Because that's what lightning usually does. Actually it goes both ways. A weaker charge goes cloud to ground and ionizes a pathway for a much larger charge to go up. Both the up and down stroke happen so fast your eyes usually perceive only the brighter upstroke. This video has been slowed down.

Ignorant question of the day - Is it likely one could expose themselves to radiation poisoning or get cancer from these activities? I ask, because the radiation generated by these devices is actually ionizing; but that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

I think color could be achieved by having the ionization at a different frequency so it produces photons on a colored wavelength.

What I want to know is:
1) does it fry the flesh from your skeleton if you stick your hand in the middle?
and
2) how long until we can get lightsabers?

I have seen the one that looks like varicose veins as it formed (did not appear as this one did, like air-bursts from fireworks). It was just above the tree-line about 40 feet away, I did not see it at 10,000 FPS but it probably looked similar.

Had lightning crack just behind and above me once-That one sent a sonic shock through my abdomen to my balls and scared the holy shit outta me! I heard the damn thing forming was what startled me so much, and could smell the intense ionization in the air just prior....surreal.

I'm inclined to fall in the middle here.
Smoked a pack a day for 20 years and got lung cancer? That's a victim that took a risk and lost. BUT...
It's impossible to eliminate cancer risk entirely. Cancer is semi-random with an off-on trigger. Risk is cumulative, and while incidence can be correlated with risk across populations, incidence is not directly correlated with risk for a given individual. Some people will tan for years and never experience the specific set of mutations and biologic failsafe failures that results in melanoma, while others will trigger that specific set of conditions rapidly, even when the starting biologic conditions\predispositions are the same.
So, yes, I believe some people "get credit" for their cancer (or other illnesses) because of their behaviors, but others are just unlucky.
Even setting aside the randomness of incidence, we're constantly bombarded with a significant cancer risk factor in the form of ionizing radiation, and not just from avoidable sources like deciding to live in a brick house or eating bananas.
I also disagree with the idea that more money wouldn't help eliminate (contrast with "cure") cancer, because many organizations funding cancer research are looking at identifying risk factors, which leads to opportunities for educating populations about avoiding those risk factors. Cervical cancer can be caused by HPV? Get your kids vaccinated, don't have unprotected sex, etc. Lung cancer can be caused by smoking? Stop smoking! It isn't just about finding a magic medication to reverse cellular mutations or target mutated cells, although that would be fantastic.

Microwaves are non-ionizing radiation, lower frequency than Infrared even...no significan shielding required

It's not SUCH a bad idea if they don't hang out near those RF's for more than a few ticks...That massive antennae is blasting out radio frequencies that are right at the max of non-hazardous (ionizing) levels. Best they don't stay too long at the base of that monster! Bet it makes one's nose tickle and head begin to ache after about 45 minutes around it.

Lots of that light has to do with the fact that not only is it instantly VERY hot , but that there is ALSO ionized gases that get created into a plasma that doesn't last very long (due to energy or heat absorption speed), but it will light up really good with the color all depending on the material hit (carbon based stuff as said above, so the photons you see are from the "energy range" released in the energy exchange through the atmospheric gases and tree/pole/whatever hit).

>> ^spawnflagger:

I like the idea, but didn't he do a simple product search ?
or hell, even the domain itself - http://www.gojo.com/ . It's a brand of hand cleaner (good stuff too) that's been around for years.
I don't see how he isn't infringing on the brand/trademark "gojo", so a lot of legal battles ahead...
Oh, and lastly - cancer. Do you want a high-powered cell phone transmitter next to your brain, or a low powered bluetooth headset?


Trademarks are only supposed to protect against similar products. It would be trademark infringement to make another soap or cleanser and call it Gojo. A shampoo would probably be considered too similar; maybe something cleaning-related like a sponge or scrubbing brush, too. A headband with a suction cup is not in the same market so it shouldn't be in violation.

The microwaves that are emitted by a cell phone are non-ionizing and thus, not linked to cancer. They're in the same carcinogen group (2B) as coffee and pickles.

To put it simply, it's just a giant capacitor.

>> ^Trancecoach:

an electrostatic leader is formed by the change in pressure in the atmosphere caused by a thundercloud moving over the surface of the earth, setting the charges on the base of the cloud and the surface of the earth equal but opposite. A channel of ionized air starts from the negatively charged region in the cloud, mixes with water and ice. the initial bipolar discharge, called a leader, generates the stepped leaders which result in the familiarly branched or zigzag path of least resistance as the electrostatic imbalance is returned to zero by the return stroke of lightening.
>> ^Payback:
FFFFFFFFuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkkkiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg lllllllliiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhhttttttttnnnnnnnniiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg, hhhhhhhhoooooooowwwwwwww ddddddddooooooooeeeeeeeessssssss iiiiiiiitttttttt wwwwwwwwoooooooorrrrrrrrkkkkkkkk?

an electrostatic leader is formed by the change in pressure in the atmosphere caused by a thundercloud moving over the surface of the earth, setting the charges on the base of the cloud and the surface of the earth equal but opposite. A channel of ionized air starts from the negatively charged region in the cloud, mixes with water and ice. the initial bipolar discharge, called a leader, generates the stepped leaders which result in the familiarly branched or zigzag path of least resistance as the electrostatic imbalance is returned to zero by the return stroke of lightening.

>> ^Payback:

FFFFFFFFuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkkkiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg lllllllliiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhhttttttttnnnnnnnniiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg, hhhhhhhhoooooooowwwwwwww ddddddddooooooooeeeeeeeessssssss iiiiiiiitttttttt wwwwwwwwoooooooorrrrrrrrkkkkkkkk?

In reply to this comment by Payback:
>> ^PalmliX:

I love how these spacecraft's are still doing science work and prompting new discoveries. Truly a spectacular feat of engineering!


Either that or it's electronics have been so degraded by ionizing radiation and it's sensors pocked by micro-meteorites that it's just shittin' with us.

jeez I hope not! Although you'd think the scientists collecting the data would know the difference between actual measurements and corrupted data?

>> ^PalmliX:

I love how these spacecraft's are still doing science work and prompting new discoveries. Truly a spectacular feat of engineering!


Either that or it's electronics have been so degraded by ionizing radiation and it's sensors pocked by micro-meteorites that it's just shittin' with us.

sure, except backscatter is the reasons radiology techs take the precautions they do with their own bodies and wear lead and stand behind walls. it's not high energy, but it isn't entirely benign either. a 60 year old flying once or twice a year, i would not worry about at all.

but like you said, the cornea's of a child who flies a decent amount and grows up to be a business traveler, i'm more concerned.

you still get exposed to more radiation during your flight.

but since this is a TERRIBLE and EXPENSIVE way to fight terrorism, i hate it. and additional exposure to radiation is one of the reasons.

>> ^joedirt:

You can't compare backscatter to equivalent dosage. This isn't high energy X-rays that pass through the body. This isn't like high atmospheric solar radiation that passes through the body.
Backscatter X-rays work by being such low energy, they only penetrate a few mm into the skin then ionize and scatter X-rays to make the image. There is ZERO studies on what this does to children, corneas, or testicles.