sferics

noun

1. (form-of, plural)plural of sferic
2. (plural, plural-only)Electromagnetic pulses caused by atmospheric phenomena, such as lightning. plural of sferic

   “A Sferics Locating System has been developed to determine the geographical location of lightning strokes...”

   “...an artificial sferics generator was used as a known source of EM pulses.”

   “1987: Barbara Tufty, 1001 Questions Answered About Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Other Natural Air Disasters http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0486254550&id=LpVoN0gmVKcC&pg=RA2-PA38&lpg=RA2-PA38&dq=sferics&sig=BapiarKgnm1NVr9NDBl1Xcgtp-A Researchers have thought that possibly these sferics could be used to track hurricanes—but so far, they have been only marginally successful.”

   “Sferics are classified normally by the frequency of the receiver used to detect them.”

   “This circuit generates a bipolar pulse waveform that closely approximates the main features of sferics.”

3. (plural, plural-only)Radio interference caused by sferics; atmospherics.

   “In the identification of sources of short whistlers, the spectral characteristics of the sferics can often be used to establish many sferics as doubtful...”

   “As it turned out, the whistler was only the first of a family of sferics whose taxonomy was to include clicks, hooks, risers, nose-whistlers and one like a warbling of birds called the dawn chorus....”