Abstract
IT has often been observed that snowstorms are accompanied by pronounced electrical effects; blown snowflakes and the air in their vicinity become highly charged. No explanation has been offered for the mechanism involved in snowstorm electrification, but analysis1 shows that, despite the erratic and often contradictory results, it is possible to discern a pattern in the electrification which is explicable qualitatively in terms of the theory of charge transfer associated with temperature gradients in ice2. According to the theory, which was verified experimentally, charge is separated when temperature gradients are applied along ice specimens, or when two pieces of ice of different temperature are momentarily brought into contact; the colder ice acquires positive charge and the warmer ice negative charge.
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References
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LATHAM, J., STOW, C. Electrification of Snowstorms. Nature 202, 284–285 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/202284a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/202284a0
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