(meteorobs) Meteor plasma / ionization question

[James Beauchamp]

Tom, 
In the case of sprites, similar to the low pressure lightning globes so popular in the 90's, the electric field magnitude is enough to pop electrons out of their orbits.  (or shells, depending on the kind of physicist you talk to)
When they fall back to their base electronic state, the energy is released in the form of visible photons.
Just my humble EM opinion, I suspect sprites are a product of the electric field dynamics and the lower pressure (lower pressure = lower breakdown potential).
For meteorites, the ions are due to the compression boundary as they hit the atmosphere.  The runaway thermal situation is high enough to produce plasma, which of course contains free electrons.
Just my thoughts on this one.


--- On Fri, 10/28/11, Thomas Ashcraft <ashcraft at heliotown.com> wrote:

From: Thomas Ashcraft <ashcraft at heliotown.com>
Subject: (meteorobs) Meteor plasma / ionization question
To: "Global Meteor Observing Forum" <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011, 12:41 PM


  

    
  
  
    I am writing a paper on transient luminous events, specifically red
    sprites and am wondering if this sentence is correct:

    

    
    "Sprites also create a form of plasma ionization although it may
    differ from meteor ionization in that it is supposedly a cold plasma
    ( fluorescence?) rather than the hot plasma of meteors. In any case,
    the sprite ionization proves to be reflective of very high frequency
    radio waves."

    

    I am assuming that meteor plasma is hot but is this actually the
    case?

    

    Thanks for your reply in advance.

    

    Thomas Ashcraft - New Mexico

  


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