Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Notation
• Acronyms
• Introduction
  • Transient Luminous Events
  • Sprites and their Parent Discharges
  • Overview
• Conventional Breakdown
  • Introduction
  • Breakdown basics
    • Charge mobility and motion
    • E/N and electron energy, $\varepsilon$
    • Ionization, Recombination, and Attachment
    • Electron avalanche
  • Atmospheric Models
    • 1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere
    • Latitudinal and Seasonal Variation
  • Atmospheric Conductivity and Relaxation Time
    • Ion Conductivity
    • Electron Conductivity
    • Total conductivity
    • Relaxation Time
  • Sprite Initiation Threshold
    • Infinite images
    • Uniformly Charged Disk
    • Initiation Threshold vs. Height
  • Streamers
    • Formation
    • Propagation
• Close Sprite-producing Discharges
  • Introduction
  • Instrumentation
    • KSC LDAR
    • NMT Interferometer
  • Observations
  • Storm development history
  • Charge Moment Analysis
  • 01:42:57 UT Sprite-producer
  • 01:47:52 UT Sprite-producer
  • 01:51:02 UT Sprite-producer
  • 01:55:47 UT Sprite-producer
  • 02:15:19 UT Non-sprite-producer
  • Summary
  • Discussion
• ELF measurements
  • Introduction
  • Sprite Currents
  • Daytime Sprites
    • Instrumentation
    • Experiment
    • Results
    • Relaxation Time during the Day
    • Daytime Sprite Initiation Threshold
  • Summary
  • Discussion
• High-speed Video Observations of Sprites
  • Introduction
  • October 7, 1997
    • Storm Development
    • Observations
    • 03:03:59 UT, 2000 frames/second
    • 03:40:37 UT, 1000 frames/second
    • 03:40:38 UT, 1000 frames/second
  • October 6, 1997
    • Observations
    • 04:37:05 UT, 2000 frames/second
    • 04:45:48 UT, 2000 frames/second
  • Summary
  • Discussion
• Conclusions
  • Summary
  • Future Work
• Instrumentation
  • High-speed Camera System
  • Data Acquisition System
• Calibration
  • Introduction
  • Camera location
  • Camera orientation
    • Normal-speed camera
    • High-speed camera
  • Video timing
    • Normal-speed video
    • High-speed video
  • Refractive corrections
  • Electric Field Calibration
    • Local Calibration
    • Absolute Calibration
• Effect of Ionosphere on Static Field Measurements
• Bibliography
• About this document ...