NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) : Possible pdf

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) : Possible

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We address the question of whether ice crystals with habits typically encountered by lightning discharges may serve as catalysts for the production of NOx by lightning. If so, and if the effect is sufficiently large, it would need to be taken into account in estimates of global NOx production by lightning. In this study, we make a series of plausible assumptions about the temperatures and concentrations of reactant species in the environment of discharges and we postulate a mechanism by which ice crystals could adsorb nitrogen atoms. We then compare production rates between uncatalyzed and catalyzed reactions at 2000 K, 3000 K, and 4000 K, temperatures observed in lightning channels during the cool-down period after a return stroke. Catalyzed NO production rates are greater at 2000 K, whereas uncatalyzed production occurs most rapidly at 4000 K. The channel temperature stays around 2000 K for a longer period of time than at 4000 K.

The longer residence time at 2000 K is sufficient to allow fresh reactants to participate in the mix in. Therefore, our results suggest that nearly three times as much NO per flash is produced by ice-catalyzed reactions as compared with uncatalyzed reactions

• Creator/s: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS
• Date: 12/5/2011
• Year: 2011
• Book Topics/Themes: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ICE, LIGHTNING, NITRIC OXIDE, GEOPHYSICS, CATALYTIC ACTIVITY, TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE, DESORPTION, ADSORPTION, Peterson, Harold, Beasley, William

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