Thunderstorm Gamma Radiation Quiz

What did the team discover about gamma radiation in thunderstorms, according to the Nature papers?

• It is less common than previously thought.

• It is more common than previously thought.

• It only occurs during hurricanes.

• It is only found in the tropics.

Who is Steve Cummer?

• A NASA astronaut.

• A professor at Duke University.

• A meteorologist at NOAA.

• A physicist at MIT.

What is the role of positively charged particles in thunderstorms?

• They create rain.

• They end up at the top of the storm.

• They cause lightning.

• They create wind.

What was the outcome of the ER-2 flights over large storms?

• 9 out of 10 flights observed gamma radiation

• All flights observed gamma radiation

• No flights observed gamma radiation

• 5 out of 10 flights observed gamma radiation

What did the researchers find surprising about the gamma radiation observed?

• It was more dynamic than expected

• It was less intense than expected

• It was only present in small storms

• It was identical to previous findings

What does the research suggest about thunderstorms in the tropics?

• More than half are radioactive

• None are radioactive

• All are non-radioactive

• Only a few are radioactive

What phenomenon did the researchers observe in the thunderstorms?

• Short duration and intense gamma radiation bursts

• Long duration and weak gamma radiation bursts

• No gamma radiation bursts

• Continuous gamma radiation

What did the researchers hope to determine by flying over the right storms?

• If gamma radiation phenomena were common or rare

• The speed of the storms

• The temperature of the clouds

• The size of the storms

What does the large electric field created by lightning likely do?

• It decreases the energy of electrons.

• It supercharges high-energy electrons.

• It creates low-energy nuclear reactions.

• It stops gamma radiation bursts.

What is the duration of the incredibly short gamma radiation burst?

• Less than a second

• Less than a tenth of a second

• Less than a thousandth of a second

• Less than a hundredth of a second