Word: thunderhead
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Dates: during 1972-1972
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...test being conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was to prevent the buildup of electrical potential during a storm, and thus to prevent the occurrence of damaging lightning. Like iron filings near a bar magnet, the 4-in.-long, hair-thin fibers, when released in a thunderhead, align themselves with the lines of force in the electrical field of the cloud. What is more, negative and positive charges build up at opposite ends of the fibers, creating miniature electrical fields and ionizing the air around them. The ionization increases the conductivity of air within the thunderhead...