St. Elmo’s fire, or corona discharge, is commonly observed on the periphery of propellers and along the wing tips, windshield, and nose of aircraft flying in dry snow, in ice crystals, or near thunderstorms. "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" is a song recorded by John Parr. The atmosphere in this neighbourhood appeared to be very highly electrified for eight or ten days about this time. St. Elmo's fire is named after St. Erasmus of Formia (also called St. Elmo, one of the two Italian names for St. Erasmus, the other being St. Erasmo), the patron saint of sailors. Earlier, Xenophanes of Colophon had alluded to the phenomenon. 101), Alcaeus frag. St. Elmo’s fire, or corona discharge, is commonly observed on the periphery of propellers and along the wing tips, windshield, and nose of aircraft flying in dry snow, in ice crystals, or near thunderstorms. Burning like St. Elmo's sacred fire[36].
St. Elmo's fire was seen around the coil and was said to have lit up the wings of butterflies with blue halos as they flew around. The phenomenon sometimes appeared on ships at sea during thunderstorms and was regarded by sailors with religious awe for its glowing ball of light, accounting for the name. Updates? Corrections? St. Elmo's Fire is also mentioned in the novel, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques. St. Elmo's fire is a form of plasma.
This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/science/Saint-Elmos-fire, Saint Elmo’s fire - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). St. Elmo's torchlike flames shoot off the mast of a ship at sea. Weather Elements. 101), Alcaeus frag.
A minute thereafter, by Heald's estimation, he first noticed a dim "blue flame" flickering along the backbone girder about one-quarter the length abaft the bow to the tail. Erasmus is…. It was described as coming down the stove pipe and rolling across the floor following Ma's knitting needles; it didn't burn the floor (pages 309-310).
In Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. describes seeing a corposant in the Horse latitudes of the northern Atlantic Ocean. I had no sooner got on horseback than I observed the tips of both the horse's ears to be quite luminous: the edges of my hat had the same appearance.
On the children's television series The Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982), Episode 4 shows St. Elmo's Fire affecting the ship as it sailed past the Strait of Magellan. rejoined Emily. The phenomenon as described, however, is more similar to ball lightning. I was soon deprived of these luminaries by a shower of moist snow which immediately began to fall. [5][6], References to St. Elmo's fire can be found in the works of Julius Caesar (De Bello Africo, 47), Pliny the Elder (Naturalis Historia, book 2, par.
Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan also notes the phenomenon affecting Winston Niles Rumfoord's dog, Kazak, the Hound of Space, in conjunction with solar disturbances of the chrono-synclastic infundibulum. 34, and Antonio Pigafetta's journal of his voyage with Ferdinand Magellan. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Saint Elmo’s fire, luminosity accompanying brushlike discharges of atmospheric electricity that sometimes appears as a faint light on the extremities of pointed objects such as church towers or the masts of ships during stormy weather, or along electric power lines.
Braid also writes that one of his friends had a similar experience on the evening of the preceding Saturday: in which, his friend reported, he had seen "his horse's ears being the same as two burning candles, and the edges of his hat being all in a flame" (p.471). St. Elmo's fire is a bright blue or violet glow, appearing like fire in some circumstances, from tall, sharply pointed structures such as masts, spires, and chimneys, and on aircraft wings or nose cones. Additional reference may be made from Yale University's collection. There was time for him to remark to his wife, "Oh, heavens, the thing is afire," for her to reply, "Where?" As, thanked be God, we had better weather after it".[20].
In the 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, the author describes the fire occurring while sailing during a subterranean electrical storm (Chapter 35, Page 191): On the mast already I see the light play of a lambent St. Elmo's fire; the outstretched sail catches not a breath of wind, and hangs like a sheet of lead.
In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim sees the phenomenon on soldiers' helmets and on rooftops. St. Elmo's fire photographed on the flight deck of an airliner, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Elmo%27s_fire&oldid=984238673, Articles with disputed statements from September 2020, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles lacking in-text citations from June 2013, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, In ancient Greece, the appearance of a single one was called, After the medieval period, it was sometimes associated with the. Is this phenomenon related to ball lightning?"
The nitrogen and oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere cause St. Elmo's fire to fluoresce with blue or violet light; this is similar to the mechanism that causes neon lights to glow. For example, in Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), during a thunderstorm above the ramparts of the castle: "And what is that tapering of light you bear?" Japanese wins solo yacht race across Pacific. Nikola Tesla created St. Elmo's fire in 1899 while testing a Tesla coil at his laboratory in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.
[note 2], Weeks earlier, reportedly on 17 January 1817, a luminous snowstorm occurred in Vermont and New Hampshire. Sharp points lower the necessary voltage because electric fields are more concentrated in areas of high curvature, so discharges preferentially occur and are more intense at the ends of pointed objects.
William Noah, a silversmith convicted in London of stealing 2,000 pounds of lead, while en route to Sydney, New South Wales on the convict transport ship Hillsborough, recorded two such observations in his detailed daily journal. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. I noticed a strange eerie light coming through the window high above in the Navigator's cabin and as I peered through the dark all around us I saw a startling phenomenon.
", USA Today "Ask the Captain": Playing with (St. Elmo's) Fire. Saint Elmo's fire appeared as static discharges on roof peaks, fence posts, and the hats and fingers of people. 34, and Antonio Pigafetta's journal of his voyage with Ferdinand Magellan. Omissions? He quickly reassures me: "It is a familiar phenomenon seen often on ships. It was often considered a bad omen as it played havoc with compasses and equipment".