Abstract
IT is with great diffidence that I approach this difficult subject, but the theory that the incandescence of meteors is due to the heat generated by the friction between these bodies and the molecules of gas composing our atmosphere I have always found difficult to believe. The following theory is one which has occurred to me, and seems quite a plausible one. Meteors are usually of a metalliferous nature, and consequently will have a comparatively low electrical resistance. When they approach the earth they will enter a magnetic field, and they will cut the lines of force of this field at a high velocity. A high electrical potential will be generated, and consequently electric currents which will be inversely proportional to the resistance. The electrical energy thus produced will be dissipated in heat, and if of sufficient intensity will raise the meteor to incandescence. The truth or otherwise of this theory could, I believe, be calculated, as the data necessary for doing so will be at the disposal of readers of NATURE who make this branch of astronomy their study. This theory may have already been advanced, as I am not in touch with the latest developments of the science.
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BROWN, G. Incandescence of Meteors. Nature 72, 604 (1905). https://doi.org/10.1038/072604b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/072604b0
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