May 15, 2021 10:59 PM
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-n...180977665/
EXCERPT: . . . Macros are one of several alternatives to WIMPS that have been put forward. The idea is that dark matter, rather than being composed of elementary particles, is actually made up of macroscopic clumps of matter. These clumps may weigh as much as a few ounces, perhaps the weight of a golf ball. However, because of their extreme density (several hundred pounds per cubic inch), all of that mass would be packed into a space about the size of a bacterium. But, crucially, macros are unlikely to be just sitting around; more likely, they’re whipping through space with speeds of between roughly 150 and 300 miles per second (compared to roughly a half mile per second for a rifle bullet).
If a macro happened to pass through Earth’s atmosphere, it would release so much energy it would strip the electrons off the atoms that it pushed aside, creating a long, pencil-thin channel of charged particles, known as ions, in the air. Normally, such an ion channel would be invisible—but if there happens to be an electrical storm underway, the channel would offer a conduit for lightning. But unlike ordinary lightning, which is jagged, these macro-induced bolts of lightning would be straight as an arrow, according to physicist Glenn Starkman of Case Western Reserve University, and his son Nathaniel Starkman, a physics graduate student at the University of Toronto. Their paper, co-authored with colleagues Harrison Winch and Jagjit Singh Sidhu, examines the mechanism by which macros might trigger lightning, as well as several other novel means for searching for evidence of macros. It was published in April in the journal Physical Review D.
“Since these macros are traveling so fast, they're not really affected by wind—so these ion channels are remarkably straight, cutting directly through the earth’s atmosphere,” says the younger Starkman. Lightning normally travels along disjointed, crooked paths as it tries to find the path of least resistance between clouds and the ground. Because of fluctuations in temperature and humidity, that path is typically erratic, producing a characteristic zigag pattern. But once a macro has created a perfectly straight ion channel, the lightning would “snap into place,” resulting in a super-straight bolt. “It's still bright, it’s still loud—but it's no longer jagged,” Nathaniel says... (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: . . . Macros are one of several alternatives to WIMPS that have been put forward. The idea is that dark matter, rather than being composed of elementary particles, is actually made up of macroscopic clumps of matter. These clumps may weigh as much as a few ounces, perhaps the weight of a golf ball. However, because of their extreme density (several hundred pounds per cubic inch), all of that mass would be packed into a space about the size of a bacterium. But, crucially, macros are unlikely to be just sitting around; more likely, they’re whipping through space with speeds of between roughly 150 and 300 miles per second (compared to roughly a half mile per second for a rifle bullet).
If a macro happened to pass through Earth’s atmosphere, it would release so much energy it would strip the electrons off the atoms that it pushed aside, creating a long, pencil-thin channel of charged particles, known as ions, in the air. Normally, such an ion channel would be invisible—but if there happens to be an electrical storm underway, the channel would offer a conduit for lightning. But unlike ordinary lightning, which is jagged, these macro-induced bolts of lightning would be straight as an arrow, according to physicist Glenn Starkman of Case Western Reserve University, and his son Nathaniel Starkman, a physics graduate student at the University of Toronto. Their paper, co-authored with colleagues Harrison Winch and Jagjit Singh Sidhu, examines the mechanism by which macros might trigger lightning, as well as several other novel means for searching for evidence of macros. It was published in April in the journal Physical Review D.
“Since these macros are traveling so fast, they're not really affected by wind—so these ion channels are remarkably straight, cutting directly through the earth’s atmosphere,” says the younger Starkman. Lightning normally travels along disjointed, crooked paths as it tries to find the path of least resistance between clouds and the ground. Because of fluctuations in temperature and humidity, that path is typically erratic, producing a characteristic zigag pattern. But once a macro has created a perfectly straight ion channel, the lightning would “snap into place,” resulting in a super-straight bolt. “It's still bright, it’s still loud—but it's no longer jagged,” Nathaniel says... (MORE - details)