SAINT ELMO'S FIRE

luminous discharge of electricity extending into the atmosphere from some projecting or elevated object. It is usually observed (often during a snowstorm or a dust storm) as brushlike fiery jets extending from the tips of a ship's mast or spar, a wing, propeller, or other part of an aircraft, a steeple, a mountain top, or even from blades of grass or horns of cattle. Sometimes it plays about the head of a person, causing a tingling sensation. The phenomenon occurs when the atmosphere becomes charged and an electrical potential strong enough to cause a discharge is created between an object and the air around it. The amount of electricity involved is not great enough to be dangerous. The appearance of St. Elmo's fire is regarded as a portent of bad weather. The phenomenon, also known as corposant, was long regarded with superstitious awe.

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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

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Questia Books and Articles on: Saint Elmos Fire
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books on: Saint Elmos Fire  - 52 results

       More book Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>  
 
1.
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints
Book by David Hugh Farmer; Oxford University Press, 1997
Subjects: Christian Saints--Biography--Dictionaries, Christian Saints--Great Britain--Biography--Dictionaries, Christian Saints--Ireland--Biography--Dictionaries
...sometimes seen at mastheads after storms called St. Elmos Fire or, less correctly, St. Helens Fire were believed to be a sign of his protection...confusing him with *Erkenwald. G. H. Doble, The Saints of Cornwall , i 1960 , 95-6. ERCONGOTA...
2.
General Chennault's Secret Weapon: The B-24 in China: Based on the Diary and Notes of Captain Elmer E. Haynes
Book by A. B. Feuer; Praeger Publishers, 1992
Subjects: Air Pilots, Military--United States--Diaries, B-24 Bomber, China--History, Military, Haynes, Elmer E.--1917---Diaries, World War, 1939-1945--Aerial Operations, American, World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--China, World War, 1939-1945--Personal Narratives, American
...the lights started dimming, the fire balls became smaller, and the night...read stories about the phenomenon of Saint Elmos fire, and the panic it caused among...who is fortunate enough to witness Saint Elmos fire will never forget it! After...
3.
Weather and the Ocean of Air
Book by William Holmes Wenstrom; Houghton Mifflin, 1942
Subjects: Atmosphere, Meteorology, Weather Forecasting
...and somewhat similar variety of thunderstorm light is Saint Elmos fire, a bluish, brush-like discharge that sometimes...hydrogen in preparation for a landing at Lakehurst. Saint Elmos fire ignited the escaping hydrogen-air mixture...
4.
The Cervantes Encyclopedia, Vol. 2 L-Z - Vol. 2
Book by Howard Mancing; Greenwood Press, 2004
Subjects: Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel De--1547-1616--Encyclopedias
...Por san Cristo ( I swear by Saint Christ ). Saint Christopher San Cristobal...official list of Catholic saints. See Gitanilla. Saint Denis San Dionis (third century...guide or guiding light. Saint Elmos Fire is the glow of static electricity...
5.
Dictionary of Energy
Book by Cutler J. Cleveland, Christopher Morris; Elsevier, 2006
Subjects: Power Resources--Dictionaries
...sufficient to sustain a nuclear fusion reaction; an advanced concept for con- trolled nuclear fusion. St. Elmos fire see SAINT ELMOS FIRE. step-down Electricity. 1. to change electricity from a higher to a lower voltage. 2. such a decrease...
More book Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>

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journal articles on: Saint Elmos Fire  - 3 results

 
 
1.
From Trauma to Paranoia: Nuclear Weapons, Science Fiction and History
Journal article by Cyndy Hendershot; Mosaic (Winnipeg), Vol. 32, 1999
Subjects: Defense reaction (Physiology)--Analysis, Motion pictures--Social aspects, Nuclear warfare in motion pictures--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Science fiction films--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
...military forces are to fire at UFOs on sight. The...earth in the form of St. Elmos Fire, an electrical discharge...after St. Erasmus, patron saint of sailors. At a barbecue...the phenomenon of St. Elmos Fire with paranoia when...
2.
Prometheus' Tools: Instruments and Apparatus Used in Atmospheric Electricity Research and Experiments
Journal article by Paolo Brenni; Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 99, 2009
...between elements, air charged with fire, inflammable vapors and telluric...and divine punishment. Several saints, such as Saint Barbara, were invoked as protectors...mysterious ball lightning, and of Saint Elmos fires. But there was no real advance...
3.
Male Fears and Fantasies in Harriet Prescott Spofford's "The Black Bess"
Journal article by Susan Amper; West Virginia University Philological Papers, 2001
Subjects: Aggressiveness (Psychology)--Portrayals, Men--Portrayals, Power (Philosophy)--Portrayals, Sex role--Portrayals, Sex roles--Portrayals, Spofford, Harriet Elizabeth Prescott--Criticism and interpretation, The Black Bess (Book)--Criticism and interpretation, Women authors--Criticism and interpretation, Women writers--Criticism and interpretation
...diabolical race" (133), running "as if the fires of hell were blazing beneath her boilers...advice he begins to reverse the roles of saint and sinner, asking himself, "Was it...with such diabolical things" as St. Elmos fire (136). Apparently she sees all too...


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magazine articles on: Saint Elmos Fire  - 4 results

 
 
1.
Columbia's Last Flight: The Inside Story of the Investigation-And the Catastrophe It Laid Bare
Magazine article by William Langewiesche; The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 292, November 2003
Subjects: Columbia Space Shuttle Accident, 2003--Investigations, Husband, Rick D., Space shuttles--Safety and security measures, United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration--Management
...the Columbia out there in its sheath of fire at 200,000 feet. Moreover, Gehman was...light at night like that of Saint Elmos fire. Only eight and a half minutes have passed...quality often confused with coolness under fire. I was given a taste of this by an active...
2.
Reflections 7 : Burum
Magazine article by Benjamin Bergery; American Cinematographer, Vol. 70, February 1989
...and sophisticated cinematography of a wide range of features, including Rumblefish, The Outsiders, Body Double, Saint Elmos Fire, and The Untouchables. Burum recently completed Casualties of War, his third feature with director Brian De Palma...
3.
Armchair Adventures
Magazine article by James Panero; New Criterion, Vol. 22, February 2004
...slaver Trinidad rises among the wrecks and reefs of Madagascar on a moonlit night during July of 1834. Notice the Saint Elmos fire in the spans and mastheads. (Slaver Trinidad 1978) Not aware that the bristles used in his favorite filbert brushes...
4.
The Science of Enchantment
Magazine article; Musical Times, Vol. 143, Spring 2002
Subjects: Classical music, Fairs & exhibitions, History, Paris France
...unleashed the power of fire, light and water. Jose...clock: the Seine is on fire! Through forty loudspeakers...trills. Between them, a St Elmos Fire suddenly flashes, swelling...Turangalila-symphonie and Saint Francois dAssise which...


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newspaper articles on: Saint Elmos Fire  - 3 results

 
 
1.
When Demi Is on the Set It's Lights, Camera, Action. DISASTER
Newspaper article by Ellen Grehan; Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland), May 25, 1997
Subjects: Moore, Demi
...treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction at the start of her career, before being allowed to complete the film, Saint Elmos Fire, now portrays herself as a healthy super woman. Her personal trainer was told to leak it to the media that she had...
2.
QWhat Was the James Arness [...]
Newspaper article; Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland), July 2, 2011
...ranch empire. Bruce Boxleitner and Eva Marie Saint co-starred. Q Can you tell me who had a hit with St Elmos Fire? Jennifer Lawrence, Glasgow A St Elmos Fire (Man In Motion) was a No.6 hit for English...
3.
Bang Goes the Neighbourhood; Phones, Computers and Televisions Blow as Freak Electrical Blast Hits Scots Village
Newspaper article; The Daily Mail (London, England), January 24, 2007
...were cursing St Elmos fire after a freak electrical...unusually severe form of St Elmos fire, which occurs when...yesterday described St Elmos fire as a luminous, electrical...or point discharge, St Elmos fire causes the tips of...St Erasmus - the patron saint of early Mediterranean...


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encyclopedia articles on: Saint Elmos Fire  - 4 results

 
 
1.
Saint Elmo's Fire
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
SAINT ELMOS FIRE luminous discharge of electricity extending into the atmosphere from...involved is not great enough to be dangerous. The appearance of St. Elmos fire is regarded as a portent of bad weather. The phenomenon, also known...
2.
Peter Gonzalez, Saint
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
PETER GONZALEZ, SAINT gonza lis, 1190 1246, Spanish Dominican priest...Elmo, perhaps in confusion with an earlier mariners saint of that name, a 4th-century martyr. Saint Elmos fire was regarded as a mark of his protection. Feast...
3.
Corposant
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
CORPOSANT see Saint Elmos fire . ____________________ Copyright 2009 Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
4.
Castor and Pollux
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
...legend, Castor was killed by Idas. The Dioscuri were widely regarded as patrons of mariners and were responsible for Saint Elmos fire . They were especially honored by the Romans, on whose side they were said to have appeared miraculously during the...


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