Atmospherics

About: Atmospherics is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 525 publications have been published within this topic receiving 8819 citations.

An investigation of whistling atmospherics

Abstract: The paper, which is in two parts, describes an investigation of the nature and origin of the 'whistling atmospherics' or 'whistlers' which are sometimes observed at frequencies below 15 kc/s. The first part describes an experimental study of their properties, in the course of which a considerable number of whistlers were recorded and analyzed, and the law of the variation of their frequency with time determined. Some whistlers are heard to follow impulsive atmospherics, and these are found to be produced in the normal way by lightning strokes taking place within a distance of about 2000 km. Other whistlers are unaccompanied by atmospherics; they differ from the former type in several further respects. The diurnal and annual variations of the properties of both types of whistler have also been studied. In the second part of the paper a theory of the origin of the whistling atmospherics, originally due to Barkhausen (1930) and Eckersley (1935), is developed in detail. The theory proposes that they are due to waves which originate in normal impulsive atmospherics and travel through the outer ionosphere, following the lines of force of the earth's magnetic field and crossing over the equator at a great height. During their journey they become dispersed so as to arrive as 'whistlers'. They may be reflected from the earth's surface back along the same path, one or more times, to produce whistlers with increased dispersions. The effects responsible for the guiding of the waves along the lines of the geomagnetic field provide sufficient focusing action to prevent the energy from being spread unduly. Measurements of the degree of dispersion of the whistlers have been interpreted to yield information about the density of electrons in the atmosphere at very great heights. The density required seems considerably larger than could reasonably have been expected. If the free electrons are produced by ionization of the terrestrial atmosphere its temperature in these regions must be at least 7200 degrees K. The results might alternatively be explained on the assumption that the electrons are falling in from outside, and if this were so it might account for the relationship between the occurrence of whistlers and magnetic activity.

Modeling the impact of internet atmospherics on surfer behavior

Abstract: This paper examines the role of Internet atmospherics cues on the behavior of surfers and their impact on variables such as site attitudes, site involvement, exploratory behavior, pre-purchase and purchase intentions. Atmospherics cues are central (structure, organization, informativeness, effectiveness and navigational characteristics) and peripheral (entertainment). A conceptual model is developed based on a review of existing findings and tested with a large sample of consumers who responded to a questionnaire after navigating through an existing pharmaceutical web site. Structural equations modeling was used to test 10 major hypotheses. Among the key findings, all atmospherics cues were impacting the other constructs, with the central cues mostly affecting site involvement and exploratory behavior, while entertainment affected site involvement and site attitudes. These findings contribute to the theoretical and managerial understanding of the role of Internet atmospherics on the navigation behavior of visitors.

Atmospherics, Service Encounters and Consumer Decision Making: An Integrattve Perspective

Abstract: The purpose of this article is twofold. First, a theoretical framework is described that integrates the published literature associated with atmospherics into a services marketing context. Secondly, the roles of atmospherics as they pertain to consumer decision processes within service encounters are specifically addressed. A propositional inventory is developed that postulates the relationship between atmospherics and the three primary stages of consumer decision processes – prepurchase, consumption, and postpurchase evaluations. Suggestions for future research and managerial implications are also presented.

Ionospheric D region remote sensing using VLF radio atmospherics

Abstract: Lightning discharges radiate the bulk of their electromagnetic energy in the very low frequency (VLF, 3–30 kHz) and extremely low frequency (ELF, 3–3000 Hz) bands. This energy, contained in impulse-like signals called radio atmospherics or sferics, is guided for long distances by multiple reflections from the ground and lower ionosphere. This suggests that observed sferic waveforms radiated from lightning and received at long distances (>1000 km) from the source stroke contain information about the state of the ionosphere along the propagation path. The focus of this work is on the extraction of nighttime D region electron densities (in the altitude range of ∼70–95 km) from observed VLF sferics. In order to accurately interpret observed sferic characteristics, we develop a model of sferic propagation which is based on an existing frequency domain subionospheric VLF propagation code. The model shows that the spectral characteristics of VLF sferics depend primarily on the propagation path averaged ionospheric D region electron density profile, covering the range of electron densities from ∼100 to 103 cm−3. To infer the D region density from observed VLF sferics, we find the electron density profile that produces a modeled sferic spectrum that most closely matches an observed sferic spectrum. In most nighttime cases the quality of the agreement and the uncertainties involved allow the height of an exponentially varying electron density profile to be inferred with a precision of ∼0.2 km.