WeatherProphet

Thunder or Jet Engines? is article #10 in the WeatherProphet series on weather modification.

In prior post I reviewed the origin of SuperStrobes, super bright strobes, which were used by Allied aerial photo-reconnaissance missions to illuminate ground targets during World War II,

SuperStrobe flashes emit more candlepower onto a surface target in the middle of a stormy night than is provided by a noon time sun under a clear blue sky.

I've questioned whether SuperStrobe technology has been advanced in the subsequent six decades since World War II, and have speculated whether SuperStrobes have continued to play a role in the top secret world of "National Technical Means" (i.e., high-tech spycraft).

I've asked what role SuperStrobe enhanced aerial photographic surveys could play in an age of LookDown Radar, and Infrared imaging devices.

I've pondered upon what possible advantages SuperStrobes offer which would justify their development, and continued deployment. I susggested that one major advantage over radar imaging systems is the covert nature of SuperStrobes.

Despite a SuperStrobe's brilliant flash, when emitted within heavy cloud cover, a SuperStrobe's flash would almost certainly be perceived as a natural, and random result intercloud lightning. In contrast sidelooking, and lookdown radar imaging systems clearly show up on military radar detection systems used across the globe.

Paradoxically despite their brillant flash, when used as a covert tool for capturing light enhanced digital images the SuperStrobe holds an advantage over radar - deniability.

A SuperStrobe if flashed horizontally through a layer of cloud cover will dispurse light vertically across a greater surface area, and at a lower altitude. Flashing SuperStrobes within clouds also reduces the possibility that a SuperStrobe equipped aircraft will be spotted.

A SuperStrobe equipped stealth aircraft flying within the upper edges of a thunderstorm can illuminate hundereds of square kilometers below it.

Such covert imaging missions could be deployed over areas of interest in durations measured in seconds, minutes, hours, or even days.

The advantages of capturing full spectrum enhanced-light images from multiple angles over target areas are many. However, paramount among those advantages is the creation of interpolated image data sets upon which the creation of three dimensional imaging (virtual reality) depends.

The large amount of image data collected by such means can be burst transmitted (shared at very high speeds via radio, or laser), processed either onboard, at a central location, or in a distributive fashion.

The end product of such a surveillance system would be extremely high resolution three dimensional renderings of targets provided in real time!

But this is only an introduction to the array of possible uses a covert weather modification platform would enable.

Thunder or Jet Engines?

As a ground observer listening to a thunderstorm it might become more difficult in the future to tell the difference between thunder, and jet engines.

Thunder, and jet engine sound patterns sound similar, and with modification of jet engine exhaust bafflings such sound patterns could be made even more similar.

I ask, if an entire generation which has grown up listening to jet engines flying within thunderstorms, always assuming those sounds to be thunder, who among us could judge what natural thunder sounds like?

I propose that trianglulated audio recordings of thunderstorms be made, and accustical analysis software be employed in an attempt to divide the needle from the straw - so to speak.

Far fetched idea?

During World War II the Japanese, who hadn't developed radar at that point in the war, developed large conical sound collection devices which they used to detect incoming Allied aircraft. Made obsolete by radar, such a device may one day find use again in the age of the stealth aircraft.

In the upcoming WeatherProphet article #11 titled, Triggered Thunder Imaging System, we'll exam the development of, and advantages to a "thunder" based sonar system!

Covert Horizon to Horizon SuperStrobe Aerial Photography

Stealth SuperStrobe Delivery is article #9 in the WeatherProphet series focusing on the development of a covert weather modification program. In article #8 Lightning Or SuperStrobe I introduced the idea that perhaps not every flash of light in the sky during a thunderstorm may in fact be a random natural event.

I briefly reviewed the deployment of SuperStrobes in Allied Aerial Reconnaissance Missions during World War II. Aircraft equiped with SuperStrobes, and cameras were used to illuminate, and photograph ground targets prior to (and after) bombing missions.

I also note the disappearance of SuperStrobes at the end of World War II as the victors of that war immediately descended into the Cold War.

I then asked whatever became of SuperStrobes? Did this device see no further development, or use? If SuperStrobes were further developed covertly during the Cold War how far were they advanced?

I also asked how any super brillant flash of light which is produced by a SuperStrobe could ever escape detection, and what role SuperStrobes could possibly play in the age of Lookdown Radar, and InfraRed CCD based imaging systems.

I suggested that SuperStrobe Flashes could be hidden in thuderstorms. That hiding such flashes in plain view would be possible during thunderstorms as average citizens would never expect that such flashes of light could be anything but natural, and random events.

Undetected @ 10,000 Feet Above AnyTown USA & Beyond

The central consideration of developing, and deploying a covert intelligence gathering system is the need to remain undetected. If an average aircraft takes to flight, whether it is flashing superbrilliant SuperStrobe flashes, or not, it most likely will be detected.

The chief means of detecting aircraft is radar. Most aircraft reflect radar waves which are transmitted from radar detection systems. Some aircraft have smaller signatures than others, but most aircraft are easy to detect. However as is now known there are means of defeating radar detection.

The two methods used (that we know about) either electronically fool radar systems by producing spurious radar signals which make the task of accurately pinpointing an aircraft's location difficult, or through the design of the aircraft. In the latter case radar waves are either absorbed into the airframe surface, or radar waves are reflected at angles which don't return back to the radar detection system. Both deflection, and absorption is utilized in the Stealth Fighter.

A covert deployment of SuperStrobe enhanced digital imaging collection would most certainly require the use of either, or both of the aforementioned radar evasion technologies.

The use of radar "jamming" in thuderstorms raises an interesting set of questions as to how valid civilian weather radar images are? Are radar signatures of thunderstorms deliberately intensified, or distorted by airborn radar jammers in an attempt to hide the residual radar signatures of covert intelligence gathering aircraft?

Weather Intensification* As Political Tool

The development of any technology, and methods of this sort would certainly find use in warfare, and not just in a covert role. Import questions must be asked about covert deployment however. In the past most people would simply step outside, and look up in the sky to help make important weather based decisons. Today most people make those decsions based upon media reports which are based upon information collected by the National Weather Service.

What If The National Weather Service's Doppler Radar System Is Being Fooled?

It is a well know fact that both the poor, and elderly tend to vote in a more liberal fashion than those with means, and younger voters. It is also true that the poor, and elderly have greater difficulty in reaching polling places, and tend to be effected the most by inclement weather.

We also know that conservatives tend to get a greater number of votes from those in the military, and those working in the military-indusrial-espionage complex. And so the question must be asked, if technology, and methods exist to intensify a weather pattern signature what would prevent such a covert deception from being employed during an election?

Who would protect any nation, including the people of the United States from this sinister manipulation? It would be interesting to do a statistical analysis of weather patterns for the last thirty years to see what effect weather has played upon elections - not just in the U.S., but in Europe, and South America as well.

In my next post, number ten in the WeatherProphet series on weather modification titled, Thunder or Jet Engines?, we'll examine means of detecting PhotoStrobe equiped stealth aircraft flying above thuderstorms even on the darkest of nights!

*Note: I will define "Weather Intensification" as either the actual triggering of a lighning-thunder complex, and its subsequent triggered precipitation event, and/or the manipulation of radar signatures by EMF jamming in an attempt to create radar signatures more closely associated to intense thunderstorm activity.

Lightning Or SuperStrobe is Post #8 in the Weather Modification Conspiracy Series.

In Post #7 Mission Possible - Covert Strobe I ask if there could possibly be a way to hide the flash of a very powerful strobe installed aboard aerial reconnescence aircraft. I introduce a bit of history on the use of superstrobes which were employed during WWII as a means of illuminating ground areas during photographic surveys of potential bombing targets.

I stated that it would be an obvious giveaway of any aircraft's location if it flew over a reconnescence target, and started flashing very powerful superstrobes. I also question the role of superstrobes in the age of look down radar, and satellite based infrared imaging systems. Both of which would seem to have consigned superstrobes into history.

Yet, there remains one possible means of hiding a super bright flash of light from a superstrobe, and that would be in a thunderstorm. Extremely bright flashes of light which illuminate hundreds of cubic kilometers, including ground surface areas is common place during thunderstorms.

People seem to take it for granted that each, and every flash of light during a thunderstorm is an act of nature - a random act of atmospheric electric discharge, and nothing more. During thunderstorms entire cities, and regions are illuminated with hundreds of flashes of illumination from every possible angle, over the course of hours, and people on the ground assume that every single flash is of natural origin. Absolutely no thought is given to the possibility that technology might be behind at least some of those flashes.

No shade is pulled, no blinds are drawn shut, no important documents laying atop a desktop is covered as people assume each brilliant flash of light is an act of God, and not of man.

Yet it is precisely because the public assumes that such flashes of superbright light are always natural that thunderstorms provide an excellent cover for the collection of light enhanced high resolution digital imaging of ground areas, and structures even at night, and in adverse weather conditions.

Still there are many unanswered questions. Why would superstrobes remain useful in the era of lookdown radar? Why would digital photographic imaging be the choice over radar?

There is one obvious answer - radar can be detected - and from a military sense there is constant vigilance in the detection of radar based surveillance. As a covert imaging system radar lights up brighter than a superstrobe!

Any radar detection system (military or civillian) might detect lookdown radar employment (AWACS), but as long as flashes of light during a thunderstorm are assumed to be one hundred percent natural in origin superstrobes when coupled with digital photographic imaging systems could play a significant role in covert intelligence collection.

In Article #9 Stealth SuperStrobe Delivery, I'll explain how it is possible for superstrobe enhanced photographic digital imaging systems to evade detection even when deployed in close proximity to closely guarded military bases, and major metropolitan areas.

In future articles we'll look at why satellites can't make such a covert intelligence method obsolete, and we'll speculate about the possible future of such a program.

Mission Possible - Covert Strobe is my latest article in a series of post delving into the speculative black-ops world of weather modification.

Any weather modification program worth the time, and money expended on its development would need to justify the expenditure upon it.

Making any such program a mulitasking work horse would be a sensible goal from both a practical, and economic standpoint.

Superimposing an intelligence gathering role upon a weather modification program would seems likely.

In my latest weather modification related article, Turning Day Into Night One Second A Time I mention the use of strobe lights deployed upon air recon missions during world war two.

During nightime air-recon missions these intensely bright photo-strobes (super-strobes) replaced phosphorus flares (but not entirely).

Flares were attached to parachutes and tossed out of aircraft prior to allied bombing missions. The flares allowed nighttime photography of targets during the target selection phase of bombing missions.

Such flares are still used to illuminate ground areas as they are difficult to shoot down, and can drift over specific areas of interest for up to a half hour. As we'll soon see once a technology has proven itself useful in intelligence collection it is rarely eliminated from an arsenal - even if it is little known of, or rarely if ever mentioned.

As world war two came to an end the U.S. rapidly shifted it's focus on fighting the Cold War. Before the development of ICBMs allied bombers played the critical role as the means of delivering nuclear bombs upon the Soviet Union.

The team which developed super-strobes during World War II also played an important role in the development of the Atomic Bomb. Super-strobes have remained classified along with any other important intelligence gathering technology, and methodology in the U.S. spy arsenal.

Whatever became of these powerful strobes? Did their development, and deployment end shortly after World War II, or perhaps with the deminishing role of strategic bombers during the Cold War?

Obviously any aircraft in the midst of a clear sky deploying (i.e., flashing) a super bright super-strobe would readily identify its position thus making use of such a device impractical (or it would seem).

If super-strobes remain in the U.S. spy arsenal then in what capacity?

What possible air-recon role could the super-strobe find in the current era of look down radar, and infra-red imaging?

Is there any way to hide a super bright flash of light? And if there is, what advantage could doing so lend to the collection of intelligence?

I'll attempt to answer those questions in my coming article,

Lightning or Super-Strobe?

Summary of Previous Weather Modification Postings

In several of my previous post I proposed that thunder plays a significant role in triggering rain events. I argued that shock waves (e.g., thunder) which radiate from the paths of particle beams (e.g., lightning) can initiate condensation events within clouds resulting in precipitation - in other words thunder can cause it to rain.

I also speculated upon the possibility that the relationship between thunder, and rainfall could be exploited via a weather modification program.

I argued that the technical means exist to develop a weather modification program, and that any such program would necessarily include both weather modification technologies, and the various methodologies of employing those technologies. A variety of important weapons, and techniques could be developed under the umbrella of a covert weather modification program.

I argued that triggered lightning results in triggered thunder which in turn results in triggered precipitation.

I also concluded that any government involved in the development, and deployment of such a program would desire to keep such a program in a covert phase for as long a period as possible.

Keeping a weather modification program covert offers the chief advantage of denying public and scientific debate regarding the merits of such a programl.

I argued that other nation's intelligence agencies would be able to detect the existence of an operational weather modification program, and therefore the chief motivation for maintaining the covert phase of such a program would bo hinder public debate over the cost, and risk of operating a weather modification program.

Turning Night Into Day One Second at A Time

During World War II, prior to Allied aerial bombing runs, air reconnescence missions were deployed over potential bombing sites. Collecting target information (photography) was a crucial first step in planning a successful mission.

At that time satellites did not exist, and these aerial "recon" missions were the primary means of collecting such important information within NAZI occupied Europe.

One aspect of collecting photographic reconnesance that hindered the U.S. military was poor weather, while another was the darkness of night. Today infrared photography, and look down radar allow imaging of ground conditions even in poor weather conditions, and at night.

During World War II Phosphorous flares were hung from parachutes, and tossed out of air recon aircraft. The flares emitted a very bright light thus illuminating the ground below until the parachute finally landed. The use of these flares helped light up the ground below thus allowing night time recon missions to push back the night to some degree.

One group of weapons developers led by E.G. Eggerton, the man who developed the strobe light, realized that strobes could be developed which would produce much more light than any flare. Strobes had the advantage of allowing the recon aircraft to fly at higher and therefore safer altitudes, while obtaining better artificially illuminated night time photographs.

At the end of World War II any programs related to the collection of air reconnescence remained classified as the victors found themselves embroiled in the Cold War, and thus darkness, and secrecy befell the powerful strobes developed for air recon missions.

In a nuclear age delivery of nuclear weapons would depend upon precise targeting, and therefore collection of accurate target information.

With the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, satellites, radar, infrared film, and eventually digital imaging chips (CCDs) the age of the strobe would seem as distantly removed into history as the flare, but is it?

Stay tuned for my next post on this subject.

Mission Possible - Covert Strobe

Dedicated to Jan!

Image: Water Droplets In Cloud Suspension


Image: Shockwave from Sonic Boom Forces Droplets Closer


Image: Water Droplets Condense


Image: Water Droplets Condense


Image Droplets Descend To Ground

This is all speculation on my part. I've noticed over the years that a sudden clap of thunder will be followed by a downfall of rain. I've seen this happen hundreds of times, and so there's no doubt in my mind as to the roll that thunder can play in helping to condense rain droplets in a thunderstorm.

For those of you still scratching your heads, let's try the Mr. Wizzard approach. I've noticed small scale, and reproducible condensation events which anyone can test at home. Try filling a styrofoam drinking cup with hot water. Place a see through drink cup lid on the drink cup. Wait until mist forms on the inside of the lid. Then move the drink cup slowly across the table. Make sure that the cup vibrates as you move it across the top of the table. Notice how large beads of water formed along the underside ot the drink cup lid?

Here's another simple Mr. Wizzard style proof of concept observation which you can make. After taking a shower, or bath notice how mist forms on the mirrors? If you have a medicine cabinet which has a mirror this will be easy to do. Leave the medicine cabinet open. Then after mist has formed close the medicine cabinet door. Notice how the mist forms beads across the surface of the mirror?

Vibrations cause the smaller beads of water to condesnse into larger beads of water, and visa versa, depending upon the frequency of the waveform.

Thunder creates shockwaves which spread out from its source - the lightning bolt. These shockwaves create ripples in the atmosphere. Water vapor is condensed within the trough of waves forming rain drops. The rain drops quickly grow in size, and gravity takes care of the rest.

Therefore, lightning via its role in the creation of sonic booms (i.e., thunder) plays an important, and virtually unmentioned role in precipitation.

Image Credit: All Images Created By JeromeProphet of Jerome, Illinois (Springfield, IL).

Image Art: Cloud Cow

This post represents another in my speculative series on weather modification. In this post I examine the possibility that clouds have "tipping points", and can be made to rain if those points can be determined, and appropriate energy applied to the cloud.

When I see a cloud it's hard for me to imagine how something so massive can stay afloat. Clouds if they could be placed upon a scale are quite simply enormously heavy - weighing dozens, and even thousands of tons. The vast majority of this mass is made up of water, followed by particulate matter such as dirt, salt, and organic materials.

For this reading I want the reader to visualize "the cloud" as an airborne mountain - which has many peaks, and valleys. The peaks, and valleys, however shouldn't be thought of in terms of height, but instead probabilities. Each cloud in effect constitutes a massive pattern of wave forms - and therefore unrealized potentials for collapsing those patterns into instances of rain. Some areas within clouds hold high probabilities for precipitation, while within the same cloud other areas hold low potential for rain.

A cloud in effect is an uneven mountain of probabilities for precipitation.

The avalanche effect.

Again, all this is pure speculation, and I've never heard it mentioned before so I might be wrong, yet from simple observation over many decades I suspect I'm correct. I have noticed how one stroke of lightning will generate one sonic boom (i.e., clap of thunder), and within moments rain begins to fall. Perhaps it's just a sequence error in my perception? Perhaps rain was already falling at a greater height, and in some way the falling rain triggered a lightning event? But I doubt that very much since rain falls like any other object in free fall at a known rate, and lightning is a much speedier event!

I believe the intense sound waves (shock waves) which radiate outward from a lightning bolt through the cloud forces water, and particulate matter to condense into rain. I also believe that this is one of the primary means by which rain droplets form.

Cloud Tipping.

It may be possible to analyze a cloud by Doppler radar and specialized software to determine those areas within the cloud that are most likely to precipitate. As mentioned above, each cloud contains areas of high probability, and low probability for precipitation. These areas can be seen as peaks, and troughs of a mountain range. When rain begins in higher probability areas the rain event spreads to other adjacent lower probability areas, in a means similar to an avalanche. Rain condensation furthers more rain condensation, and spreads throughout the cloud.

Thus it might be possible to find the "tipping points" of a cloud, in real time, and force a cloud into a rain event by triggering lightning within, or near the cloud. The lightning, as mentioned above, generates sonic booms, which triggers the primary condensation avalanche.

An analogue exist. In order to prevent random avalanches on mountains explosives are used to created sound waves to trigger avalances at high probability points on the mountain.

The use of explosives sounds a bit dangerous for cloud tipping, but perhaps the development of a portable particle beam generator for such an exercise would be possible?