Luminous electrical phenomena in Huntsville, Alabama, tornadoes on April 3, 1974

Unusual lightning and varicolored luminous phenomena were observed on the evening of April 3, 1974, when severe tornadoes passed through Madison County, Alabama. Photographs and eyewitness accounts of this electrical activity are related to the trajectories of the tornadoes and the damage areas they produced

Thunderstorm observations from Space Shuttle

Results of the Nighttime/Daytime Optical Survey of Lightning (NOSL) experiments done on the STS-2 and STS-4 flights are covered. During these two flights of the Space Shuttle Columbia, the astronaut teams of J. Engle and R. Truly, and K. Mattingly II and H. Hartsfield took motion pictures of thunderstorms with a 16 mm cine camera. Film taken during daylight showed interesting thunderstorm cloud formations, where individual frames taken tens of seconds apart, when viewed as stereo pairs, provided information on the three-dimensional structure of the cloud systems. Film taken at night showed clouds illuminated by lightning with discharges that propagated horizontally at speeds of up to 10 to the 5th m/sec and extended for distances on the order of 60 km or more

Lightning observations from the Space Shuttle

Motion pictures were taken at night from the space shuttle that show lightning discharges spreading horizontally at speeds of .00001 m/sec for distances over 60 km. Tape recordings were made of the accompanying optical pulses detected with a photocell optical system. The observations show that lightning is often a mesoscale phenomenon that conveys large amounts of electric charge and energy derived from an extensive cloud system into a cloud-to-ground discharge. Several video tape recordings of lightning discharges were obtained on shuttle flights since the termination of the NOSL program. The size and location of the lightning illuminated cloud images is now being analyzed, and comparisons are made with meteorological data concerning the cloud system obtained from the McIDAS

Cover of \u3ci\u3eVon Duprin Self-Releasing Fire Exit Latches\u3c/i\u3e

Cover of Von Duprin Self-Releasing Fire Exit Latches booklet

Letter from Vonnegut Hardware Company to T. B. Larrimore

Letter from Vonnegut Hardware Company to T. B. Larrimore [sic]. The one-page typewritten note is dated 19 November 1912

Nighttime observations of thunderstorm electrical activity from a high altitude airplane

Nocturnal thunderstorms were observed from above and features of cloud structure and lightning which are not generally visible from the ground are discussed. Most, lightning activity seems to be associated with clouds with strong convective cauliflower tops. In both of the storms lightning channels were visible in the clear air above the cloud. It is shown that substances produced by thunderstorm electrical discharges can be introduced directly into the stratosphere. The cause and nature of the discharges above the cloud are not clear. They may be produced by accumulations of space charge in the clear air above the cloud. The discharges may arise solely because of the intense electric fields produced by charges within the cloud. In the latter case the ions introduced by these discharges will increase the electrical conductivity of the air above the cloud and increase the conduction current that flows from the cloud to the electrosphere. More quantitative data at higher resolution may show significant spectral differences between cloud to ground and intracloud strokes. It is shown that electric field change data taken with an electric field change meter mounted in an airplane provide data on lightning discharges from above that are quite similar to those obtained from the ground in the past. The optical signals from dart leaders, from return strokes, and from continuing currents are recognizable, can be used to provide information on the fine structure of lightning, and can be used to distinguish between cloud to ground and intracloud flashes

Institutions and initial conditions in transition: reconciling neo-institutional and neo-classical conceptions

Much empirical research has highlighted the importance of institutions and initial conditions in the transition to a market economy. However, relatively little is still know about how these factors directly affect growth paths. This paper explores how institutional factors and initial conditions explicitly impact consumer and firm decisions. Simulations are run on a simple growth model modified to reflect institutional conditions during transition. The model generates a series of growth paths that lend insight into how different institutional structures affect growth dynamics. Policies that work under certain institutional circumstances, such as the “big bang,” may not work under others

Institutions and initial conditions in transition: reconciling neo-institutional and neo-classical conceptions

Much empirical research has highlighted the importance of institutions and initial conditions in the transition to a market economy. However, relatively little is still know about how these factors directly affect growth paths. This paper explores how institutional factors and initial conditions explicitly impact consumer and firm decisions. Simulations are run on a simple growth model modified to reflect institutional conditions during transition. The model generates a series of growth paths that lend insight into how different institutional structures affect growth dynamics. Policies that work under certain institutional circumstances, such as the “big bang,” may not work under others