Tag Archives: Discharges

Scientists Discover Electric Discharges in Trees During Thunderstorms

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While most people are aware of the destructive power of lightning in forests, few know about the subtle electrical phenomenon known as corona. This weak electrical glow is believed to occur on tree leaves during thunderstorms. Researchers at Penn State University utilized ultraviolet-sensitive equipment to directly observe and measure this intriguing phenomenon in tree species such as sweetgum and celery pine across various U.S. states.

Coronae glow on the tip of a spruce needle caused by a charged metal plate in the laboratory. Image credit: William Bruun.

Lightning strikes have captivated humanity since thunderstorms began sweeping through Earth’s forests, causing everything from trunk splits to wildfires, often turning night into day.

However, scientists are now shifting their focus to the more delicate electrical phenomena that manifest on leaf tips amid thunderstorms.

Unlike lightning, which can heat the air to extreme temperatures, corona represents a weak electrical discharge with a temperature only slightly above that of the surrounding air.

Despite their gentler nature, these electrical sparks can generate significant amounts of hydroxyl, a key oxidant in the atmosphere, potentially harming tree foliage and affecting charged particles within thunderstorm cloud bases.

“We have observed these phenomena, confirming their existence,” stated Dr. Patrick McFarland, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University.

“Having tangible evidence is incredibly exciting,” he added.

“In a laboratory setting, when you block all light, you can barely see the corona, which appears as a blue light,” he explained.

For this study, Dr. McFarland and his team designed a portable instrument equipped with multiple components to measure tree canopies and the atmospheric conditions that influence corona formation.

The centralized component is a 25 cm diameter telescope that focuses ultraviolet (UV) radiation onto a solar-blind UV camera sensitive to wavelengths between 255 and 273 nm.

During thunderstorms in North Carolina, scientists succeeded in observing corona on sweetgum and pine trees.

“The corona could potentially travel between leaves or trace along branches swaying in the wind,” the researchers noted.

Similar observations were recorded for various tree species during four additional thunderstorms from Florida to Pennsylvania.

“Our findings illustrate that the corona exhibits glowing patterns in wooded areas during thunderstorms,” the researchers stated.

“These corona effects can alter air quality in forests, subtly damage foliage, and influence storm conditions overhead.”

For further details, refer to the study published on February 12th in Geophysical Research Letters.

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PJ McFarland et al. 2026. Corona discharges glow on trees under thunderstorms. Geophysical Research Letters 53 (4): e2025GL119591; doi: 10.1029/2025GL119591

Source: www.sci.news

Perseverance Identifies Triboelectric Discharges Between Martian Dust Devils and Storms

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Over two years of data collected on Mars by the SuperCam microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover has led planetary scientists to identify 55 triboelectric discharge events linked to dust devils and dust storms.

Detection of electrical discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image credit: Nicholas Sarter.

Lightning and electrical phenomena have been observed on Earth, Saturn, and Jupiter within our solar system.

While the possibility of electrical activity on Mars has been hypothesized, it has never before been directly recorded.

The Martian surface, characterized by frequent dust activities and phenomena such as wind-driven dust, sandstorms, and dust devils, can lead to electrical charges similar to those seen on Earth.

Determining whether such electrification occurs on Mars is vital for understanding the planet’s surface chemistry and assessing the safety of future robotic and human exploration missions.

To investigate this, Baptiste Chide and colleagues from the University of Toulouse examined 28 hours of audio recordings from the Perseverance rover’s SuperCam microphone gathered over two years.

The researchers categorized 55 electrical events by detecting interference and acoustic signatures typical of lightning.

Notably, 54 of these events were linked to the strongest wind events recorded during the study, indicating that winds significantly contribute to Martian electrification.

In two encounters with dust devils alone, the spacecraft documented 16 events, suggesting the likelihood of additional, more distant discharges that may have escaped detection by the microphone.

These findings imply that the Martian atmosphere is particularly electrically active during localized dust activity, rather than during wider dusty seasons.

“On Earth, atmospheric electricity primarily results from charge accumulation in clouds and storms, which burst forth as lightning,” remarked Dr. Ricardo Hueso from the University of the Basque Country.

“Conversely, on Mars, atmospheric electricity is dry, generated through collisions between dust particles in whirlwinds and sandstorms, leading to much smaller electrical discharges compared to Earth.”

Dr. Agustín Sánchez Labega, also from the University of the Basque Country, noted: “Mars’ cold, dry, dusty environment features a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide and can generate very strong winds, creating gusts, whirlwinds, and dust clouds.”

“These phenomena can form extensive storm fronts that stretch hundreds of kilometers and sometimes envelop the entire planet in dust.”

“Thus, we anticipate these once-elusive discharges to be particularly prevalent under such conditions.”

The authors concluded, “Our study raises many questions regarding the impact of natural electricity on the Martian atmosphere.”

For more details, check their paper, published in the Journal on November 26, 2025, in Nature.

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B. Chide et al. 2025. Triboelectric discharges detected during Martian dust events. Nature 647, 865-869; doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09736-y

Source: www.sci.news

NHS Implements AI Tools to Expedite Hospital Discharges

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AI tools aimed at expediting patient discharge are currently being tested in various hospital trusts across London.

This platform has the potential to automatically fill out necessary paperwork to facilitate the discharge of suitable patients, thereby reducing delays and freeing up hospital beds.

Health Secretary Wes Street emphasized that this technology will enable healthcare providers to allocate less time to administrative tasks, allowing them to focus more on patient care and consequently decrease waiting periods.

The Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust is piloting this platform, which extracts essential data from medical records, including diagnoses and test results.

This functionality aids healthcare providers in drafting discharge summaries, which are essential before patients can be released from the hospital.

These summaries undergo a review by the patient’s medical professional and are utilized for either patient discharge or referral to other services.

The Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Technology often finds itself overwhelmed with form-filling, leading to significant delays for patients awaiting discharge.

Street stated: “This potentially transformative tool is a perfect example of the transition from analog to digital as part of a decade-long health initiative.”

“We are harnessing cutting-edge technology to create an NHS that is equipped for the future, addressing the backlog that has left many waiting for far too long.”

“As a result, doctors will spend less time on paperwork, enabling quicker patient discharges and freeing beds for those in greater need.”


This tool operates on the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), a system intended to enhance collaboration among health and care organizations to improve patient service.

In January, Prime Minister Kiel’s Starmer remarked that AI would be used to evaluate past performance in the economy and public services.

Additionally, the government has unveiled technology expected to reduce the time that probation officers need to process cases later this year. This system assists probation officers in taking notes and transcribing during meetings with former inmates.

AI applications are being tested throughout the NHS, functioning as an early warning system that analyzes hospital databases to identify potential safety issues, detect patterns, and prompt emergency testing.

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The first NHS AI-run Physiotherapy Clinic has successfully halved the waiting list for both lower back pain and musculoskeletal services. Over 2,500 patients in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough accessed the Flok Health physical therapy app for a 12-week period beginning in February.

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Moreover, the NHS in the UK is exploring the use of “superhuman” AI tools that are designed to predict potential early illness and mortality risks in patients.

During a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle stated:

“This government is revitalizing a public sector that has faced years of underfunding and is in dire need of reform.

“These AI innovations exemplify how technology can be leveraged to cultivate a more efficient and intelligent state.

“If executed properly across government sectors, we could potentially unlock £45 billion in productivity gains and foster investment plans aimed at growth, instead of bureaucracy.”

Source: www.theguardian.com