GBH Openvault

NOVA; Lightning!

09/12/1995

Color corrected. Dolby surround sound

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Series

NOVA

Program

Lightning!

Program Number

2213

Series Description

Premiered March 1974 NOVA is a general-interest documentary series that addresses a single science issue each week. Billed as "science adventures for curious grown-ups" when it first aired in March, 1974, NOVA continues to offer an informative and entertaining approach to a challenging subject. 1996 marked NOVA's 23rd season, which makes it the longest-running science program on national television. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won every major television award, most of them many times over. Series release date: 3/3/1974

Program Description

No one is sure how lightning gets started, but one theory is that incoming cosmic rays from outer space serve as the trigger. In 2002, lightning expert Joe Dwyer of the Florida Institute of Technology Dwyer and collaborators discovered that rocket-triggered lightning produces large quantities of X-rays, allowing for the first time the detailed study of a mysterious atmospheric phenomenon known as runaway breakdown.

Duration

00:56:44

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Video

Genres

Documentary

Topics

Science

Citation

Chicago: “NOVA; Lightning!,” 09/12/1995, GBH Archives, accessed December 6, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_C33085B424B1465FB45CA5B6B75FEADF.

MLA: “NOVA; Lightning!.” 09/12/1995. GBH Archives. Web. December 6, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_C33085B424B1465FB45CA5B6B75FEADF>.

APA: NOVA; Lightning!. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_C33085B424B1465FB45CA5B6B75FEADF