From: mgm@clipper.ingr.com (Mike Marfell)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: Crop Circles (a different twist)
Keywords: Foolhardy experimenters take note...
Date: 21 Aug 92 20:14:44 GMT
Organization: Intergraph Advanced Processor Division - Palo Alto, CA

In article <1992Aug21.190743.27929@clipper.ingr.com>, kontos@clipper.ingr.com (Thorne Kontos) writes:
>      We at the M&K research division have pondered the creation of
> crop circles since someone here still thinks these things are made
> by aliens of higher intelligence. (Like an alien race capable of
> intergalactic travel has nothing better to do with its time than
> turn a few circles in the middle of a wheat field.) 
>      As a humorous entry into the field of crop circle research,
> we offered the Do-It-Yourself-Crop-Circle kit(tm). This post was 
> intended to be humorous, and we thank the sceptics who replied in
> kind.
>      However, we are considering the extremely remote possibility
> that crop circles could be caused by a natural phenomenon, and based
> on the frequency at which crop circles appear, the following gives the
> details on a new experiment to prove our theory. The most obvious
> choice of natural phenomenon is of course lightning. Recent Nasa
> experiments have shown it is possible to draw lightning from the
> sky during a rainstorm. This was accomplished using small rockets
> that had wires attached to them to provide a quick path to earth
> ground. (I saw this on PBS, so it is verifiable.) This experiment
> is the high technology version of Benjamin Franklin's famous kite-and-
> key-in-a-rainstorm experiment.
>      Our proposal is to repeat Nasa's experiment in the middle of a
> wheatfield during a rainstorm. The crops should be thoroughly soaked,
> with groundwater in between the rows. Since I doubt this has been tried,
> I figure someone with a slightly larger research budget than ours
> could carry this out in their spare time. Our research does show that 
> when lightning strikes water, it does tend to distribute itself in a
> circular pattern (Based solely on where the dead fish pop up; someone
> may want to show this is true, although I don't think the water is the 
> place to do this test.) It is our belief, that in the brief time it
> takes (current flow in the majority of high-current strokes works like
> this...current rises to its maximum in 1.5 to 10us, decreases to half value
> in 20 to 50us, and then falls to zero within 100 to 200us.) for a lightning
> strike; is if crop circles are a natural phenomenon, when lightning strikes
> the wet ground, it seeks the shortest path to ground, but the water tends to 
> dissipate the energy in a relatively circular pattern, and the force of the
> bolt knocks the crops down. It would be interesting to see if those crop
> circles that had appendages followed shallow depressions in the ground where
> water could collect...the same goes for pure circles, are they in shallow
> depressions where water could pool? 
>      Consider the water to be acting as a dielectric, if in a shallow
> circular pool, the water would act like a capacitor undergoing dielectric
> breakdown. The lightning would escape at the edges of the pool in an attempt
> to get to ground. This same dielectric breakdown has been observed in
> capacitors with the voltage flowing around the edges of the capacitor.
>      We at M&K are seriously considering this test as we feel it does have
> some valid points. We need skeptical input, and anyone familiar with the
> dielectric properties of water and earth at high voltages/currents should
> also help us by providing data as to how water reacts when subjected to
> lightning. Other materials that act as insulators/conductors at low 
> voltage/current combinations, react as very good conductors at high 
> voltages/currents. So help us in our quest to prove that crop circles could
> be a natural phenomenon. And believe us when we say, we are as skeptical as
> you. 
>      
>                                              Thanks for your time,
>                                              T.K. Kontos
>                                              (the K in M&K 8^))
> 


           YA! What he said!!


                                               Thanks for your support,
                                               Michael G. Marfell
                                               (the M in M&K 8^( )
-- 

Mike Marfell                                      mgm@clipper.ingr.com