sferics

1. pluralplural of sferic

alternative spherics

1. pluralplural onlyElectromagnetic pulses caused by atmospheric phenomena, such as lightning. plural of sferic

   ...an artificial sferics generator was used as a known source of EM pulses.

   1965 (pub.): Mitre Corporation, Research & Experimentation 1960-1964 http://books.google.com/books?vid=0womdjATmZ-KMq2Hz5&id=KqTvgTb9FlAC&q=sferics&dq=sferics&pgis=1

   5 more examples

   A Sferics Locating System has been developed to determine the geographical location of lightning strokes...

   1920: Wilbur H. Paulsen (American Meteorological Society pub.), Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society http://books.google.com/books?vid=0myaFW4os6gDX0JMkJ&id=_IEOAAAAIAAJ&q=sferics&dq=sferics&pgis=1

   1987: Barbara Tufty, 1001 Questions Answered About Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Other Natural Air Disasters http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0486254550&id=LpVoN0gmVKcC&pg=RA2-PA38&lpg=RA2-PA38&dq=sferics&sig=BapiarKgnm1NVr9NDBl1Xcgtp-A Researchers have thought that possibly these sferics could be used to track hurricanes—but so far, they have been only marginally successful.

   Sferics are classified normally by the frequency of the receiver used to detect them.

   1998, Donald R. MacGorman, W. David Rust, The Electrical Nature of Storms

   This circuit generates a bipolar pulse waveform that closely approximates the main features of sferics.

   1999, Rudolf F. Graf, William Sheets, The Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits

   The second common theoretical approach of the propagation of sferics involves viewing the Earth-ionosphere cavity as a waveguide...

   2003: Rakov, Vladimir A. Rakov, Martin A. Uman, Lightning: Physics and Effects http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521583276&id=NviMsvVOHJ4C&pg=PA446&lpg=PA446&dq=sferics&sig=X0H-Fg7yaFTa7xnvGjFpMCvXmXM#PPA446,M1

2. pluralplural onlyRadio interference caused by sferics; atmospherics.

   In the identification of sources of short whistlers, the spectral characteristics of the sferics can often be used to establish many sferics as doubtful...

   1959, D. L. Carpenter, Identification of Whistler Sources on Visual Records and a Method of Routine Whistler Analysis

   1 more example

   As it turned out, the whistler was only the first of a family of sferics whose taxonomy was to include clicks, hooks, risers, nose-whistlers and one like a warbling of birds called the dawn chorus....

   1963, Thomas Pynchon, V.