Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-30
CHEAT LIGHTNING"
The Inapplicability Of the Distant.
Storm Theory.

| From Nature.
The so-called "heat lightning" or sum-
| mer lightning has long been a matter of
| controversy. The phenomenon in question
| is the appearance Of lightning without
| thunder pleasant summer evenings,
which was formerly asserted by almost all
| authorities to be the reflection of lightning
| due to some very distant storm, but Is now
| quite generally regarded as analogous to
the brush or glow discharge of an electro
cal machine. The probability seems to be
that these explanations will both hold in
different cases. Professor Geikie. the
| noted geologist, describes an Alpine light
ming display which he thinks shows con-
| clusively that the distant storm theory is
| lnapplicable He says:
Late in the afternoon wisps of white mist
| began to gather round the summit of the
Jungfrau, and streaks of this cloud took
| shape In the higher air above the great
mountain ridge that extends from the Sill
berhorn to the Breithorn. About 8 p. m.
| l noticed faint, quivering light overhead.
| supplemented by occasional flashes Of
| greater brilliance and different color. These
manifestations spidy increased in distinct
ness, and continued to play only along the
| opposite mountain ridge. not extending into
| the regions beyond, so far as these could
| be seen from here, though 1 have since
learned that an Independent series of
flashes was seen around the Schilthorn on
| tiuS sue VI LIS valley. MOI d single peal Oh
| thunder was at any time audible. \ long
bank of cloud formed at higher level than
| the submits OF the mountain ridge, and at
some distance on the farther side Of it, so
that the stars, elsewhere brilliant, were
hidden along the strip of sky above the
crest.
AS one watched the display, it was easy
to distinguish more definitely the two kinds
or discharge One of them took the form
| of family luminous reddish or pink light
which shot with a tremendous streamer-
like motion in horizontal beams that pro-
ceeded apparently from left to right, as If
their starting point lay somewhere about
the back OF the Jungfrau. These streamers
so closely resembled the aurora borealis
that had they appeared alone, one would
have been Inclined to wonder whether the
northern lights" had not here made an
49,
The brighter discharges were not only far
more brilliant, but much more momentary.
They had pale, bluish-white color. and
came and went with the rapidity of ordi-
| nary lightning. But they were clearly con-
nected with the mountains, and not refiec-
tons from series of distant flashes. Some
times they arose on the other side of the
great ridge, allowing it's jagged crest to be
seen against the illuminated surface of the
cloud beyond, but leaving all the precipices
and slopes On this side in shade. In other
cases they clearly showed themselves on
this side OF the mountains, lighting up es-
pecially the snowbasins and glaciers with
the dark crags around them Nothing of
the nature of forked lightning was observ-
ed among them. In one instance the flash
or horizontal band of vivid light mile or
two in length, seemed to shoot upward
from the slope at the base of the preci-
pices of the Silberhorn, as IL it sprang out
OF the ground, having a sharply defined
and brilliant base. rapidly diminishing In
intensity upward, and vanishing before
reaching halfway up to the crest.
But the most singular feature of the more
brilliant white discharges was to be seen
when one of the great couloirs of snow or
portion Of a glacier remained for a minute
or two continuously luminous with a faint
blush white light. After an interval the
same or another portion, perhaps several
miles distant. would CLEAN out in the same
way. My first impression was that this ra-
dance could only be reflection from some
Illuminated part of the cloud. But could
not satisfy myself of the existence of any
continuously bright portions of the cloud.
Moreover. the luminosity Of the snow and
Ice remained local and sporadic. as if the
beam Of a searchlight had been directed to
one special part of the mountain declivity,
and then after a while to another. . =
The whole display afforded an admiral bly,
complete demonstration of the erroneous
ness of the notion formerly prevalent that
summer lightning is only the reflection of
distant ordinary lightning, and of the truth
OF the more recent views as to the nature
of the phenomenon