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Illustration of St. Elmo's fire on a ship at sea Electrostatic discharge flashes across the windscreen of a KC-10 cockpit.. St. Elmo's fire (also called witchfire or witch's fire) [1] is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal horn [2] in an atmospheric electric field.
Shortly after 13:40 UTC (20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean, south of Java, the crew first noticed an unusual effect on the windscreen similar to St. Elmo's fire, while Moody was heading to the lavatory. [1] Despite the weather radar showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.
Corona discharges can also happen in weather, such as thunderstorms, where objects like ship masts or airplane wings have a charge significantly different from the air around them (St. Elmo's fire). In many high-voltage applications, corona is an unwanted side effect.
Pilots evacuating in preparation for Hurricane Idalia observed bright blue light outside their aircraft, an event called St. Elmo’s fire. Here’s what causes it.
Rob Lowe has a lot of ideas for the long-gestating St. Elmo's Fire sequel — and he's sharing them with costar Demi Moore. The 9-1-1: ...
Rotor tip lights produce a visually similar but distinct effect. The effect is often and incorrectly believed to be an electrical phenomenon, either as a result of static electricity as in St. Elmo's Fire, or due to the interaction of sand with the rotor (triboelectric effect), or a piezoelectric property of quartz sand.
Judd Nelson starred in many '80s hits like "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmo's Fire" and has gone on to have quite the career. FEB 1 1987; Actor Judd Nelson; Photo cred: Getty.
St. Elmo's Fire and normal sparks both can appear when high electrical voltage affects a gas. St. Elmo's fire is seen during thunderstorms when the ground below the storm is electrically charged, and there is high voltage in the air between the cloud and the ground. The voltage tears apart the air molecules and the gas begins to glow.