Cosmic Ray??

[DrP]

About 10-15 years ago we had a family holiday. My father and I were lying in a dark room in 2 seperate single beds talking about the day. Just as we said goodnight, there was an intensely bright white/silver flash that started at a point just off centre from the middle of the room and grow to the size of grapefruit. It dissapeared instantly (the whole thing lasted but a split second). We BOTH saw this and my dad was amazed and said "what the hell was that" We did not know.

 

Could this have been a cosmic ray? Do they reach us here on earth? Has anyone else seen anything like this?

 

Interested in your views.

[Phi for All]

Since such a charged particle would be traveling at close to light speeds, I doubt it. I had something similar happen once when I was a kid but it was the headlight from a car turning around in my street. The light came in through a small opening in my drapes and glanced off the chromed surface of a model I was building. It looked like a flashbulb went off.

 

It wasn't until I put everything together that I realized I'd heard the car out in the street and the model was right where the flash went off.

[DrP]

I see what your saying - because I was in a 'strange' enviroment (a room I was not used to sleeping in) I could have seen a flash from outside reflected off something. I do however believe we would have seen it with our eyes closed even. It was that kind of intense 'electrical' (for want of a better word) type flash, like mini, instantanious ball lightening. Also it seemed to come out of thin air - not from a surface.

[Phi for All]

Possibly a chemical reaction? The way you describe the light starting small and growing instantly into a grapefruit-sized ball sounds similar to the way a chemical reaction might occur.

 

I'm not sure if a cosmic ray is ever visible in the spectrum in which we see. They do contain quite a bit of energy though. I believe we can see them as radiation on x-rays but it's been a while since I read that article.

[DrP]

Apparently astronaughts see them as little white flashes in space - even with their eyes closed. This is because they just go straight through the body - leaving a white flash on the retina as they go through it. Most get deflected before getting to the earth, but I heard somewhere that they can get through to the earth.

 

The grapefruit size may not be that accurate - it was a long time ago and that was how I remembered it. Thanks for your input!

[Phi for All]

Apparently astronaughts see them as little white flashes in space - even with their eyes closed. This is because they just go straight through the body - leaving a white flash on the retina as they go through it. Most get deflected before getting to the earth, but I heard somewhere that they can get through to the earth.

Would one charged particle have gone through both you and your dad's retina's simultaneously though? We do get some cosmic rays on earth on a fairly frequently, the most energentic happening only a few times in a century but less powerful ones get through all the time.

 

Perhaps, if it was a cosmic ray, it somehow excited other molecules there in the room in order to get the flashbulb effect. Sounds more like a papparazzi ray to me.

[DrP]

Would one charged particle have gone through both you and your dad's retina's simultaneously though?

 

Yea - good point! I must admit when thinking about it further on my way home last night I had the same thought. I doubt it would have gone through both of us.