Elmsfeuer
An Elmsfeuer ( Sankt-Elms-Feuer , Eliasfeuer ) is a rare light phenomenon ( electrometeors ) caused by electrical charges . It is named after the canonized Bishop Erasmus of Antioch (approx. 240–303, Elmo in Italian ), whom seafarers called in earlier times when they were in distress due to a storm.
description
An Elm fire is a continuous corona discharge in the atmosphere , which occurs in thunderstorm weather conditions with electric field strengths of more than 100 kV / m. Under these conditions, the Elmsfeuer can be observed on tall, pointed objects such as ship masts, church towers, mountain peaks and barbed wire fences. It also occurs on aircraft windshields.
This weather phenomenon also occurs in the mountains with an approaching storm front. These phenomena can occur especially in the area of the summit cross , coupled with a characteristic whirring ( pimple whirring ).
There is an immediate danger of lightning in an Elm fire . Elmsfeuer glow blue-violet due to the spectral lines of the gases oxygen and nitrogen in the earth's atmosphere.
Elmsfeuer in literature and popular culture
literature
- In William Shakespeare's drama The Tempest (1611), the Elmsfeuer appears in a song by the air spirit Ariel:
- “On the deck, in every cabin, I flamed with horror; soon I will split up and burn in many places; on the mast, on the pole and bowsprit, I flamed separately, then flowed into one ... "
- In his novel Moby-Dick (1851), Herman Melville described an Elmsfire as an ominous event.
- In the story Between Heaven and Earth (1856) by Otto Ludwig it says: "For a few nights you could see the so-called Sankt Elmsfeuer flickering from the top of the tower at the twinkling stars in the sky."
- In Chapter 16 of Jules Verne's novel Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863), Doctor Fergusson observed an Elmsfire forming on the balloon during a severe thunderstorm.
- In chapter 35 of Jules Verne's novel The Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), the protagonist Axel recognizes, among other things, from this natural phenomenon that a thunderstorm is pending: “On the mast, where I saw a light Elm's flame, the taut sail fell Wrinkles down. "
- Karl May describes in the novel Der Geist der Llano Estakata (later: Der Geist des Llano Estacado , first published in 1888 in the magazine Der Gute Kamerad ) an Elmsfeuer as a harbinger of a tornado.
- In Michael Ende 's children's book Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13 (1962), Lukas the locomotive driver explains the Elm fire to Jim Knopf in the magnetic rock:
“It's not dangerous,” he explained, “because it's not an electric current, it's a magnetic fire, and that doesn't do anything to humans. It's called Sankt-Elms-Feuer. '"
- In the comic book Tim in Tibet (1963), Captain Haddock witnessed the phenomenon on his ice ax while climbing at great heights.
- In chapter 63 of Diana Gabaldon's Highland Saga Part 3 - Far Shores (1993), the main characters experience an Elm fire during a storm in the Caribbean: “Suddenly the sailors became restless and when I looked up I saw that over the spars and the rigging blue lights of the Elm Fire. "
- Stephen King mentions in his novel Revival (2015) an Elmsfeuer, which is observed by a couple during a thunderstorm on the so-called sky peak.
Movie
- In Moby Dick (1956) the Elmsfeuer during a thunderstorm is interpreted as a sign of the way to the white whale.
- In the film El Perdido (1961), an Elmsfeuer appears on a herd of cattle.
- In the film Die Hindenburg (1975), an Elmsfire temporarily caused unrest among some of the Zeppelin passengers during the crossing to New York.
- Joel Schumacher made the youth film St. Elmo's Fire in 1985 - The passion burns deep .
- In the film The Downfall of the Pamir (2006), Part I, the Elm Fire is portrayed as a harbinger of the approaching catastrophe.
- In Melancholia (film) (2011), the Elmsfeuer can be observed on telegraph poles in the face of a gigantic planet racing towards earth. In one take you can even see it on the protagonist's fingertips.
music
- In St. Elmo's Fire (1975), Brian Eno describes a melancholy late summer mood.
- In his song St. Elmo's Fire (1985), John Parr uses the term to express his inner tension, his inner fire.
- In Reinhard Mey's song ballad Das Narrenschiff (1998) the approaching catastrophe is announced with the words: “And Elmsfeuer flickers from the loading tree”.
literature
- Elmsfeuer . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 5, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 569.
- A [lbert] v [on] Obermayer: Elms fire phenomena in the Alps. In: Journal of the German Alpine Association / Journal of the German and (the) Austrian Alpine Association , year 1889, (Volume XX), pp. 94-101. (Online at ANNO ). .
- Gustav Büscher: Acting rays. Radiance in the service of science and culture. Man in the sea of rays: healing rays. From Elmsfeuer to the northern lights. Radiant life. Cosmic rays. Radiant miracles of the coming days. Sound radiation. Death rays . Library of technology for everyone, Volume 3, ZDB -ID 2738804-9 . Franckh, Stuttgart 1941, DNB , OBV .
- Kristian Schlegel: From the rainbow to the northern lights. Luminous phenomena in the atmosphere . Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg 2001, ISBN 3-8274-1174-2 .
Web links
Commons : Elmsfeuer - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikisource: The St. Elm Fire in January 1863 - Sources and full texts
Wiktionary: Elmsfeuer - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
- Elmsfeuer on the website of the “Arbeitskreis Meteore e. V. "
- Photo of an Elm fire at the Sonnblick Observatory from November 28, 2012
- atoptics.wordpress.com St Elmo's Fire on Mt Hoher Sonnblick
- Elm fire on a hand recorded at Lake Monona, WI, USA
References and comments
- ↑ From William Shakespeare: The Tempest around 1623.
- ↑ Jules Verne: The Journey to the Center of the Earth . 5th edition. Arena, Würzburg 1978, p. 153 .
- ↑ Karl May: The bear hunter's son , historical-critical edition for the Karl May Foundation . Karl-May-Verlag, 2009, p. 577 ff., For an explanation of the publication p. 588 f.
- ↑ Michael Ende: Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13. K. Thienemanns Verlag, Stuttgart 1962, p. 62 ff.
- ↑ Diana Gabaldon: Far Shores (The Highland Saga, Volume 3); Blanvalet Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 978-3-442-35095-7 , p. 1003.
- ^ German first edition, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-453-26963-7 , p. 159.
- ↑ Lyrics Das Narrenschiff by Reinhard Mey