RUI: A Wide-Area Array of Detectors to Measure the Energy Spectrum of Lightning-Generated X-Rays and the Atmospheric Conditions that Support Them

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Lightning, the massive dielectric breakdown of the atmosphere that occurs during thunderstorms, is a dramatic process that demands study and explanation. The mechanisms that cause lightning and the mechanisms by which lightning proceeds in storms are complex and still areas of active study. In fact, understanding lightning is considered one of the great-unsolved problems of atmospheric physics. This research seeks to investigate a particularly intriguing feature of lightning that was verified experimentally only recently - the production of X-rays by lightning.To achieve this goal, an array of 10 X-Ray/lightning detectors will be built and deployed at Monmouth College and at high schools throughout western Illinois and eastern Iowa, which will accumulate lightning, X-ray, E-field and atmospheric data for long time periods. There is clear evidence that a large ground based detector array can measure X-ray spectra from natural lightning. When the resulting spectra are combined with electric field and meteorological data, significant understandings of lightning, lightning generated X-rays and the storms that produce them can be obtained.Intellectual Merit: The goal of this research is to measure the energy spectrum of natural lightning while recording data on electric field strength and meteorological data. The following specific and important questions will be addressed in this study.1) What is the energy spectrum of natural lightning generated X-rays?2) Which storms produce lightning generated X-rays, which don't, and how are they different?3) How can the energy spectrum of lightning generated X-rays and environmental conditions be used to understand how lightning is generated?4) How can the energy spectrum of lightning generated X-rays be used to test models of lightning formation and propagation?Broader Impact: By measuring the X-ray spectra while recording other data, significant contributions to understanding lightning and the storms that form lightning can be made. These data will be an important part of advancing this understanding.The project also has broad impact through its outreach component. Undergraduate and high-school students will play an active role in both taking and analyzing data. This study will collect data for extended periods of time at many locations and provides a small undergraduate college a considerable outreach opportunity. Research experiences like this are sound pedagogy and will allow college faculty to engage students in new and creative ways.