
Originally Posted by
necrotic freak
actually its a name of a saint.. St. Elmo's fire..
mugawas ni cya kasagaran sa dagat labi na tinguwan or naay storm. mga sailors kasagaran maka witness ani.. st. elmo ang patron saint sa mga karaang sailors nga manalipod nila sa ilang voyage. ang uban nag tuo nga its a sign of omen.. pero diri sa ato santilmo kahadlokan nga espirito ug pospuro ray kamatyan..hehe
Scientific Explanation:
Although referred to as "fire", St. Elmo's Fire is in fact plasma. The electric field around the object in question causes ionization of the air molecules, producing a faint glow easily visible in low-light conditions. Approximately 1,000 - 30,000 volts per centimeter is required to induce St. Elmo's Fire; however, this number is greatly dependent on the geometry of the object in question. Sharp points tend to require lower voltage levels to produce the same result because electric fields are more concentrated in areas of high curvature, thus discharges are more intense at the end of pointed object[5].
The nitrogen and oxygen in earth's atmosphere causes St. Elmo's Fire to fluoresce with blue or violet light; this is similar to the mechanism that causes neon lights to glow[5].