Blue Flamed Glowing Streetlamp

The article describes a phenomenon that is often observed in a thunderstorm that appears as a blue flamed glowing streetlamp. The author postulates that this weather phenomenon is an electrical charge gap that occurs as a spark, unlike lightning, that is the movement of electricity to the ground emanating from a charged cloud. As such, the imbalance in the electrical charge between a charged object and the air results in St. Elmo’s Fire. During the formation of this phenomenon, atoms in the air are changed, making the electrons to move away from the protons, thus allowing the electrons to move freely, subsequently making the air a good electrical conductor. In this process, ionization takes place, causing the charged object and the air to have significant charge difference. Increasing voltage to a certain point, which is often estimated as thirty thousand volts for every centimeter of space, will make the charged object to release its electrical energy. Tearing apart of the air molecules will result in the emission of light, which in the case of St. Elmo’s Fire will be exhibited as a constant blue glow. The blue color is attributed to the color of glowing oxygen and nitrogen, which are components of the atmospheric air.

I would opine that the article discusses St. Elmo’s Fire in a scientific principle noting that the article provides an explicit and coherent chain of reasoning which is founded on basic principles of physics. It can be argued that the article emphasizes explanations rather than assumptions providing the rationale for the difference in charges and the color of the glow. Further, the author confirms the reproducibility of the phenomenon in the neon tubes. The article could have been improved by providing a hypothesis which would have been supported by the principles of physics postulated in the explanation of the weather phenomenon. Providing a hypothesis would be critical in enhancing the investigation of the phenomenon empirically.