CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Ionized-air glow - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"1582ae5e-1f83-4170-bd96-69fc9099ae31","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Ionized-air_glow","wgTitle":"Ionized-air glow","wgCurRevisionId":1275281355,"wgRevisionId":1275281355,"wgArticleId":27486376,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description matches Wikidata","Use dmy dates from August 2021","All articles with unsourced statements","Articles with unsourced statements from August 2021","All pages needing factual verification","Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from August 2021","Atmospheric optical phenomena","Electrical breakdown","Ionosphere","Plasma phenomena","Radioactivity"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en", "wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Ionized-air_glow","wgRelevantArticleId":27486376,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":10000,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q6063740","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model", "platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap", "ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.17"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Plasma-filaments.jpg/1200px-Plasma-filaments.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="900"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Plasma-filaments.jpg/800px-Plasma-filaments.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="600"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Plasma-filaments.jpg/640px-Plasma-filaments.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="480"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Ionized-air glow - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionized-air_glow"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionized-air_glow"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Ionized-air_glow rootpage-Ionized-air_glow skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" title="Main menu" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="n-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages"><span>Special pages</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Ionized-air+glow" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Ionized-air+glow" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Ionized-air+glow" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Ionized-air+glow" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Processes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Processes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Processes</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Processes-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Processes subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Processes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Deexcitation_of_nitrogen" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Deexcitation_of_nitrogen"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Deexcitation of nitrogen</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Deexcitation_of_nitrogen-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Deexcitation_of_oxygen" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Deexcitation_of_oxygen"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Deexcitation of oxygen</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Deexcitation_of_oxygen-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Occurrence" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Occurrence"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Occurrence</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Occurrence-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Occurrence subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Occurrence-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Colors" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Colors"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Colors</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Colors-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Cherenkov_radiation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Cherenkov_radiation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Cherenkov radiation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Cherenkov_radiation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Ionized-air glow</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 3 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-3" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">3 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_ionizado" title="Gas ionizado – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Gas ionizado" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uz mw-list-item"><a href="https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionlashtirilgan_havo_porlashi" title="Ionlashtirilgan havo porlashi – Uzbek" lang="uz" hreflang="uz" data-title="Ionlashtirilgan havo porlashi" data-language-autonym="Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча" data-language-local-name="Uzbek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaze_ionizate" title="Gaze ionizate – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Gaze ionizate" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q6063740#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ionized-air_glow" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Ionized-air_glow" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ionized-air_glow"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ionized-air_glow"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Ionized-air_glow" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Ionized-air_glow" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&oldid=1275281355" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Ionized-air_glow&id=1275281355&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FIonized-air_glow"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FIonized-air_glow"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Ionized-air_glow&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q6063740" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Optical phenomenon</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Nitrogen_discharge_tube.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Nitrogen_discharge_tube.jpg/220px-Nitrogen_discharge_tube.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="73" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Nitrogen_discharge_tube.jpg/330px-Nitrogen_discharge_tube.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Nitrogen_discharge_tube.jpg/440px-Nitrogen_discharge_tube.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="1000" /></a><figcaption>Nitrogen glow</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Oxygen_discharge_tube.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Oxygen_discharge_tube.jpg/220px-Oxygen_discharge_tube.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="73" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Oxygen_discharge_tube.jpg/330px-Oxygen_discharge_tube.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Oxygen_discharge_tube.jpg/440px-Oxygen_discharge_tube.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="1000" /></a><figcaption>Oxygen glow</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Plasma-filaments.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Plasma-filaments.jpg/220px-Plasma-filaments.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Plasma-filaments.jpg/330px-Plasma-filaments.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Plasma-filaments.jpg/440px-Plasma-filaments.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2592" data-file-height="1944" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Electrical_discharge" class="mw-redirect" title="Electrical discharge">Electrical discharge</a> in air</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Cyclotron_with_glowing_beam.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Cyclotron_with_glowing_beam.jpg/220px-Cyclotron_with_glowing_beam.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="150" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Cyclotron_with_glowing_beam.jpg/330px-Cyclotron_with_glowing_beam.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Cyclotron_with_glowing_beam.jpg/440px-Cyclotron_with_glowing_beam.jpg 2x" data-file-width="640" data-file-height="436" /></a><figcaption>Particle beam from a <a href="/wiki/Cyclotron" title="Cyclotron">cyclotron</a></figcaption></figure> <p><b>Ionized-air glow</b> is the <a href="/wiki/Luminescent" class="mw-redirect" title="Luminescent">luminescent</a> emission of characteristic blue–purple–violet light, often of a color called <a href="/wiki/Electric_blue_(color)" title="Electric blue (color)">electric blue</a>, by <a href="/wiki/Air" class="mw-redirect" title="Air">air</a> subjected to an energy flux either directly or indirectly from <a href="/wiki/Solar_irradiance" title="Solar irradiance">solar radiation</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Processes">Processes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Processes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When energy is deposited in air, the air molecules become excited. As air is composed primarily of <a href="/wiki/Nitrogen" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> and <a href="/wiki/Oxygen" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a>, excited N<sub>2</sub> and O<sub>2</sub> molecules are produced. These can react with other molecules, forming mainly <a href="/wiki/Ozone" title="Ozone">ozone</a> and <a href="/wiki/Nitrogen(II)_oxide" class="mw-redirect" title="Nitrogen(II) oxide">nitrogen(II) oxide</a>. <a href="/wiki/Water_vapor" title="Water vapor">Water vapor</a>, when present, may also play a role; its presence is characterized by the hydrogen emission lines. The reactive species present in the plasma can readily react with other chemicals present in the air or on nearby surfaces. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Deexcitation_of_nitrogen">Deexcitation of nitrogen</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Deexcitation of nitrogen"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The excited nitrogen deexcites primarily by emission of a <a href="/wiki/Photon" title="Photon">photon</a>, with emission lines in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared band: </p> <dl><dd>N<sub>2</sub><sup>*</sup> → N<sub>2</sub> + <i>hν</i></dd></dl> <p>The blue light observed is produced primarily by this process.<sup id="cite_ref-Wiberg_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Wiberg-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The spectrum is dominated by lines of single-ionized nitrogen, with presence of neutral nitrogen lines. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Deexcitation_of_oxygen">Deexcitation of oxygen</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Deexcitation of oxygen"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The excited state of oxygen is somewhat more stable than nitrogen. While deexcitation can occur by emission of photons, the more probable mechanism at atmospheric pressure is a chemical reaction with other oxygen molecules, forming ozone:<sup id="cite_ref-Wiberg_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Wiberg-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <dl><dd>O<sub>2</sub>* + 2 O<sub>2</sub> → 2 O<sub>3</sub></dd></dl> <p>This reaction is responsible for the production of ozone in the vicinity of strongly <a href="/wiki/Radionuclide" title="Radionuclide">radioactive materials</a> and electrical discharges. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Occurrence">Occurrence</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Occurrence"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Excitation energy can be deposited in air by a number of different mechanisms: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ionizing_radiation" title="Ionizing radiation">Ionizing radiation</a> is the cause of blue glow surrounding sufficient quantities of strongly radioactive materials in air, e.g. some <a href="/wiki/Radioisotope" class="mw-redirect" title="Radioisotope">radioisotope</a> specimens<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Radium" title="Radium">radium</a> or <a href="/wiki/Polonium" title="Polonium">polonium</a>), <a href="/wiki/Particle_beam" title="Particle beam">particle beams</a> (e.g. from <a href="/wiki/Particle_accelerator" title="Particle accelerator">particle accelerators</a>) in air, the blue flashes during <a href="/wiki/Criticality_accident" title="Criticality accident">criticality accidents</a>, and the eerie/low brightness "purple" to "blue" glow enveloping a <a href="/wiki/Mushroom_cloud" title="Mushroom cloud">mushroom cloud</a> during the first several dozen seconds after <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_explosion" title="Nuclear explosion">nuclear explosions</a> near sea level. This post-explosion effect has been observed only at night from <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_testing" title="Nuclear weapons testing">atmospheric nuclear tests</a> owing to its low brightness, with observers noticing it following the pre-dawn <a href="/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test)" title="Trinity (nuclear test)">Trinity test</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Goodstein_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goodstein-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Backward_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Backward-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Eery_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Eery-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> as well as <a href="/wiki/Upshot-Knothole_Annie" title="Upshot-Knothole Annie">Upshot-Knothole Annie</a>,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> <a href="/wiki/Operation_Fishbowl" title="Operation Fishbowl">Operation Fishbowl</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Dominic_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dominic-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the <i>Cherokee</i> shot of <a href="/wiki/Operation_Redwing" title="Operation Redwing">Operation Redwing</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Field_Report_Bikini_Operations_page_10_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Field_Report_Bikini_Operations_page_10-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Upshot-Knothole_Annie_001.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Fireball of Upshot-Knothole Annie nuclear test with several vertical smoke trails from rockets used to gauge shock front progress" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Upshot-Knothole_Annie_001.jpg/220px-Upshot-Knothole_Annie_001.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="175" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Upshot-Knothole_Annie_001.jpg/330px-Upshot-Knothole_Annie_001.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Upshot-Knothole_Annie_001.jpg/440px-Upshot-Knothole_Annie_001.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1432" data-file-height="1141" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Upshot-Knothole_Annie" title="Upshot-Knothole Annie">Upshot-Knothole Annie</a> nuclear bomb test</figcaption></figure> <ul><li>Within minutes after the steam explosion that caused the <a href="/wiki/Chernobyl_accident" class="mw-redirect" title="Chernobyl accident">Chernobyl accident</a> at 01:23 local time, employees at the power station went outside to get a clearer view of the extent of the damage. One such survivor, <a href="/wiki/Alexander_Yuvchenko" class="mw-redirect" title="Alexander Yuvchenko">Alexander Yuvchenko</a>, recounts that once he stopped outside and looked up towards the reactor hall he saw a "very beautiful" <a href="/wiki/Laser" title="Laser">laser</a>-like beam of <a href="/wiki/Light_blue" title="Light blue">light bluish</a> light, caused by the ionization of air, that appeared to be "flooding up into infinity".<sup id="cite_ref-Meyer_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Meyer-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Bond_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bond-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cathode_ray" title="Cathode ray">Cathode rays</a> in air produce this blue glow.<sup id="cite_ref-Strutt_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Strutt-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Electric_discharge_in_gases" title="Electric discharge in gases">Electrical discharge in air</a> is the cause of blue light emitted by <a href="/wiki/Electric_spark" title="Electric spark">electric sparks</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lightning" title="Lightning">lightning</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Corona_discharge" title="Corona discharge">corona discharges</a> (e.g. <a href="/wiki/St._Elmo%27s_fire" title="St. Elmo's fire">St. Elmo's fire</a>).</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aurora" title="Aurora">Auroras</a>, the sometimes observable blue-violet hues emitted by nitrogen at lower altitudes.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Colors">Colors</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Colors"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Nitrogen_Spectra.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nitrogen_Spectra.jpg/250px-Nitrogen_Spectra.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nitrogen_Spectra.jpg/375px-Nitrogen_Spectra.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nitrogen_Spectra.jpg/500px-Nitrogen_Spectra.jpg 2x" data-file-width="784" data-file-height="63" /></a><figcaption>Emission spectrum of nitrogen</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Oxygen_spectre.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Oxygen_spectre.jpg/250px-Oxygen_spectre.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Oxygen_spectre.jpg/375px-Oxygen_spectre.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Oxygen_spectre.jpg/500px-Oxygen_spectre.jpg 2x" data-file-width="783" data-file-height="64" /></a><figcaption>Emission spectrum of oxygen</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Hydrogen_Spectra.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Hydrogen_Spectra.jpg/250px-Hydrogen_Spectra.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Hydrogen_Spectra.jpg/375px-Hydrogen_Spectra.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Hydrogen_Spectra.jpg/500px-Hydrogen_Spectra.jpg 2x" data-file-width="783" data-file-height="64" /></a><figcaption>Emission spectrum of hydrogen (water vapor is similar but dimmer)</figcaption></figure> <p>In dry air, the color of produced light (e.g. by lightning) is dominated by the emission lines of nitrogen, yielding the spectrum with primarily blue emission lines. The lines of neutral nitrogen (NI), neutral oxygen (OI), singly ionized nitrogen (NII) and singly ionized oxygen (OII) are the most prominent features of a lightning emission spectrum.<sup id="cite_ref-Uman_1984_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Uman_1984-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Neutral nitrogen radiates primarily at one line in the red part of the spectrum. Ionized nitrogen radiates primarily as a set of lines in the blue part of the spectrum.<sup id="cite_ref-Uman_1986_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Uman_1986-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A violet hue can occur when the spectrum contains emission lines of atomic hydrogen. This may happen when the air contains high amount of water, e.g. with lightnings in low altitudes passing through <a href="/wiki/Rain" title="Rain">rain</a> <a href="/wiki/Thunderstorm" title="Thunderstorm">thunderstorms</a>. Water vapor and small water droplets ionize and dissociate easier than large droplets, therefore have higher impact on color.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Hydrogen_spectral_series" title="Hydrogen spectral series">hydrogen emission lines</a> at 656.3 nm (the strong <a href="/wiki/H-alpha" class="mw-redirect" title="H-alpha">H-alpha</a> line) and at 486.1 nm (H-beta) are characteristic for lightnings.<sup id="cite_ref-Orville_1980_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Orville_1980-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Rydberg_atom" title="Rydberg atom">Rydberg atoms</a>, generated by low-frequency lightnings, emit at red to orange color and can give the lightning a yellowish to greenish tint.<sup>(<a href="/wiki/Confusion" title="Confusion">confusing?</a>)</sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Generally, the radiant species present in atmospheric <a href="/wiki/Plasma_(physics)" title="Plasma (physics)">plasma</a> are N<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup>, O<sub>2</sub>, NO (in dry air) and OH (in humid air). The temperature, <a href="/wiki/Electron_density" title="Electron density">electron density</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Electron_temperature" class="mw-redirect" title="Electron temperature">electron temperature</a> of the plasma can be inferred from the distribution of <a href="/wiki/Rotational_spectroscopy" title="Rotational spectroscopy">rotational lines</a> of these species. At higher temperatures, atomic emission lines of N and O, and (in presence of water) H, are present. Other molecular lines, e.g. CO and CN, mark the presence of contaminants in the air.<sup id="cite_ref-Laux_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Laux-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Cherenkov_radiation">Cherenkov radiation</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Cherenkov radiation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The emission of blue light is often attributed to <a href="/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation" title="Cherenkov radiation">Cherenkov radiation</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Field_Report_Bikini_Operations_page_10_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Field_Report_Bikini_Operations_page_10-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability"><span title="The material near this tag needs to be fact-checked with the cited source(s). (August 2021)">verification needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Cherenkov radiation is produced by charged particles which are traveling through a <a href="/wiki/Dielectric" title="Dielectric">dielectric</a> substance at a speed greater than the <a href="/wiki/Speed_of_light" title="Speed of light">speed of light</a> in that medium. Despite the production of similarity-colored light and an association with high-energy particles, Cherenkov radiation is generated by a fundamentally different mechanism.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Airglow" title="Airglow">Airglow</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.albany.edu/faculty/rgk/atm101/airglow.htm">"Airglow"</a>. <i>www.albany.edu</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 December</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.albany.edu&rft.atitle=Airglow&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.albany.edu%2Ffaculty%2Frgk%2Fatm101%2Fairglow.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Wiberg-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Wiberg_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Wiberg_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWibergWibergHolleman2001" class="citation book cs1">Wiberg, Egon; Wiberg, Nils; Holleman, Arnold Frederick (2001). <i>Inorganic chemistry</i> (1st English ed.). San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press. p. 1655. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-12-352651-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-12-352651-5"><bdi>0-12-352651-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Inorganic+chemistry&rft.place=San+Diego%2C+Calif.&rft.pages=1655&rft.edition=1st+English&rft.pub=Academic+Press&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=0-12-352651-5&rft.aulast=Wiberg&rft.aufirst=Egon&rft.au=Wiberg%2C+Nils&rft.au=Holleman%2C+Arnold+Frederick&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCromptonGamageJenkinsTaylor2018" class="citation journal cs1">Crompton, Anita J.; Gamage, Kelum A. A.; Jenkins, Alex; Taylor, Charles James (April 2018). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5948492">"Alpha Particle Detection Using Alpha-Induced Air Radioluminescence: A Review and Future Prospects for Preliminary Radiological Characterisation for Nuclear Facilities Decommissioning"</a>. <i>Sensors</i>. <b>18</b> (4): 1015. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018Senso..18.1015C">2018Senso..18.1015C</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fs18041015">10.3390/s18041015</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1424-8220">1424-8220</a>. <a href="/wiki/PMC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="PMC (identifier)">PMC</a> <span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5948492">5948492</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/PMID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="PMID (identifier)">PMID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29597340">29597340</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Sensors&rft.atitle=Alpha+Particle+Detection+Using+Alpha-Induced+Air+Radioluminescence%3A+A+Review+and+Future+Prospects+for+Preliminary+Radiological+Characterisation+for+Nuclear+Facilities+Decommissioning&rft.volume=18&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=1015&rft.date=2018-04&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC5948492%23id-name%3DPMC&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2018Senso..18.1015C&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F29597340&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.3390%2Fs18041015&rft.issn=1424-8220&rft.aulast=Crompton&rft.aufirst=Anita+J.&rft.au=Gamage%2C+Kelum+A.+A.&rft.au=Jenkins%2C+Alex&rft.au=Taylor%2C+Charles+James&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC5948492&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Goodstein-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Goodstein_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGoodsteinGoodstein2013" class="citation book cs1">Goodstein, David L.; Goodstein, Judith R. (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/christy-robert.pdf"><i>Robert F. Christy: 1916–2012</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Biographical Memoirs. National Academy of Sciences. p. 7.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Robert+F.+Christy%3A+1916%E2%80%932012&rft.series=Biographical+Memoirs&rft.pages=7&rft.pub=National+Academy+of+Sciences&rft.date=2013&rft.aulast=Goodstein&rft.aufirst=David+L.&rft.au=Goodstein%2C+Judith+R.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasonline.org%2Fpublications%2Fbiographical-memoirs%2Fmemoir-pdfs%2Fchristy-robert.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Backward-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Backward_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation magazine cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lanl.gov/science/weapons_journal/wj_pubs/11nwj2-05.pdf">"A Backward Glance: Eyewitnesses to Trinity"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i><a href="/wiki/Nuclear_Weapons_Journal" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear Weapons Journal">Nuclear Weapons Journal</a></i>. No. 2. <a href="/wiki/Los_Alamos_National_Laboratory" title="Los Alamos National Laboratory">Los Alamos National Laboratory</a>. 2005. p. 45. LALP-05-067<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">18 February</span> 2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Nuclear+Weapons+Journal&rft.atitle=A+Backward+Glance%3A+Eyewitnesses+to+Trinity&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=45&rft.date=2005&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lanl.gov%2Fscience%2Fweapons_journal%2Fwj_pubs%2F11nwj2-05.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Christy_R">"Christy, Robert F. Interview by Sara Lippincott. Pasadena, California, June 15, 17, 21, and 22, 1994"</a>. Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. 1998. p. 55<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">5 August</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Christy%2C+Robert+F.+Interview+by+Sara+Lippincott.+Pasadena%2C+California%2C+June+15%2C+17%2C+21%2C+and+22%2C+1994&rft.pages=55&rft.pub=Oral+History+Project%2C+California+Institute+of+Technology+Archives&rft.date=1998&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fresolver.caltech.edu%2FCaltechOH%3AOH_Christy_R&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Eery-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Eery_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChristy2017" class="citation audio-visual cs1">Christy, Robert (6 July 2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGn4HjH1zns&t=107s"><i>The Trinity Test: 'An eery and awesome sight' (9/20)</i></a> (Video). Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People. Event occurs at 1'47". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/JGn4HjH1zns">Archived</a> from the original on 15 December 2021 – via YouTube.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Trinity+Test%3A+%27An+eery+and+awesome+sight%27+%289%2F20%29&rft.pub=Web+of+Stories+-+Life+Stories+of+Remarkable+People&rft.date=2017-07-06&rft.aulast=Christy&rft.aufirst=Robert&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJGn4HjH1zns%26t%3D107s&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Dominic-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Dominic_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation report cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://massless.info/images/1962_DNA_6040F.pdf">Operation Dominic I: 1962</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> (Report). Defense Nuclear Agency. p. 247. DNA 6040F.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=report&rft.btitle=Operation+Dominic+I%3A+1962&rft.pages=247&rft.pub=Defense+Nuclear+Agency&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fmassless.info%2Fimages%2F1962_DNA_6040F.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Field_Report_Bikini_Operations_page_10-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Field_Report_Bikini_Operations_page_10_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Field_Report_Bikini_Operations_page_10_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Cherokee Field Report Bikini Operations, page 10, quoted in <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHansen1995" class="citation book cs1">Hansen, Chuck (1995). <i>The swords of Armageddon: U.S. nuclear weapons development since 1945</i>. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Chukelea Publications. 1307. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1109685186">1109685186</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+swords+of+Armageddon%3A+U.S.+nuclear+weapons+development+since+1945&rft.place=Sunnyvale%2C+Calif.&rft.pages=1307&rft.pub=Chukelea+Publications&rft.date=1995&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F1109685186&rft.aulast=Hansen&rft.aufirst=Chuck&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBethge2010" class="citation news cs1">Bethge, Philip (25 November 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/mushroom-clouds-and-everpresent-danger-surviving-cameramen-recall-nuclear-test-shots-a-730985.html">"Mushroom Clouds and Everpresent Danger: Surviving Cameramen Recall Nuclear Test Shots"</a>. <i>Der Spiegel</i>. <q>[Photographer George Yoshitake said] 'For several minutes after the blast, you could see this eerie ultraviolet glow high up in the sky. And I thought that was so spectacular, so meaningful.'<span style="white-space: nowrap;"> </span></q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Der+Spiegel&rft.atitle=Mushroom+Clouds+and+Everpresent+Danger%3A+Surviving+Cameramen+Recall+Nuclear+Test+Shots&rft.date=2010-11-25&rft.aulast=Bethge&rft.aufirst=Philip&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Fworld%2Fmushroom-clouds-and-everpresent-danger-surviving-cameramen-recall-nuclear-test-shots-a-730985.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Meyer-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Meyer_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMeyer2007" class="citation magazine cs1">Meyer, C. M. (March 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131211073343/http://www.eepublishers.co.za/images/upload/Meyer%20Chernobyl%205.pdf">"Chernobyl: what happened and why?"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Energize</i>. Muldersdrift, South Africa. p. 41. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1818-2127">1818-2127</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.eepublishers.co.za/images/upload/Meyer%20Chernobyl%205.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 11 December 2013.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Energize&rft.atitle=Chernobyl%3A+what+happened+and+why%3F&rft.pages=41&rft.date=2007-03&rft.issn=1818-2127&rft.aulast=Meyer&rft.aufirst=C.+M.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eepublishers.co.za%2Fimages%2Fupload%2FMeyer%2520Chernobyl%25205.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bond-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Bond_12-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBond2004" class="citation magazine cs1">Bond, Michael (21 August 2004). <span class="id-lock-subscription" title="Paid subscription required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18324615-300-cheating-chernobyl/">"Cheating Chernobyl"</a></span>. <i>New Scientist</i>. Vol. 183, no. 2461. p. 46. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0262-4079">0262-4079</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=New+Scientist&rft.atitle=Cheating+Chernobyl&rft.volume=183&rft.issue=2461&rft.pages=46&rft.date=2004-08-21&rft.issn=0262-4079&rft.aulast=Bond&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2Fmg18324615-300-cheating-chernobyl%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Strutt-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Strutt_13-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStrutt2004" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Robert_John_Strutt" class="mw-redirect" title="Robert John Strutt">Strutt, R. J.</a> (2004) [Originally published 1906]. <i>The Becquerel rays and the properties of radium</i>. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. p. 20. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-486-43875-9" title="Special:BookSources/0-486-43875-9"><bdi>0-486-43875-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Becquerel+rays+and+the+properties+of+radium&rft.place=Mineola%2C+N.Y.&rft.pages=20&rft.pub=Dover+Publications&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=0-486-43875-9&rft.aulast=Strutt&rft.aufirst=R.+J.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Uman_1984-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Uman_1984_14-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFUman1984" class="citation book cs1">Uman, Martin A. (1984). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/trent_0116300718198/mode/1up"><i>Lightning</i></a></span>. Dover Publications. p. 139. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-486-64575-4" title="Special:BookSources/0-486-64575-4"><bdi>0-486-64575-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Lightning&rft.pages=139&rft.pub=Dover+Publications&rft.date=1984&rft.isbn=0-486-64575-4&rft.aulast=Uman&rft.aufirst=Martin+A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Ftrent_0116300718198%2Fmode%2F1up&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Uman_1986-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Uman_1986_15-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFUman1986" class="citation book cs1">Uman, Martin A. (1986). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/allaboutlightnin0000uman/mode/1up"><i>All about lightning</i></a></span>. Dover Publications. p. 96. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-486-25237-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-486-25237-X"><bdi>0-486-25237-X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=All+about+lightning&rft.pages=96&rft.pub=Dover+Publications&rft.date=1986&rft.isbn=0-486-25237-X&rft.aulast=Uman&rft.aufirst=Martin+A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fallaboutlightnin0000uman%2Fmode%2F1up&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Orville_1980-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Orville_1980_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFOrville1980" class="citation journal cs1">Orville, Richard E. (1980). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1175%2F1520-0450%281980%29019%3C0470%3ADSOILF%3E2.0.CO%3B2">"Daylight Spectra of Individual Lightning Flashes in the 370–690 nm Region"</a>. <i>Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology</i>. <b>19</b> (4): <span class="nowrap">470–</span>473. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980JApMe..19..470O">1980JApMe..19..470O</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1175%2F1520-0450%281980%29019%3C0470%3ADSOILF%3E2.0.CO%3B2">10.1175/1520-0450(1980)019<0470:DSOILF>2.0.CO;2</a></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Applied+Meteorology+and+Climatology&rft.atitle=Daylight+Spectra+of+Individual+Lightning+Flashes+in+the+370%E2%80%93690+nm+Region&rft.volume=19&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E470-%3C%2Fspan%3E473&rft.date=1980&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1175%2F1520-0450%281980%29019%3C0470%3ADSOILF%3E2.0.CO%3B2&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1980JApMe..19..470O&rft.aulast=Orville&rft.aufirst=Richard+E.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1175%252F1520-0450%25281980%2529019%253C0470%253ADSOILF%253E2.0.CO%253B2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Laux-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Laux_17-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLauxSpenceKrugerZare2003" class="citation journal cs1">Laux, C. O.; Spence, T. G.; Kruger, C. H.; Zare, R. N. (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www-leland.stanford.edu/group/Zarelab/publinks/725.pdf">"Optical diagnostics of atmospheric pressure air plasmas"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Plasma Sources Science and Technology</i>. <b>12</b> (2): 125. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003PSST...12..125L">2003PSST...12..125L</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0963-0252%2F12%2F2%2F301">10.1088/0963-0252/12/2/301</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:250824737">250824737</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Plasma+Sources+Science+and+Technology&rft.atitle=Optical+diagnostics+of+atmospheric+pressure+air+plasmas&rft.volume=12&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=125&rft.date=2003&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A250824737%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1088%2F0963-0252%2F12%2F2%2F301&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2003PSST...12..125L&rft.aulast=Laux&rft.aufirst=C.+O.&rft.au=Spence%2C+T.+G.&rft.au=Kruger%2C+C.+H.&rft.au=Zare%2C+R.+N.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww-leland.stanford.edu%2Fgroup%2FZarelab%2Fpublinks%2F725.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AIonized-air+glow" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&oldid=1275281355">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&oldid=1275281355</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Atmospheric_optical_phenomena" title="Category:Atmospheric optical phenomena">Atmospheric optical phenomena</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Electrical_breakdown" title="Category:Electrical breakdown">Electrical breakdown</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Ionosphere" title="Category:Ionosphere">Ionosphere</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Plasma_phenomena" title="Category:Plasma phenomena">Plasma phenomena</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Radioactivity" title="Category:Radioactivity">Radioactivity</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_August_2021" title="Category:Use dmy dates from August 2021">Use dmy dates from August 2021</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements" title="Category:All articles with unsourced statements">All articles with unsourced statements</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_August_2021" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from August 2021">Articles with unsourced statements from August 2021</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_pages_needing_factual_verification" title="Category:All pages needing factual verification">All pages needing factual verification</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_articles_needing_factual_verification_from_August_2021" title="Category:Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from August 2021">Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from August 2021</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 12 February 2025, at 02:46<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ionized-air_glow&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia.svg" width="25" height="25" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" lang="en" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" width="88" height="31"><img src="/w/resources/assets/mediawiki_compact.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="25" height="25" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-header-container vector-sticky-header-container"> <div id="vector-sticky-header" class="vector-sticky-header"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-start"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-start vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" aria-hidden="true"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-sticky-header-search-toggle" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.vector-sticky-search-form.icon"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </button> </div> <div role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box"> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="vector-sticky-search-form" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia"> <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-sticky-header-toc vector-sticky-header-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-sticky-header-toc-label" for="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar-primary" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="mw-page-title-main">Ionized-air glow</span></div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-end" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icons"> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-talk-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="talk-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbles mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbles"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-subject-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="subject-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-article mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-article"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-history-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="history-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-history mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-history"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only mw-watchlink" id="ca-watchstar-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="watch-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-star mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-star"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="wikitext-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikiText mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-wikiText"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-ve-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-edit mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-edit"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-viewsource-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-protected-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-editLock mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-editLock"></span> <span></span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-buttons"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet mw-interlanguage-selector" id="p-lang-btn-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-language"></span> <span>3 languages</span> </button> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive" id="ca-addsection-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="addsection-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbleAdd-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbleAdd-progressive"></span> <span>Add topic</span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-end"> <div class="vector-user-links"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-5fd4b9f45-8c72p","wgBackendResponseTime":195,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.364","walltime":"0.514","ppvisitednodes":{"value":2134,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":46329,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":3482,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":12,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":4,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":63389,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 428.689 1 -total"," 50.74% 217.498 1 Template:Reflist"," 24.61% 105.516 1 Template:Short_description"," 23.13% 99.154 2 Template:Cite_web"," 17.76% 76.117 2 Template:Pagetype"," 14.88% 63.769 4 Template:Citation_needed"," 14.73% 63.132 5 Template:Fix"," 7.47% 32.027 10 Template:Category_handler"," 7.11% 30.491 6 Template:Cite_book"," 5.04% 21.618 1 Template:Use_dmy_dates"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.208","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":5616136,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-api-int.codfw.main-6699496d4f-d68w5","timestamp":"20250212024700","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Ionized-air glow","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ionized-air_glow","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q6063740","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q6063740","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2010-05-26T15:49:22Z","dateModified":"2025-02-12T02:46:57Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/0\/03\/Plasma-filaments.jpg","headline":"optical phenomenon"}</script> </body> </html>