ON THE INSTABILITY OF IONOSPHERIC PLASMA ORIGINATED BY CHARGE SEPARATIONS IN THE TROPOSPHERE - THE UFO PHENOMENON MECHANISM

The troposphere is the seat of powerful processes which originate sepa ration of electric charges. Thunder clouds give rise to a huge vertica l separation of charges. But also known is a different electrification mechanism activated by wind, which allows for horizontal separation o f charges. In favourable conditions, when charges are displaced at lon g distances, image charges appear in the ionospheric plasma and an upw ard electric field is originated which makes the ionosphere boundary u nstable. If this occurs, recombination of displaced charges involves i onosphere conductivity and gives rise to a downward electron stream ej ected from the bottom of the ionosphere. It may produce a peculiar air glow phenomenon, which consists of the emission of light in a narrow r egion lying at stratospheric or mesospheric altitudes. This outcome of the electrification process just mentioned shows a close connection w ith a special class of ''UFO'' sightings, that is, those referred to b y J. Hynek as nocturnal light and which consist of bright specks of li ght moving in the night sky.