Whistler (radio)

VLF spectrogram of an electromagnetic whistler wave, as received by the Stanford University VLF group's wave receiver at Palmer Station, Antarctica.

A whistler is a very low frequency or VHF electromagnetic (radio) wave which can be generated, for example, by lightning. Frequencies of terrestrial whistlers are 1 kHz to 30 kHz, with a maximum amplitude usually at 3 kHz to 5 kHz. Although they are electromagnetic waves, they occur at audio frequencies, and can be converted to audio using a suitable receiver. They are produced by lightning strikes (mostly intracloud and return-path) where the impulse travels away from the earth and returns to the earth traveling along magnetic field lines. They undergo dispersion of several kHz due to the slower velocity of the lower frequencies through the plasma environments of the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Thus they are perceived as a descending tone which can last for a few seconds. The study of whistlers categorizes them into Pure Note, Diffuse, 2-Hop, and Echo Train types.

Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft detected whistler-like activity in the vicinity of Jupiter, implying the presence of lightning there. Whistlers are classified into 3 types: 1)long whistlers 2)short whistlers & 3)Nose whistlers.

History

Whistlers were probably heard as early as 1886 on long telephone lines, but the clearest early description was by Barkhausen in 1919. In 1953, Storey showed that whistlers originate from lightning discharges.

Nomenclature

A type of electromagnetic signal propagating in the Earth–ionosphere waveguide, known as a radio atmospheric signal or sferic, may escape the ionosphere and propagate outward into the magnetosphere. The signal is now prone to bounce-mode propagation, reflecting back and forth on opposite sides of the planet until totally attenuated. To clarify which part of this hop pattern the signal is in, it is specified by a number, indicating the portion of the bounce path it is currently on. On its first upward path, it is known as a 0⁺. After passing the geomagnetic equator, it is referred to as a 1^-. The + or - sign indicates either upward or downward propagation, respectively. The numeral represents the half-bounce currently in progress. The reflected signal is redesignated 1⁺, until passing the geomagnetic equator again; then it is called 2^-, and so on.

See also

See also

• Dawn chorus (electromagnetic)
• Electromagnetic electron wave
• Hiss (electromagnetic)
• Atmospheric noise
• Radio atmospheric
• Helicon (physics)

Relevant Spacecraft

• Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), launched 1997, still operational.
• Helios (spacecraft)
• MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging), launched 2004, still operational.
• Radiation Belt Storm Probes
• Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), launched 2010, still operational.
• Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), launched 1995, still operational.
• Solar Maximum Mission (SMM), launched 1980, decommissioned 1989.
• Solar Orbiter (SOLO), set to launch in 2015.
• Solar Probe Plus, set to launch in 2015.
• STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory), launched 2006, still operational.
• Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), launched 1998, decommissioned 2010.
• Ulysses (spacecraft), launched 1990, decommissioned 2009.
• WIND (spacecraft), launched 1994, still operational.

Further reading

• A site containing recorded audio of natural VLF phenomena.
• A beginner's guide to natural VLF radio phenomena - second part.
• The INSPIRE Project - Exploring Very Low Frequency Natural Radio (NASA educational portfolio program).
• Radio in Space and Time - Whistler, Sferics and Tweeks, G.Wiessala in RadioUser 1/2013

• Helliwell, Robert A. (1958). "Whistlers and VLF Emissions". In Odishaw, Hugh; Ruttenberg, Stanley (eds.). Geophysics and the IGY: proceedings of the symposium at the opening of the International Geophysical Year. pp. 35–44. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help)

• Romero, R. (2008). Radio Nature. Potters Bar: Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN 978-1-905086-38-2.