic and magnetic momentum
>"kicks" similar to having a strong wind at its back.
I am happy to accept alternative methods by which energy may be acquired. :)
>
>My guess (and it is only that) is that bare e-p collisions cannot produce
>the thunderstorm results.
I think some neutrons will be created this way, but I have no idea how many.
BTW another possibility is that some particles will acquire enough energy (by
whatever means), to split a deuteron resulting in a free proton and neutron.
I also have no idea how many this method would produce, however perhaps combined
with direct neutron formation it might explain the results.
D-D fusion is of course also a possibility, but I think this would produce very
few due to the scarcity of D and thus the very low chances of two of them
getting together. Unless of course there is some chemical/physical heavy water
enrichment process occurring in some raindrops.
Regards,
Robin van Spaandonk
http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
